167 Green Street only has one of its tower cranes left. But one is all you need to lift the moon into place at night.
Category Archives: Quick Looks
Quick Look: The glass is half full at 1407 On Michigan
Showing no ill effects of losing its tower crane a couple weeks ago, 1407 On Michigan continues to progress towards completion. The following photos were taken late (it’s gets dark at 6:30 now 😟) Tuesday afternoon. Late-day sunlight serves this project well.
Quick Look: Aloft Chicago Mag Mile plants a tower crane stub
Streeterville has a new tower-crane stub, thanks to the lovely new seedling sprouting up at the Aloft Chicago Mag Mile at 243 East Ontario Street. Just a little more sand left to dig out of the lot, and Tishman’s 18-story hotel can start going vertical.
Quick Look: The Wicker Park Connection tower crane is up

The finished tower crane over the Wicker Park Connection, Monday evening.
It got started over the weekend, and by Monday evening it was completed. The Wicker Park Connection can begin going vertical, now that there’s a tower crane on site. We watched most of the erecting from the B.U.C. HQ, but a well-timed going-away dinner (Bon Voyage, Steve!) on Division Street meant a good look at the new kid on that block.
- Sunday morning, a crane-building crane went to work.
- Getting ready to lift the first section of the tower.
- And the tower starts to climb on the stub.
- Lifting the top into place.
- The top is on.
- Hoisting the jib.
- NOPE
- Tuesday afternoon shot of the finished crane.
Quick Look: Not even rubble remains at O’Brien’s in Old Town

Ironically, the most prominent remnant of O’Brien’s in Old Town is the guard rail that used to protect the restaurant from traffic.

Only a tiny pile of debris remains after just three days of work.
Quick look: That’s a wrap on One South Halsted caisson work

Unless there’s new technology allowing caisson to be dug without rigs, caissons look finished at One South Halsted.
A look after dark down on the One South Halsted site Monday night shows only one caisson rig remaining on site, and a horizontal one at that. The only logical conclusion one could make from this is that caissons are done.
As you may have guessed, I’m willing to skip straight to the tower crane portion of our program, but we’ll have to let Lendlease make that decision. For now, Case Foundation still has some equipment to remove from the lot, like augers and that big yellow rig lying on the ground. Then crews can get busy on the next phase of foundation work.
Quick Look: Both tower cranes are up at McDonald’s
West Crane and East Crane are both assembled at Sterling Bay’s new McDonald’s Headquarters in the West Loop. East Crane gave us quite a ride, as it started up Saturday, only to have the tower top and cab removed Sunday. But Monday it was erected in full.

Monday evening’s view.

Tuesday morning’s view, with brief sunshine.
Quick Look: Tower crane action in the West Loop and Prairie District
The McDonald’s headquarters is erecting the first of its two tower cranes, while the triple-branded Hilton Hotel at McCormick Place planted a tower crane seedling in the South Loop.
- NOPE
- Raising the boom.
- So much NOPE
Quick Look: The Sinclair tops out in the Gold Coast
The Sinclair is topped out, and most of the forms have been removed from the top. We can expect the tower crane to come down very soon.
Quick Look: The Wanda Vista Tower concrete pour, after the fact
I wanted to use “The After Mat” but decided against it.

Moon and crane above the Wanda Vista Tower construction site, Sunday evening.