Carbide and Carbon Adventure

We were showing our friend Ellen around Chicago last weekend and were passing the beautiful Carbide and Carbon building on North Michigan Avenue. (The building is now the Hard Rock Hotel.) We went inside to look at the beautiful elevator lobby, and then Victor suggested we go upstairs.

The inside of the elevator was not as beautiful as the outside, but it was still worth going to the top floor. To our surprise, floor 37 (if I remember the number correctly) was completely gutted and littered with construction debris. You'd have thought they'd have prevented the elevator from stopping there.

Aside from a mess, though, what the top floor had was windows: we stepped over the junk and peered out at Chicago's gorgeous downtown. Even the Thompson Center looked good--I wonder if the original design passed muster because an architect's maquette would have really emphasized this top view--you don't really look at a maquette at ground level.

Anyway, don't know how long it will last (or how long it will be before the Hard Rock management figures out they may have a safety issue), but for now a great, free place for fabulous downtown views.

Filed in: Chicago