Action in River North
In River North last week, we found a flurry of activity on the construction front and on film (more later). We've mentioned The Godfrey (Oxford Capital Group and Cube Capital) as a future Hippest Hotels contender and snapped its progress Friday. Some fun facts before the hotel opens this winter:
- Move over Iron Man: there will be almost 4,000 outside metal panels when the 221-room hotel is complete.
- About 150 workers are at the site each day.
- Year-round lounging: the enormous 12k SF rooftop will have indoor and outdoor areas for all seasons.
ALERT: You may be on TV. We were alarmed by the cops and crowds near the Chicago Brown Line, but this sign informed us it was just Chicago Fire! One of four TV series filmed here this year (molding Chicago into the next film mecca), the NBC drama cordoned off a healthy chunk of the neighborhood to shoot its second season.
We searched high and low, but could not get glimpses of series regular (and Lady Gaga's boyfriend)Taylor Kinney before we were shooed away. We did see these cameramen shooting into an alley off Chicago and Franklin. Maybe Taylor was in there rescuing a cat on a fire escape?
