Lynn Becker

Lynn Becker

@cmgiulini.bsky.social

drifter/writer on architecture, culture and Chicago, photographer specializing in out-of-focus images. there will be posts on opera, apologies in advance.

1.4K followers57 following5.8K posts

Lynn Becker
@cmgiulini.bsky.social

The planters along Wacker had been allowed to become overgrown and unkempt. As someone who appreciates unruly beauty, it was fine with me, but time comes all for things, and today was the day for ripping out the dying for winter's barren, with a forceful efficiency that was a little sad.

Lynn Becker
@cmgiulini.bsky.social

So I got my $90 from Tr*mp, and as promised, gave it away to several candidates. Now i’m overwhelmed with texts from an army of politicians with whom I never even realized I was on a first name basis and who all gravely overestimate my financial condition.

Lynn Becker
@cmgiulini.bsky.social

Imagine Carl Akeley's Field Museum dioramas suddenly finding themselves homeless. Fortunately, Chicago's big museums seem to be in decent shape, but that's the situation at Philadelphia's Academy of Natural Sciences, shutting down due to financial difficulties. share.inquirer.com/As8P0U

share.inquirer.com‘Once we lose these, they’re gone forever’: What will become of the dioramas at the Academy of Natural Sciences?The museum’s closure could endanger the 32 dioramas. Moving them can cost millions.
Lynn Becker
@cmgiulini.bsky.social

Is Crain's Chicago Business without any fanfare easing into a 3x a month or even bi-weekly schedule for their print edition? No publication 10/19, 9/21, 8/3, 7/20. And does it really matter when you still get breaking news in daily email alerts?

Lynn Becker
@cmgiulini.bsky.social

I should have stayed in the staging area, or staked out a spot along the route much earlier, because the Arts in the Dark parade, now returning to Columbus Drive, was packed. From what I could see, it was really cool, as were the spectators.

Lynn Becker
@cmgiulini.bsky.social

Scenes from a five-block radius on a warm Saturday afternoon in Chicago, starting with three guys who asked me to take their picture, which happens more than you'd think.

Lynn Becker
@cmgiulini.bsky.social

Originally said to be on display through November 6, they were there on Wednesday, but Carol Feuerman's Justice and Monumental Quan sculptures have left Michigan Avenue, leaving only The Golden Mean guy holding down the fort - and a better location for vocalist Ashley Williams.

Lynn Becker
@cmgiulini.bsky.social

The Shake Shack on Ohio is closed for remodeling, re-opening 10/26, same date Green and Pink line service across the Lake Street Bridge is scheduled to resume. Coincidence?

Lynn Becker
@cmgiulini.bsky.social

Hey, remember those scare charts about how a handful of companies controlled almost all media? Well, make the handful a small basket of deplorables, as Ellison's Skydance - CNN, WB, Paramount, etc.- may be getting a buy-in from our new one true God, Elon. www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/bus...

hollywoodreporter.comElon Musk’s Stake in Skydance Could Transform Media As We Know ItThe money that SpaceX is looking to pour into Paramount-Warner Bros. could realign planets — under one ruler.

Lynn Becker reposted

Robert Loerzel
@robertloerzel.bsky.social

Replying to @cmgiulini.bsky.social

The documentary "No Hands: The Wild Ride of the Schwinn Bicycle Company" is screening this weekend at the Chicago International Film Festival. (I have a ticket for Sunday.) www.chicagofilmfestival.com/film/no-hands/

chicagofilmfestival.comNo Hands: The Wild Ride of the Schwinn Bicycle Company - Cinema/ChicagoThis lively cultural history charts the rise and fall of the Schwinn bicycle, from its Chicago roots to the fads and forces leading to its collapse.
Lynn Becker
@cmgiulini.bsky.social

Lee Bey update: The Merv Griffin Museum of Science and Industry refuses to release concepts they rejected, tries to justify its disfigurement of Atwood's 1893 officially designated landmark with renderings that only reveal the seemingly impossible: it's even worse than we thought. bit.ly/3ULjDRP

bit.lyGriffin MSI defends its criticized Welcome Hall designGriffin MSI CEO Chevy Humphrey and her design team said the hall achieves compatibility with the 1893 museum but "distinguishes itself as different."
Lynn Becker
@cmgiulini.bsky.social

What disgusts JD Vance? An ad trying to smear candidate Amy Acton by digging up the mother who lost custody of Acton after she allowed her to be abused and raped at age 12 by the mom's husband? Nope, "not really my concern." www.chicagotribune.com/2026/10/21/j...

chicagotribune.comJD Vance says he’s ‘disgusted’ by GOP pushback to Vivek Ramaswamy ad featuring Amy Acton’s estranged motherVice President JD Vance said during a campaign visit to Ohio that he is “disgusted” by the Republican pushback against an ad by Vivek Ramaswamy that features the estranged mother of his Democratic opp...
Lynn Becker
@cmgiulini.bsky.social

Tesla's lease is reported to run until 2027, which may account for the Cozey store being called a "pop-up", so maybe there's still a chance we'll get the Munsingwear Penguin store back after they move on?

Lynn Becker
@cmgiulini.bsky.social

Weirdly enough it would take nearly a century after Charles Wacker cleared the riverbank of anarchic clutter for Chicago to finally realize what should have been a no-brainer next step of transforming the river into a civic amenity. arcchicago.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-...

arcchicago.blogspot.comThe Construction of Chicago's New Riverwalk in PhotosThis weekend, the City of Chicago opened the first two blocks of its new $100 million Riverwalk.  We'll be writing more that - and explor...
Lynn Becker
@cmgiulini.bsky.social

Another don't miss site on this year's Open House Chicago is the Second Presbyterian Church, with its stunning stained glass windows, including the 12,000 piece Tiffany Jeweled window that I got to see being returned after restoration. Info on 200+ sites at the link. www.openhousechicago.org

Lynn Becker
@cmgiulini.bsky.social

Devil's curse? Walking in the chill and drizzle yesterday, woke up this morning with a bad cold that will keep me from my usual Open House Chicago rounds. You, on the other hand have a rare chance to see the Uptown auditorium, which is not to be missed. arcchicago.blogspot.com/2026/08/aura...

arcchicago.blogspot.comAuras and Materialities: Chicago's Uptown Theatre, where a legendary past confronts an uncertain future.It would have been better had I been alone, running through the great castle-like lobby like Belle through the Beast's haunted corridors in...