Hasta La Ideas

No matter where you are, you’ve likely heard that Chicago’s longtime mayor, Richard Daley, announced this week that he will not be running for reelection. Here in the city, it’s all anyone’s been able to talk about, given that his term has lasted 21 years. We finally found an angle on the story that follow our interests over here, with Lee Bey‘s write-up of his memories of Daley and his architectural legacy. For a little background, Bey served as both the architecture critic at the Chicago Sun-Times, and later as Daley’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Urban Planning, so he’s perhaps the closest to see how the city changed, building-wise, during this incredibly lengthy administration. While he didn’t ultimately land the architectural bonanza of the 2016 Olympics, it’s incredible to see how many changes the city went through during his tenure. It’s a great read that includes some nice, quiet tidbits about the Mayor’s interest in business of building:

In 2002, someone gave him a book of Santiago Calatrava‘s work and he was enamored. Months later I arranged for them to meet privately in Daley’s office. Despite having never met, the two of them conversed like old friends. The mayor pestered me make contact with Norman Foster just to let him know he admired Foster’s work. I got Foster on the phone — I’m guessing this was in 2003 — and the world-famed architect was flattered the Man on Five knew his work. Foster sent a ton of books and other material to me to give to the mayor. I did.

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