Great 150 places in Illinois

State's Great list nods to city faves

March 22, 2007

BY KEVIN NANCE Architecture Critic

Chicago buildings by Frank Lloyd Wright, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and other great architects are part of the state chapter of the American Institute of Architects' list of 150 Illinois Great Places.

The list of architecturally significant places, released Wednesday, features a number of older buildings in the city, including Wright's Prairie Style masterpiece Robie House, Henry Ives Cobb's stately Newberry Library and William Boyington's historic North Michigan landmark, the Water Tower and Pumping Station. Local historic districts on the list include Astor Place, Wicker Park, Printers Row and Old Town.

More recent honorees include Mies van der Rohe's modernist Chicago Federal Center and the Illinois Institute of Technology campus, Kohn Pedersen Fox's mirror-skinned 333 W. Wacker and Jean-Paul Viguier's strikingly contemporary Sofitel Hotel.

The list, which commemorates the 150th anniversary of the architects' organization, is an attempt to identify the best features of the state's "built environment." In addition to honoring building design, it celebrates the work of landscape architects, urban planners and local builders. In at least one case -- that of the Chicago Bungalow -- the list honors not a specific building but a housing type.

"The Great Places list spans the entire period of human settlement in Illinois, which gives it a strong historical dimension," the organization's Mike Jackson said. "It isn't meant to be a 'greatest hits' but rather a way of setting the standard for future developments."

Nominations for the list were made by members of the public from throughout Illinois, and the winners were selected by a committee of institute members working with local officials.

For the complete list, visit www.illinoisgreatplaces.com.

knance@suntimes.com