The Cook County Law Library — Mies van der Rohe

September 16, 2009

By some uncertain stroke of luck I was able to visit the Cook County Law Library with my camera in hand. This morning’s visit is proof again that smiling and saying “please” can get you anything you want. I was told by the first batch of guardsmen that I spoke to that cameras were officiously forbidden. Perseverence prevailed.

Nearly every image turned out well—you couldn’t make a bad composition with all those wonderful lines and the plentiful natural light!

The building, built by none other than Mies van der Rohe is an impressive specimen of mid twentieth-century modernism. I have criticized the building in the past for its anti-humanist qualities, but today I changed my mind.