Artsy: Bertrand Goldberg Is Still Cool

I can't find it online, but in the "archive" section of the current issue of Dwell, there's an interesting article about mid-century Chicago architect Bertrand Goldberg.

Before I read the article, I didn't really know anything at all about Goldberg, but his work looked familiar to me - especially the Marina City Towers in Chicago (as an aside - check out that link. Talk about a weak website for an iconic set of buildings).

After reading the Dwell article, especially the "10 Things You Should Know about Bertrand Goldberg", I realized at least part of the reason why the buildings look so familiar is that they are on the cover of Wilco's CD Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Not that I own the CD, or that I am even cool enough to listen to Wilco, but I'm guessing that I must have seen the CD case in my brother or sister's car at some point. Because they are cool enough to listen to Wilco.

Here's how this is about food: one of the other ten facts is:

In 1963, Goldberg's wife, Nancy, opened the only franchise of the haute cuisine Parisian restaurant Maxim's de Paris in Chicago.

Kind of cool, right? Right there, just on one simple magazine page, you've got iconic architecture, a celebrated alt-country album, and an uber-famous restaurant.

This is what I'm talking about whenever I mention crossover and connoisseurship...