The American people, once again demonstrating their astounding good taste, think the Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas is a more favorable architectural statement than anything in Chicago. Chicago Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin reports today on an American Institute of Architects poll of Americans’ 150 favorite buildings. Topping the list, the Empire State Building. Okay, we can handle that. But how does Chicago, the city known for its innovative architecture, fare with the people? Our highest ranking, deep in the list at No. 31, is Wrigley Field. Yeah, that’s right, Wrigley Field (Bellagio came in at No. 22). The Tribune Tower ranks 38th and the Sears Tower 42nd, both eclipsed by the departed twin towers of the World Trade Center (No. 19).
Noticeably absent from the list, Kamin laments, is modernist Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, whom Kamin calls “the most influential architect of the 20th century.” The classical white columns of buildings like the U.S. Capitol and the White House (both in the top ten) clearly have their place in the hearts of the people, but will the austere, steel-and-glass high-rises of the modernist era ever join them? In 100 years, will modern buildings get love from the American people?