04 Mar 5 days after its closing, what’s next for gerald a. siegwart’s space age pride cleaners (1959)
exterior photographic survey of gerald a. siegwart’s space age pride cleaners (1959), located at 558 e. 79th street, chicago, ills.
thanks to timothy james samuelson for putting this building on the map long ago. we walked around the building and discussed.
anyone know the original color scheme of the concrete shell?
i was first introduced to this building in 2001, when i saw it in camilo jose vergara and timothy j. samuelson’s book “unexpected chicagoland,” which is one of my favorite books on chicago architecture and oddities.
designed by gerald siegwart in 1959, the building exemplifies space age/googie architecture with its distinctive hyperbolic paraboloid concrete roof. the building is not officially protected as a city landmark, but efforts are underway to secure its future and avoid vacancy.
