By Ellen Shubart, Class of 2006
The decade — called the 20 Tens or the Teens. The years of 2010-2020 highlighted change on all levels, from the U.S. reacting to the global financial crisis and the Arab Spring on the international stage, to the exploding growth of the Internet, Smartphones, and Cloud computing on the domestic one. It also witnessed huge changes for the Chicago Architecture Foundation which became the Chicago Architecture Center. CAF celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2016 while planning a move to a new, permanent home in 2018.
During the Teens, the fashion trends included athleisure wear, skinny jeans topped off with bright colored tops – especially red – and Snuggies.
Movies saw the beginning of an awareness of the history of Black Americans and the country’s sorry racial history – 12 Years a Slave in 2013, Black Panther in 2018. Avengers Infinity “War 2018 and Avengers: Endgame 2019 brought us into the world of Marvel Comics films that continue through 2021. The City of Chicago welcomed new and ever taller buildings – the Trump International Hotel and Towers, 2009; Aqua, 2009; 150 Riverside Plaza and River Point in 2018.
At CAF, the decade began with the adoption of a new mission statement in 2012. The Board of Trustees acknowledged the extent of the organization’s influence through tours and educational outreach. The new mission statement: The CAF inspires people to discover why design matters.” In that same year, CAF’s tours were named by U.S. News and World Report “ as the “#1 Best thing to do in Chicago.”
CAF’s efforts were rewarded again in 2014 when it received the Keystone Award from the American Architectural Foundation. In 2015, docents launched a redesigned training program; TripAdvisor named CAF’s River Cruise as the top tour in Chicago and one of the top 10 tours in America.
In 2016, CAF’s new Strategic Plan laid the groundwork for a new permanent home, the Chicago Architecture Center. After the location was selected, docents spurred into unprecedented action. Tours had to be redesigned to begin and end at the Chicago Architecture Center at 111 E. Wacker.
In the year preceding the physical move, Tour Directors realigned their tours to continue to meet their themed content but using different buildings to illustrate core concepts. Some old favorites, like the Historic Tour, were recategorized as neighborhood tours because they began somewhere other than CAC. Other tours rearranged buildings so they could start and end at CAC, including Modern, Treasures, Walk Through Time, and Must See Chicago. Tour names now reflected those changes, as did the descriptions on the web site.
This effort was mammoth, involving close to 100 docents. Once the new manuals were produced, close to the entire docent body had to recertify for the new content of tours they previously gave. The exception was neighborhood tours and River Cruises, which remainded the same. As a result, there was no class of new docents that year as docents were working on new tours.
Opening the new Center was celebrated by docents, a few of whom marched behind a banner from the old location, 224 S. Michigan Avenue, to the new at 11 E. Wacker Drive chanting “Movin’ on Up,” which also was the theme of DAN that year.
The year 2020, of course, upended everything with the COVID pandemic. In that summer, very few tours were given, mostly on the Chicago River, but there was much virtual education and “stay at home touring,” with PowerPoint presentations. Once again, docents regrouped and participated in creating content or presenting for CAC@Home Live programs, virtual tours, and trivia contests. DAN went online for both 2020 and 2021, as CAC came back to life, albeit in fits and starts.
Docents were always ready. After weathering some of the pandemic effect, a new class graduated in 2021, despite having started in 2020. So, the Roaring Twenties, as that class calls itself, joins CAC as the next group of docents to continue our traditions that have developed over the 50 Years as docents.
__Teens Fashions for Bridge_________________________________________________________
Excellent as always, Ellen. Your article was well-researched and nicely detailed. Good choice of photos, too.
Very Creative.
Ellen, Thanks for your crisp reporting on “our era” for most docents.