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ART

Theaster Gates Joins Designers Of Pavilion In Houston’s Freedmen’s Town

Theaster Gates, Studio Zewde and Hines Architecture + Design will “design a new cultural pavilion in Houston’s Freedmen’s Town—a historic community built by formerly enslaved Africans on the Emancipation Trail,” reports the Architect’s Newspaper. “The forthcoming cultural pavilion will be built out of three existing, historic rowhouses. It will have a food pantry, community garden, after-school programming and senior services.”

DESIGN

Filling The Edith Farnsworth House With Sound

At Plano’s Edith Farnsworth House, “New York architect Nile Greenberg has decided to turn the volume up,” writes the Architect’s Newspaper. His exhibition, “Architecture of Noise,” “runs through the house and across the lawn in a five-part argument: Mies van der Rohe’s glass house was never silent. The noise was inside the building the whole time… His thesis comes wrapped in a German word: gesamtkunstwerk, total work of art. It’s the modernist fantasy of a building as a sealed, controlled object where the architect designs everything down to the doorknobs and the dining chairs.”

Dinkel’s Lakeview Lofts Permitted

Dinkel’s Lofts is a residential development that will retain the façade and neon blade sign of the former Dinkel’s Bakery building in Lakeview, reports Chicago YIMBY. The building has been given its permit for construction, which will be “a seven-story structure with forty-two dwelling units. [The permit] mentions specifically that the historic façade is to remain. There is also a contingency plan for saving the façade on the building to the south of the bakery, at 3327 North Lincoln.”

DINING & DRINKING

Lincoln Square’s Atelier Has Closed

Tim Lacey, owner of acclaimed restaurant Atelier, announces on Instagram that they have closed after its recent move south on Western. “We’ve had to close Atelier. This was not a decision made lightly, but due to financial issues, closing was our only option. I can’t thank you enough for your faith in Atelier. This is not the way I ever wanted this to end, and it kills me to have to do this… I’m especially proud of the work Chef Bradyn and Beverage Director Ali have done over the last few years… with their dedication, determination and talents.” Chicago magazine wrote about the relocation in December, and the tasting menu restaurant’s decision to add an à la carte menu.

Times Goes Lyrical In Sam Sianis Obituary

“Chicago is a sprawling metropolis. But for those looking to sum up the city in a single place, an afternoon with Sam Sianis at the Billy Goat Tavern, a watering hole as rich in local character as a Saul Bellow novel, offered a master class,” chronicles obituarist Clay Risen (gift link) at the New York Times in a dithyramb of almost two-thousand words. “A dark, greasy-walled saloon, the Billy Goat is a true Chicago dive, open up to twenty hours a day to serve the newspapers’ shift workers. And for more than fifty years, regardless of the hour, visitors were likely to find Mr. Sianis tending bar or manning the small kitchen in back.”

The Ives Brings The Wisconsin Supper Club

At the Chicago Athletic Association, Chris Pandel’s menu at Boka Restaurant Group’s new The Ives “features tableside service and nods to Wisconsin supper clubs,” writes Chicago magazine. Once home to the Cherry Circle Room, “the space has been reborn as The Ives, a modern grill room that keeps the best parts of the space while going more classic with the cuisine.” Said Pandel with a laugh, “It’s such a gorgeous room, I thought it would be fun to put together a program that makes sense for an old school, lounge-inspired restaurant.”

For the restaurant’s signature dish, “prime rib, carved tableside,” Pandel’s “version of the classic supper club treat, he takes A4 wagyu ribeyes, cures them for days, slow cooks them with a peppercorn crust, and seasons the jus with star anise, cinnamon and chiles.”

Schlitz Kegs Run Dry

The Sun-Times dramatizes the last drams of a barrel of Schubas’ Schlitz: “In the basement of Schubas Tavern in Lake View, only a quarter-barrel remained. Tonight might be the night, the bartenders said, looking down the bar at the patrons sitting in front of tapered pilsner glasses etched with the word ‘Schlitz.’ They’d come to pay their respects, along with a sidecar of regret for not drinking more $5 drafts when they could.”

A second extended Schlitz history, at VinePair, also begins at Schubas: “It seemed a Tuesday like any other for Adam Jevne back in mid-February. The fifteen-year beverage director of Lincoln Hall, Tied House and Schubas Tavern, contacted his sales rep at Chicago distributor Lakeshore Beverage to place his usual, three-keg order of Schlitz, a.k.a. golden nectar, a.k.a. the best-selling beer on draft at Schubas, one of a few dozen Schlitz Brewery-tied houses still standing citywide. The answer would prove to be a bitter omen.”

Chicago Picks May’s Ten Hottest Restaurants 

Chicago magazine’s monthly nods begin with Kitty’s Cosmopolitan Club; Txa Txa Club and Fatback Butcher: “’Nduja grilled cheese? Meatball sub with vodka sauce? Lunch just got a big upgrade.”

Trader Joe’s Uptown Is Official

Uptown Update tips the latest Chicago Trader Joe’s, at 804 West Montrose: “It’s officially official, as the store page for the Montrose location (Trader Joe’s 884) is live.” The space was formerly occupied by XMarket Food Hall.

FILM & TELEVISION

Lena Waithe Says Goodbye To “The Chi” And The South Side

“The Chi,” television’s “longest-running Black drama, presented a multifaceted look at Chicago,” reports the Sun-Times. The series has run eighty-eight episodes and has started airing its final season. “Chicago feels like everyone’s city now,” says creator Lena Waithe. “Even if they aren’t from Chicago and they’ve never been to Chicago, they recognize what it’s like to be a part of a city that helps to define you.”

Fast Food And Film Still Tailor Tasty Team-Ups

“Nearly half a century ago, Burger King released collectible glassware as part of a promotional campaign for the soon-to-be unexpected hit ‘Star Wars,’” reports the Los Angeles Times. “As ‘Star Wars’ grew into a multibillion-dollar franchise…  the cups have become treasured collectibles for super-fans.” With “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” Burger King “is revisiting its history with the franchise [with] four souvenir cups featuring characters from the movie with the purchase of [a] themed meal.” Netflix has started collaborations with Chicago-based McDonald’s this year as well.

LIT

Literary Live Frequency Tunes In Bridgeport

“The Live Frequency: Verse & Vision gathers four of Chicago’s most distinguished literary figures—avery r. young, Mayda A. Del Valle, Mark Turcotte and Angela Jackson—for a two-hour radio broadcast on WLPN-LP Chicago 105.5FM Lumpen Radio,” advises the Public Media Institute. “The evening begins with an intimate, in-depth roundtable hosted by Mario Smith. This collective interview will explore the intersection of their distinct creative visions and their shared role in shaping the city’s identity. Following the conversation, the broadcast shifts from dialogue to the spoken word, featuring a sequence of powerful readings from all four laureates.” Co-Prosperity, 3219 South Morgan, Thursday, June 4, 6pm-9pm. Reservations here.

MEDIA

Alden Global Capital Lands Daily Herald

Tribune Publishing “has swooped in and struck a deal to buy the employee-owned Daily Herald suburban newspaper,” reports the Tribune (free link), a key Alden Global Capital property. “The board of Paddock Publications, which operates the Daily Herald, sent an email to employees announcing that an asset purchase agreement has been signed, with a scheduled June 22 closing date… The employee stockholders of the 150-year-old, formerly family-owned newspaper will vote on whether to approve the offer.

“Founded in 1872 as the Cook County Herald, the suburban Chicago newspaper has grown into the third-largest daily print publication in Illinois, with a current circulation of 52,410… In 2023, Tribune Publishing bought the Daily Herald printing plant for an undisclosed price, shifting its own operations there the following year when the Chicago newspaper vacated the Freedom Center,” which is now the site of the Bally’s casino.

Journos Sue Big Tech In Illinois Courts Over AI Voice Appropriation

Several well-known Chicago journalists, podcasters and voice actors, including Carol Marin and Phil Rogers, “are behind nine class-action lawsuits filed… alleging major tech companies used their voices without their permission in order to train AI products,” reports Capitol News Illinois. “The lawsuits represent a new area of focus for Illinois’ strongest-in-the-nation biometric data privacy law, which has spawned thousands of lawsuits in the last decade or so.” Law practice Loevy and Loevy outlines the case against Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia and others here.

New York Times Publisher Says He Won’t Compromise “Independent Reporting”

New York Times publisher A. G. Sulzberger “spoke in defense of a free press at an event hosted by Yale Law School’s Floyd Abrams Institute in New York City,” the Times shares on its corporate page. From the 2,700-word speech: “A number of news organizations have risen to the occasion by pushing back on the Trump administration’s efforts to attack and punish independent journalism. That’s important because, without brave clients, good lawyers can neither assert nor defend the rights of a free and independent press. Some news organizations have indeed sued to vindicate their rights, like The Associated Press over White House access and NPR over funding cuts. Others, like the Journal, have stood by their reporting in the face of retaliatory lawsuits. I’m proud to say The Times has done both.

“Then there are the media leaders who have settled winnable cases to appease the administration or advance their business interests. Those who have transformed their editorial pages to placate the president. Those who have let the president rewrite their style guides, telling themselves it’s harmless to swap out the Gulf of Mexico for the Gulf of America to avoid something worse. Those who have written unusually large checks for the benefit of the president. Such capitulation, even seemingly small instances of it, serves only to embolden the administration to keep attacking the press.”

MUSIC

Big Chicago Acts Headline Taste Of Chicago In Return To Prime Summertime

“Taste of Chicago will expand to five days and return to the heart of summer, with dozens of restaurants and headliners like Babyface, Beach Bunny and Common, the city’s cultural affairs department announced Thursday,” reports the Sun-Times. The festival will take place July 8-12, following NASCAR’s departure from Chicago. “Local talent like Kaicrewsade and Friko will also perform,” and eighty-four food vendors will participate, with a significant number of new participants.

Will Musician Jared Leto Convince You To Scan Your Eyeball With An Orb?

“A new tool helps artists stop bots from buying up concert tickets. Instead, it reserves spots for fans who are ‘human-verified’ by iris-scanning orbs,” relays the San Francisco Standard.  Concert Kit “helps artists reserve tickets for fans with verified World IDs, an encrypted digital passport created by an orb that scans your irises and face. It’s the latest application of the ‘proof of human’ technology developed by the Sam Altman-founded company Tools for Humanity. The 2027 European tour by Jared Leto’s band, Thirty Seconds to Mars, requires you to scan your eyeball… Fans need to be orb-verified to get access to the select tickets, which come with one free additional ticket and merch vouchers.”

STAGE

Remembering Improv Great Tim O’Malley

“Tim O’Malley, a comic actor who unflinchingly told his story of overcoming addiction in ‘Godshow,’ died May 11 from natural causes at his Beverly home,” chronicles the Sun-Times. “A lifelong Chicagoan, Mr. O’Malley seemed destined for greatness in the late 1980s, bounding from small sketch groups to Second City’s touring company and its famed mainstage on Wells Street—the springboard for some of the country’s top comic actors. He waited for his turn at fame,” while “the big breaks went to his Second City peers. Joel Murray and Bonnie Hunt landed a sitcom. Chris Farley and Tim Meadows, his co-stars on the mainstage, went to ‘Saturday Night Live.’ Mr. O’Malley seethed, drank and snorted cocaine.

“Before long, he was using crack. Friends begged him to clean up.” After a long time, he “entered rehab, rediscovered religion, taught at the Second City Training Center, and attended and led recovery meetings… ‘Tim was amazing on stage,’ said former Second City producer Cheryl Sloane. ‘If there was ever a problem and you needed somebody to hold the audience for a minute, you could send Tim out on stage.’”

Private Equity Putting London’s Largest Stage Operator On The Block

West End theater operator ATG Entertainment “is in the early stages of being prepared for a possible sale by its private equity owner,” reports Reuters. “A decision to go ahead with a sale of ATG Entertainment, previously known as Ambassador Theatre Group, would mark a revival for an industry that was hurt badly by” the pandemic. “A sale could value the business at more than 4 billion pounds ($5.38 billion), based on its most recent earnings and the valuations of sector peers such as Live Nation… An auction could start in the second half of the year.”

ARTS & CULTURE & ETC.

Is The Civil Rights Era Collapsing Before Our Eyes?

“Voting and civil rights experts warn that America now sits at a familiar precipice,” essays Nikole Hannah-Jones at The New York Times (gift link). With the Supreme Court’s stripping of the Voting Rights Act, “Black representation may once again disappear in the South, where more than half of Black Americans live. This could lead to the largest [damage to] Black political power since the fall of Reconstruction. And just like then, what is at stake is no less than American democracy itself.”

City Allows Three-Foot Native Plants

City Council has unanimously approved a rule change “that allows gardeners to grow native plants that are up to thirty-six inches tall on parkways,” reports Block Club. “Previously, such plants could only be up to ten inches high or gardeners risked being fined.” Many plants, “including locally native species such as purple coneflower, prairie blazing star and milkweed, grow to be taller than ten inches. That limitation meant some gardeners avoided such plants, even though experts are increasingly urging people to grow native, pollinator-friendly gardens to benefit local species, such as monarch butterflies.”

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