Little remains of Ryan Field. So let’s get ready for construction

Posted on April 22, 2024 by danieldschell

A neighbor’s perspective of Ryan Field demolition.

There’s talk in Chicago about building a new football stadium (for the Bears.) There’s also talk in Chicago about building a new baseball stadium (for the White Sox.) Truth is, we might see one or the other, or we might not see either of them. To be honest, I only care about watching construction, not if either team gets new digs.

What we do know, for sure, is that Northwestern University is building a new football stadium up in Evanston. And let me assure you, I plan to photograph the HECK out of that construction. I was in Pittsburgh when both Heinz Field and PNC Park (ask me about the two-way mirrors in the men’s room) were built, but I didn’t even have a camera then, much less an interest in chronicling the construction process. I’m not missing out on this one. And we’ll just have to wait and see what happens for the Bears and Sox.

There isn’t much left to see up at Ryan Field. Even the goal posts are gone now, along with (what I thought was) that gorgeous willow tree that stood right inside the main construction entrance. It’s firewood now. The tree, not the entrance. They’re also grinding up the parking lots, so it’s like demolition and road construction in one project.

Alpine Demolition. thank you for your hard work. You did indeed Knock It Down. Turner Construction, The Big Green W, and Central Street Consortium, I’ll see you again soon for construction. Maybe even the groundbreaking ceremony?

Anyway, here are likely my last photos of demolition at Ryan Field, taken Monday, April 22. I knew there wasn’t much left to see when I headed up there, so I convinced myself not to spend too much time and take too many shots. I took 120….

Enjoying the photos? Metra and CTA rides (and Amtrak trains to Milwaukee), Zipcars, Divvy Bikes, camera lenses, domain fees, snacks & energy drinks, and comfortable walking shoes add up. You can help offset expenses by making a greatly-appreciated donation to Building Up Chicago.

Ryan Field demolition progress, in photos

Posted on March 22, 2024 by danieldschell

Demolition continues on Northwestern University’s Ryan Field in Evanston, IL.

Because “Ryan Field demolition progress, in words” would just be “Ryan Field demolition progress continues” and that doesn’t show you much. Much sunnier on this day. Perfectly sunny, in fact. Wednesday March 20, to be specific.

(Ryan) Field Trip! Building Up Chicago visits Tearing Down Evanston

Posted on March 4, 2024 by danieldschell

Not my video. Not my helicopter.

That’s a great video from YouTuber MikeLoweReporter over Ryan Field in Evanston. I had to settle for a pair of comfortable walking shoes to make my way around the former home of the Northwestern University Wildcats.

I think this is the first big stadium demolition I’ve watched live since they dynamited Three Rivers Stadium back in 2001. Sorry, I don’t have video of that because all our phones did back then was make phone calls. And you had to leave them at home.

You’ve probably heard by now, Northwestern is building a new Ryan Field on this site once demolition is complete. Because not everyone in Evanston is pleased with this development, there has been extensive media coverage of the proposal process over the past couple years. Do a quick Google search, and you’ll instantly head down the rabbit hole. Enjoy.

Alpine Demolition is on site with some pretty cool demo toys. The General Contractor for the stadium rebuild is a two-parter. Turner Construction and Walsh Construction have teamed up (football is, after all, a team sport) to form the “Central Street Consortium.” And that’s an official-enough name to have it emblazoned on the back of their branded construx gear.

And here are the pics (there’s a LOT of purple debris):

Stuff That’s Done (and in Milwaukee): The Milwaukee Bucks’ new home, Fiserv Forum

Posted on June 12, 2021 by danieldschell

Look, I’m not posting this now in the hopes of scoring free Playoff tickets. Honest, I’m not. That I hadn’t been in Milwaukee in four years is purely coincidental. But anyway, good job by the Bucks in Game 3 after looking like they might be future venison steaks on the roof rack of a station wagon after that Game 2 horror.

Fiserv Forum was called the Wisconsin Entertainment and Sports Center when I last stopped by, in July 2017.

Fiserv Forum is a design by Populous, the Kansas City-based architecture firm known in Chicago for its work on Guaranteed Rate Field and the United Center. They were assisted in the design work by Eppstein Uhen Architects and HNTB Corporation. The M.A. Mortenson Company was the general contractor.

The Forum opened in August 2018. It’s predecessor, the Bradley Center, was demolished soon after. That site remains empty now, but I doubt it’ll remain that way for long.

Enjoying the photos? Metra and CTA rides, Zipcars, Divvy Bikes, camera lenses, and comfortable walking shoes are adding up. You can help offset expenses by making a greatly-appreciated donation to Building Up Chicago.

Rod Laver Arena gets an updating in Melbourne

Posted on February 25, 2018 by danieldschell

Lendlease is currently constructing improvements to Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.

Timing has never really been my thing. So in honor of the Australian Open (that ended 4 weeks ago), and our visit to Melbourne (that’s been over for 4 months), here are some photos of the ongoing construction at Rod Laver Arena, originally designed by Cox Architecture, at Melbourne Park. Lendlease is doing the honors.

You can learn more about the planned improvements from the arena’s website below:

BETTER FACILITIES FOR VISITORS AND FANS

Beginning in February 2016, and staged over four years, the Stage 2 redevelopment will breathe new life into Rod Laver Arena delivering:
• a new three-level, eastern-facing main public entrance and new annexes on the northern and southern sides of the building
• improved amenities, including more food and beverage outlets and toilets
• accessible entrances to the seating bowl and expanded public concourse spaces, making it easier to move around the building.

BETTER FACILITIES FOR PLAYERS AND PERFORMERS

Extensive back-of-house improvements will ensure that performers and players enjoy the best possible amenities and staging facilities, including
• improved rigging capacity, enabling the venue to host bigger productions
• a bigger loading dock to manage faster turnaround of events
• refurbishment of the area underneath the arena, providing year-round services for artists, production crews and players during the Australian Open.

And now, for the pics. And remember, these are four months old.

: Lendlease is currently constructing improvements to Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.

Sometimes the tower cranes we miss are the tower cranes we miss the most

Posted on August 10, 2017 by danieldschell

Wisconsin Entertainment and Sports Center

Curtis Waltz at Aerialscapes sent over this photo of the WESC from June, just as the second tower crane was coming down.

We love tower cranes at Building Up Chicago. That’s no secret. We’re especially fond of scenes like Vista Tower, The Simpson-Querrey Center, McDonald’s Headquarters, and One Bennett Park, each of which have two tower cranes on site. And don’t even get us started about the two projects we saw in London that had 10 apiece.

But we can’t get to them all.

We found out today, courtesy of Curtis Waltz at Aerialscapes, that the tower crane we wandered to at the Wisconsin Entertainment and Sports Center had a sibling. Up until a couple weeks before we stopped by, the parking garage being constructed next to the Milwaukee Bucks’ new arena had a second tower crane.

Hey! Why not keep a tower crane on a parking garage? Do you have any idea how helpful (and fun) it would be to use it to get cars up to and off the top level?

Curtis said neither tower crane remains on site now, so it looks like we got there just in time. Maybe one trip a year to Milwaukee isn’t often enough?

Only one tower crane remained when we visited the WESC in July.

Don’t get me wrong; there were still multiple cranes. Just not multiple tower cranes.

Wandering Milwaukee: Revisiting the Bucks’ new arena, vicariously, from the air

Posted on July 25, 2017 by danieldschell

An eagle-eye view of the Milwaukee Bucks’ new arena from pilot/photographer Curtis Waltz at Aerialscapes.

Photo via Curtis Waltz at Aerialscapes.

You’ve already seen my visit from the first weekend in July to the Milwaukee Bucks’ new arena. Dozens and dozens of photos. Yet there were still two angles of the construction site I wasn’t able to see: from the inside, and from overhead. The former I won’t likely see until I buy a basketball ticket. But the latter? Someone else has that covered for us.

Click this link to see the Milwaukee Business Journal story from July 6 that featured photos from aerial photographer Curtis Waltz. Not satisfied with drone footage, Mr. Waltz goes one step further. Or higher, as the case may be: he flies his own plane to get his shots.

You can see all of Curtis Waltz’s work at Aerialscapes.

The Bucks’ Twitter account tweeted the following drone video, which does include some inside footage:

https://twitter.com/Bucks/status/888859102444761088

Not enough for ya? Well, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has a drone video for you to check out as well.

http://www.jsonline.com/videos/sports/nba/bucks/2017/07/11/video-aerial-view-drone-future-milwaukee-bucks-arena/103568966/

There’s more to see at the Wisconsin Entertainment and Sports Center News page here. They update it frequently, so check in early and often.

Wandering Milwaukee: The Wisconsin Entertainment and Sports Center

Posted on July 17, 2017 by danieldschell

The new of of the Milwaukee Bucks rises as part of the Wisconsin Entertainment and Sports Center.

Another Summerfest has come and gone from Milwaukee. I like Summerfest. It gives me a chance to sample the unhealthiest of delicious festival foods, walk around downtown, and see a concert. Last year, it was Sting. This year, Paul Simon. And once a year, I get to check in on Milwaukee construction.

A rendering of the new Milwaukee Bucks arena.

Hands down, the most watchable construction site in Milwaukee right now is the Wisconsin Entertainment and Sports Center. Including the future home of the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks, the WESC is a design by Populous, the Kansas City-based architecture firm known in Chicago for its work on Guaranteed Rate Field and the United Center, with assistance from Eppstein Uhen Architects and HNTB Corporation. Populous has also done design work for features of the Wrigley Field renovation. Chances are, if you’ve been to more than two sporting events in your life, you probably watched them in a Populous facility. The M.A. Mortenson Company is the general contractor.

While the WESC will eventually be a 30-acre entertainment district, the center piece is the new 714,000-square-foot arena. That, along with a multi-level parking garage, are under construction now. The $524 million arena is scheduled for completion in time for the 2018-2019 NBA season.

You can learn *tons* more about the new arena from ICON Venue Group.

You can keep up with the WESC on Twitter here.

Follow M.A. Mortenson here.

Wintrust Arena heads to the fourth quarter up big

Posted on April 11, 2017 by danieldschell

Wintrust Arena, part of The Collection at McCormick Square.

I haven’t seen what’s going on inside Wintrust Arena (though Shia Kapos of the Sun-Times has) but the outside is looking like it could host basketball or a convention any day now. But we’ll have to wait until fall, when the new facility begins hosting DePaul Blue Demon basketball.

Clark Construction still has their game-faces on as they work to complete the 10,000-seat Pelli Clarke Pelli design. Maybe there’s no full-court press on yet, but Fall will be here before we know it.

Construction Progress: Chicago Blackhawks Community Training Center

Posted on February 14, 2017 by danieldschell

Work continues on the Chicago Blackhawks Community Training Center.

At 1801 West Jackson Boulevard on the west side, McHugh Construction continues working on the Chicago Blackhawks Community Training Center. Wingers, defensemen, and goalies will be able to use it too though. The two-story, 125,000-square-foot facility, designed by HOK, replaces the original, now-demolished Malcolm X College, which became expendable when a new facility was built across the street.

In addition to providing practice surfaces for the Blackhawks and visiting NHL teams, the center will provide youth hockey development, and host recreational hockey leagues as well. It is expected to open in December of this year.