Checking up on the topped-out and craneless Joan and Paul Rubschlager Building at Rush

Posted on March 11, 2021 by danieldschell

Joan Paul Rubschlager Building March 2021

The Joan and Paul Rubschlager Building, b/w the Chicago Skyline, from Rush University Medical Center.

What? It’s been more than a year since I was here? Yeah, I guess it’s been awhile for a lot of Chicago construction projects. Stupid pandemic and laziness.

Over at Rush University Medical Center, Power Construction continues work on the Joan and Paul Rubschlager Building. After breaking ground in June of 2019, this 10-story, 480,000-square-foot outpatient care facility still has a long way to go before it’s ready for patients, with a projected 2022 opening date. It is a design by West Loop architecture firm Nia Architects in collaboration with HDR.

History demolished and discovered at the J.L. Higgie Building

Posted on December 17, 2017 by danieldschell

One of the highly-coveted plaques, on the Harrison elevation, of the J.L. Higgie Building.

The J.L. Higgie Building at 1909 West Ogden Avenue in the Illinois Medical District is history, having been demolished over the past couple weeks by Heneghan Wrecking. The triangular building bounded by Ogden, Harrison, and Wolcott, built in the 1880s, was built by Higgie to be the offices of his tugboat company.

But speaking of history, demolition unearthed a treasure of it, as Heneghan discovered stacks of old newspapers where Mr. Higgie kept his offices. I got a good look at a couple of them, including a front page from February 5, 1930 (Chicago was having gang problems in those days) and a sports page from January 25, 1930 (the Chicago Blackhawks were playing the Pittsburgh Pirates in Atlantic City.)

January 25, 1930: The Pittsburgh Pirates moved their game against the Blackhawks 400 miles east because “Smoky City” fans weren’t showing up. Ouch.

Rubble marks the spot where Rush has demolished former student-housing buildings

Posted on April 10, 2017 by danieldschell

Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t go visit properties permitted for demolition, you could miss them.

https://twitter.com/BuildUpChicago/status/836567594782048258

February 27 saw a total of 13 demolition permits issued for buildings owned by Rush University Medical Center that had been previously used to house students. The buildings, all on the north side of the street in the 1400 and 1500 blocks of West Harrison Street, were soon torn into by Brandenburg Industrial Service. Sure, I may have looked out the window a time or two in that direction, but a real visit this past weekend yielded nothing but rubble.

According to a story in Crain’s Chicago Business back in 2015, Rush has plans for a 9-story, 620,000-square-foot outpatient center on the site. But of course those plans could have changed in the year-and-a-half interim.

Of note in the midst of the rubble is one building that remains at the east end of the demolition area, still standing, yet surrounded by construction fence. Air conditioners galore make it look lived-in, but with all those barriers, that doesn’t seem possible. But will that structure remain?