Unexpected Chicagoland

Unexpected Chicagoland by Vergara, Camilo Jose. Hardcover edition. ISBN: 9781565847019.

In a series of celebrated books, the eminent photographer and sociologist Camilo José Vergara has observed and recorded the evolution of Americas inner cities for over twenty years, documenting the effects of time, commercialism, culture, and neglect on the built environment, with an aesthetic vision that has been hailed by the New York Times as "persuasive and moving." Here, in a unique collaboration with Timothy Samuelson, Chicagos leading architectural historian, Vergara probes the power and resonance of one of Americas greatest cities. Unexpected Chicagoland includes over two hundred stunning color photographs, accompanied by a fascinating original narrative of the hidden history of Chicagos renowned architectural past. Vergaras photographs are a treasure trove of historically and visually interesting buildings and environments, most of them on the abandoned urban fringes. Included are examples of rarely seen work by some of the greatest architects of the twentieth century, such as Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, and William Burley Griffin, as well as dazzling examples of Art Deco design. Unexpected Chicagoland presents an authentic and gritty view of the metropolis at a time when the publics understanding of all American cities has become increasingly sanitized and homogenized. The book itself, in a large format and exquisitely designed, is packaged to be a lasting visual treasure.