Lee Bey
@leebey1.bsky.social
Chicago Sun-Times architecture critic and formerly ABC7 Chicago. Author/photographer of Southern Exposure: The Overlooked Architecture of Chicago's South Side. I dig vintage TV/movies and 20th century funk, soul and jazz.
Reposted by Lee Bey
Ryan Coogler’s blues-steeped vampire epic “Sinners” led all films with 16 nominations to the 98th Academy Awards on Thursday, setting a record for the most in Oscar history.
'Sinners' makes history, setting Oscars nomination record
chicago.suntimes.com
January 22, 2026 at 2:41 PM
Ryan Coogler’s blues-steeped vampire epic “Sinners” led all films with 16 nominations to the 98th Academy Awards on Thursday, setting a record for the most in Oscar history.
Walser column update. “It is not currently for sale and steps have been taken to request removal of an unauthorized online listing. We are completing initial services & debris removal and will then begin preparing the property for listing,” Fannie Mae sez.
Fannie Mae takes ownership of long-suffering West Side Frank Lloyd Wright home
"It's good news now that the building is out of the mess of the foreclosure process, and now, we've got a clear path to possible ownership for somebody to take this on," Barbara Gordon, executive dire...
chicago.suntimes.com
January 21, 2026 at 3:41 AM
Walser column update. “It is not currently for sale and steps have been taken to request removal of an unauthorized online listing. We are completing initial services & debris removal and will then begin preparing the property for listing,” Fannie Mae sez.
Tribune film/tv critic @ninametz.bsky.social talks about movies that instead should've have been series, and series that would've been better off as movies. Saw the '12 film Lawless last night. 2hrs wasn't enuf time for all that talent: Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Guy Pierce, etc. Shoulda been a series.
January 21, 2026 at 3:13 AM
Tribune film/tv critic @ninametz.bsky.social talks about movies that instead should've have been series, and series that would've been better off as movies. Saw the '12 film Lawless last night. 2hrs wasn't enuf time for all that talent: Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Guy Pierce, etc. Shoulda been a series.
Reposted by Lee Bey
The publisher of the Daily Herald filed notice with the state earlier this month that it is considering a sale of the northwest suburban newspaper.
Daily Herald, longtime suburban Chicago newspaper, notifies state of potential sale
The publisher of the Daily Herald filed notice with the state earlier this month that it is considering a sale of the northwest suburban newspaper.
trib.al
January 21, 2026 at 12:45 AM
The publisher of the Daily Herald filed notice with the state earlier this month that it is considering a sale of the northwest suburban newspaper.
Last week's online column made today's print edition of the @chicago.suntimes.com And for my social media friends, here are some original B&W images from @somdesign.bsky.social
January 20, 2026 at 4:18 PM
Last week's online column made today's print edition of the @chicago.suntimes.com And for my social media friends, here are some original B&W images from @somdesign.bsky.social
Reposted by Lee Bey
One down, three to go.
The blog of Neil Steinberg
www.everygoddamnday.com
January 20, 2026 at 2:50 PM
Today's architecture column. “It’s going to be an expensive house to restore, but I think it’s one really worth restoring,” Preservation Chicago Executive Director Ward Miller said.
Long-suffering Frank Lloyd Wright home hits the market for $350,000
The 123-year-old Walser Home in Austin needs at least $2 million in restoration.
chicago.suntimes.com
January 19, 2026 at 12:29 PM
Today's architecture column. “It’s going to be an expensive house to restore, but I think it’s one really worth restoring,” Preservation Chicago Executive Director Ward Miller said.
I have always dug this. Ali makes history here in 1964, then pauses it in front of the world to acknowledge his friend Sam Cooke.
Muhammad Ali: Sam Cooke! Let that man up here...Am I pretty, Sam?
Sam Cooke: You're beautiful.
Ali: Did I shake up the world?
Cooke: YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!
Muhammad Ali: Sam Cooke! Let that man up here...Am I pretty, Sam?
Sam Cooke: You're beautiful.
Ali: Did I shake up the world?
Cooke: YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!
January 18, 2026 at 2:08 AM
I have always dug this. Ali makes history here in 1964, then pauses it in front of the world to acknowledge his friend Sam Cooke.
Muhammad Ali: Sam Cooke! Let that man up here...Am I pretty, Sam?
Sam Cooke: You're beautiful.
Ali: Did I shake up the world?
Cooke: YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!
Muhammad Ali: Sam Cooke! Let that man up here...Am I pretty, Sam?
Sam Cooke: You're beautiful.
Ali: Did I shake up the world?
Cooke: YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!
Today's architecture column. “It’s just a beautiful setting as well as a beautiful building,” urban planner Jim Peters said. “And it’s a shame to think about it vanishing and being replaced by a strip mall or another box bank or something like that."
Will a vacant modernist bank in Skokie designed by SOM be razed or reused?
The bank isn't being overtly marketed as a teardown, but it's worth noting Skokie doesn't have a landmark ordinance that would protect the building from demolition.
chicago.suntimes.com
January 16, 2026 at 12:09 PM
Today's architecture column. “It’s just a beautiful setting as well as a beautiful building,” urban planner Jim Peters said. “And it’s a shame to think about it vanishing and being replaced by a strip mall or another box bank or something like that."
Oh well. Looks like my time as ABC7 architecture critic is over. The 6pm broadcast changed producers and since then, the station has stopped having me on. But stay tuned: I'm working on finding a new tv home. Or maybe a YouTube channel? Meanwhile, keep on reading me in the Chicago Sun-Times.
January 15, 2026 at 2:56 PM
Oh well. Looks like my time as ABC7 architecture critic is over. The 6pm broadcast changed producers and since then, the station has stopped having me on. But stay tuned: I'm working on finding a new tv home. Or maybe a YouTube channel? Meanwhile, keep on reading me in the Chicago Sun-Times.
Thanks to Third Unitarian Church, 301 N. Mayfield for inviting me to talk today abt West Side architecture & show pix from my next book. They worship in a 1937 Paul Schweikher-designed church (w a 1956 addition by William B. Fyfe). My bud Catherine Hudon took pix of that great mod wall. Dig the hymn
January 12, 2026 at 1:28 AM
Thanks to Third Unitarian Church, 301 N. Mayfield for inviting me to talk today abt West Side architecture & show pix from my next book. They worship in a 1937 Paul Schweikher-designed church (w a 1956 addition by William B. Fyfe). My bud Catherine Hudon took pix of that great mod wall. Dig the hymn
After lunch in Oak Park today following an architecture talk at Third Unitarian Church. Taken by Cassie aka Daughter #2.
January 11, 2026 at 9:44 PM
After lunch in Oak Park today following an architecture talk at Third Unitarian Church. Taken by Cassie aka Daughter #2.
Print version of this weekend's column. (And go Bears!)
January 11, 2026 at 12:38 PM
Print version of this weekend's column. (And go Bears!)
From reelblack's YouTube: Cutter, a 1972 pilot with Peter De Anda as P.I. Frank Cutter who is resourceful & hip w/o the stereotypes. And Chicago looks great. Had it gone to series, Cutter would've joined the NBC Mystery Movie wheel w Columbo, etc. Here's the intro. reelblack has the whole movie.
January 10, 2026 at 3:18 AM
From reelblack's YouTube: Cutter, a 1972 pilot with Peter De Anda as P.I. Frank Cutter who is resourceful & hip w/o the stereotypes. And Chicago looks great. Had it gone to series, Cutter would've joined the NBC Mystery Movie wheel w Columbo, etc. Here's the intro. reelblack has the whole movie.
Latest architecture column. "It was absolutely beautiful back in the day,” South Shore resident and parks advocate Carol L. Adams said of the building. "So I’m really happy to see us reclaiming our spaces and preserving them instead of destroying them."
As the Obama Center nears completion, a long-neglected Jackson Park pavilion finally gets its due
"We're trying to bring it back to its former glory," Chicago Park District Director of Planning and Development Heather Gleason said of the park's 114-year-old Burnham Building.
chicago.suntimes.com
January 9, 2026 at 1:11 PM
Latest architecture column. "It was absolutely beautiful back in the day,” South Shore resident and parks advocate Carol L. Adams said of the building. "So I’m really happy to see us reclaiming our spaces and preserving them instead of destroying them."
I'll be the guest speaker this coming Sunday at 11:30am at Third Unitarian Church, 301 N. Mayfield. Come check me out. The talk is free. I'll be discussing and showing images from my upcoming book on West Side architecture. And the church itself, designed by modernist Paul Schweikher, is a beaut.
January 7, 2026 at 4:51 PM
I'll be the guest speaker this coming Sunday at 11:30am at Third Unitarian Church, 301 N. Mayfield. Come check me out. The talk is free. I'll be discussing and showing images from my upcoming book on West Side architecture. And the church itself, designed by modernist Paul Schweikher, is a beaut.
Aw! They let us all go. I was ready to make with some Law & Order too. But at least I got some jury money. Last time I served, it was $17 a day.
January 5, 2026 at 6:19 PM
Aw! They let us all go. I was ready to make with some Law & Order too. But at least I got some jury money. Last time I served, it was $17 a day.
Btw, the jury summons recommends bringing something to read so I brought the history of Architectural Iron Workers Local Union 63 that the author, the union's historian Richard Rowe, gave me last year. Gotta say it's really good. Don't know if it's available in bookstores, but it oughta be.
January 5, 2026 at 4:45 PM
Btw, the jury summons recommends bringing something to read so I brought the history of Architectural Iron Workers Local Union 63 that the author, the union's historian Richard Rowe, gave me last year. Gotta say it's really good. Don't know if it's available in bookstores, but it oughta be.
Reposted by Lee Bey
The media need to stop beating their chests about how powerful our military is.
It's a point of pride when your country has a strong military that keeps the peace.
It's a source of shame when politicians turn your strong military into an international armed robbery gang.
It's a point of pride when your country has a strong military that keeps the peace.
It's a source of shame when politicians turn your strong military into an international armed robbery gang.
January 5, 2026 at 1:52 PM
The media need to stop beating their chests about how powerful our military is.
It's a point of pride when your country has a strong military that keeps the peace.
It's a source of shame when politicians turn your strong military into an international armed robbery gang.
It's a point of pride when your country has a strong military that keeps the peace.
It's a source of shame when politicians turn your strong military into an international armed robbery gang.
The architecture critic has jury duty today at the Bridgeview Courthouse -- and he wonders "This isn't a bad-looking building. I wonder who designed it?"
January 5, 2026 at 2:59 PM
The architecture critic has jury duty today at the Bridgeview Courthouse -- and he wonders "This isn't a bad-looking building. I wonder who designed it?"
Cotton Comes To Harlem, 1970. Been a big fan of this movie from jump. I dig how director Ossie Davis managed to get the best performances of the careers of Raymond St Jacques, Godfrey Cambridge, Calvin Lockhart, Judy Pace in a single film.
January 2, 2026 at 1:25 PM
Cotton Comes To Harlem, 1970. Been a big fan of this movie from jump. I dig how director Ossie Davis managed to get the best performances of the careers of Raymond St Jacques, Godfrey Cambridge, Calvin Lockhart, Judy Pace in a single film.
A number of big projects are expected to wrap up this year with others kicking off — and maybe the Bears will find a stadium site.
From the Obama Center to Google's Chicago headquarters, here's what's happening architecturally in 2026
A number of big projects are expected to wrap up next year with others kicking off — like maybe a Bears stadium site?
chicago.suntimes.com
January 1, 2026 at 12:11 PM
A number of big projects are expected to wrap up this year with others kicking off — and maybe the Bears will find a stadium site.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has announced the great Carmen de Lavallade has died at age 94. A dancer extraordinaire, of course, and could act too. Here she is with Harry Belafonte in the often overlooked 1959 noir, Odds Against Tomorrow. It's a small role, and she totally steals the scene.
December 30, 2025 at 9:46 PM
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has announced the great Carmen de Lavallade has died at age 94. A dancer extraordinaire, of course, and could act too. Here she is with Harry Belafonte in the often overlooked 1959 noir, Odds Against Tomorrow. It's a small role, and she totally steals the scene.
Drum machines, synths, and an Emu emulator making the breaking glass sounds, Jenny Burton's incredible vocals -- I remember when this came out. What a jam. John Robie is a genius.
C Bank - One More Shot (Extended Version) 1982
YouTube video by Morgan Fako
youtube.com
December 27, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Drum machines, synths, and an Emu emulator making the breaking glass sounds, Jenny Burton's incredible vocals -- I remember when this came out. What a jam. John Robie is a genius.