If you’ve always wanted a peek inside of some architecturally fabulous buildings of Chicago, check out Oak Park author Pat Cannon’s upcoming event, “The Space Within: Inside Great Chicago Buildings,” which will be held from 1:15 to 3 p.m. Jan. 22 at the Nineteenth Century Club, 178 Forest Ave.
Based on his book by the same name, Cannon will discuss the genesis of his work and show selected images and explain their meaning.
“Anyone interested in Chicago architecture and history should be interested in seeing buildings they might otherwise never get access to,” and should come, he said.
With Cannon you can venture inside several architectural masterpieces through stunning photographs by photographer James Caulfield. Three of the buildings in the presentation have decorations by Tiffany and Co. — the 2nd Presbyterian Church has a stained glass window, the Marquette Building in the Loop has Tiffany mosaics in the lobby and Macy’s on State Street has a Tiffany dome, said Cannon.
He became interested in building design and style while an art history minor at Northwestern University, and his courses included one on Chicago architecture.
“This spurred my interest in local architecture,” said Cannon. “A couple of my jobs over the years were related to building, so I kept up with the subject.”
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“When I moved to Oak Park in 1974, it was just at the time when Wright’s home was purchased and the process of restoring it began,” Cannon added. “I saw a piece in the Oak Leaves asking for volunteers and responded. With a couple of years off, I have been giving tours of the Home and Studio ever since. I have also given tours at both Unity Temple and the Robie House in Chicago.”
When he retired, Cannon decided to pitch the idea for his first book to the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust.
“They agreed, and everything flowed from that,” he said.
Since then, in partnership with photographer Caulfield, Cannon has written five books, including, “Hometown Architect: The Complete Buildings of Frank Lloyd Wright in Oak Park and River Forest, Illinois,” and “Frank Lloyd Wright’s Unity Temple: A Good Time Place.” He said he feels that Unity Temple is “by far the greatest and most important building in Oak Park.”.
In his latest work, “The Space Within: Inside Great Chicago Buildings,” Cannon decided to go inside “great” spaces, because other books did not focus on interiors. So how did he choose which places to use in a city filled with amazing architecture?
“We wanted a selection of all building types, which were chosen because of their obvious fame and because we could actually get access!” Cannon said.
Each year, the Nineteenth Century Club’s charitable association brings an author of a “coffee table” or photo book about Chicago, said its literature chairman, Debb Hammond.
” ‘The Space Within: Inside Great Chicago Buildings’ is a book about Chicago architecture, and particularly the fascinating interiors that the association may have not shown before,” she said.
Hammond plans five to six programs annually for the club’s Monday Enrichment Series, and secures an eclectic collection also for the community and members, many of whom are avid readers.
“Our definition of literature is flexible — there’s a book involved,” she said. “Our programs are provided for the benefit of our community and are open to the public.”
She said Chicago has multitudes of quality authors, and they also bring several to the club every year, whether authors of mysteries, cozies, suspense, thrillers, historical fiction, women’s issues, Chicago or women’s history, true crime, poetry or nonfiction.
Cannon, she said, will discuss some of the 45 Chicago buildings featured in his latest book, sharing some striking interior features with a slideshow of photos. A $10 donation is suggested to help cover program costs.
“It’s a perfect program for our community, sharing photos and information about some of Chicago’s renown architecture, and showing us less-seen aspects of these interesting buildings,” said Hammond.
Felicia Dechter is a freelance columnist for Pioneer Press.