Kidding. We knew it was the "Buddhist Temple of Chicago," but now many others will as well. Now if they could just do something about their "rock garden" and the rocks that end all the way up on Broadway. And worse yet, the rocks kicked against the parked cars nearby by our local youth, all of which we have witnessed.
Monday, December 3, 2007
So That's What That Is...
Kidding. We knew it was the "Buddhist Temple of Chicago," but now many others will as well. Now if they could just do something about their "rock garden" and the rocks that end all the way up on Broadway. And worse yet, the rocks kicked against the parked cars nearby by our local youth, all of which we have witnessed.
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Probably the ugliest building in the city. How did this happen?
ReplyDeleteIt was disappointing that the front entrance to the temple is located in the back by the parking lot. I would have thought they would have wanted the entrance in the front to appear more welcoming to the community and to promote the idea of foot traffic. The brick chosen also reinforces the idea that we're looking at the back of the building even though the same brick is in the front as well. I don't recall any community meeting for input, which probably would have addressed these concerns.
ReplyDeleteStill, this Buddist Temple adds to the diversity of the area and I like the signage.
Let's finally clear up a couple of things. Sorry if you don't like the look of the building, but this is all they could afford. They didn't go to the bank for a loan. They paid for this themselves. Please understand that their resources are limited and this was the best they could do. I don't know if any of you remember what was there before, but let me assure you, this is 100% better. There is an entrance on Leland, but because most people drive, the parking lot entrance is used more often. Many of the staff live in the three flat on the other side of the lot, so I assume it just makes sense to have more foot traffic in the lot entrance.
ReplyDeleteThese are great neighbors. These are the kind of people we want in Uptown. Please be careful how you word these posts. Attacking the Buddhist Temple and The Ace Hardware make you look caddy. Just an observation.
No one is "attacking" the Buddhist temple. People are saying that the rocks are being kicked around by local kids and causing a problem. If you read the comments, few people are "attacking" Ace Hardware, just saying that one employee's views seem at odds with the store's clientele and make us wonder if we should continue to shop there.
ReplyDeleteThere are many different voices here. Don't be "catty" and paint us all with the same brush. Criticism is hardly synonymous with attack. There are lots of shades of gray in between white and black, you know.
from readings these blogs as a new Uptown resident, Uptown seems to me like cattytown!
ReplyDeleteSeems to be a lot of miserable people in Uptown.
I thought the building looked pretty good a lot better than some of the falling down dumps I see in Chicago or the public drinking I see in other parts of Uptown.
I love cattytown!
Hey, it's a cheap building and is recognizable as such. Someone asked how this happened and they got a reasonable answer (which agrees with the Tribune article wriiten about this building in the past two years.) No one attacked any religion or was being catty. There are understandable reasons why this is a cheap building. All that is at issue in this thread is
ReplyDelete1. It is nice that they finally added some signage (a positive comment)
2. It would be nice if they would deal with their rock situation, which is causing problems on the sidewalk and damage to cars.
Why the heck are you trying to make it into anything other than that? Are you the one looking to drawn out a fight? If so, you're looking in the wrong thread.
Try the Helen Shiller post instead. There is plenty to criticize there.
who's talking to who
ReplyDeletelol
yeah, in general, this is a catty blog. Love the info, but the commentary is usually snide.
ReplyDeleteyou do learn things though--like the vis vitae comment says building usually need to front the street (no parking lots)--combine that with the fact that many public buildings want to provide easy access for drivers, and you get the "backwards' orientations of the temple and of the Aldi (I know, I know, the Aldi building HAS to be a conspiracy to destroy life as we know it, but i have my doubts...). Reasonable, though perhaps not beautiful. Then again, parking lots in front are not beautiful either....
Well, if you go to different parts of town all over there are developments with parking in front. Wiker Park on Damen has a similar new completed project.
ReplyDeleteBottom line is people drive and need places to park. And it is too costly to build parking in the buildings.
That building looks a lot better than what was across the street.
I don't like every building I see either but hey this is just like life variety.
Well, here's an idea. How about the doors facing the front and the parking lot placed in the back? Churches do it all the time and have the congregation walk to the front.
ReplyDeleteHeck, you might even put a back door for those people who feel bothered about walking to the front and don't care about the aesthetics of the building fitting into the neighborhood.
I'm critical of the design. Good design does not have to cost alot of money. Had this been presented to the community, I'm sure some people would have spoken up, but that's not the way developement is done in Uptown with Shiller.
I guess you're right. Maybe I really should keep my expectations lower than if I lived in another neighborhood. Afterall, there's mostly poor people here anyway, right?
ReplyDeleteYou most certainly should relize you don't live in LP and even parts of LP have ugly buildings.
ReplyDeleteBeauty is in the eyes of the beholder.
You're saying low standards are okay. We disagree. Buildings can still be built inexpensively and be inviting. No neighborhood deserves low standards. Other wards on the northside would not have found this acceptable.
ReplyDelete