Marina City Online - Pictorial - The View from the Top of Chicago

January 2009

THE VIEW FROM THE TOP OF CHICAGO

Photos by tower crane operator Ken Derry reveal the elegant tapestry of Chicago’s North Loop. Tower cranes at Trump have never been this high in Chicago. Still, Ivanka shows no fear during her turn at the controls.

As you study these captivating bird’s eye views of Chicago’s North Loop, one fact makes the images even more extraordinary: These photos were not taken from a helicopter by a professional photographer.

Ken Derry is a crane operator for James McHugh Construction Company. Using a modest Kodak digital camera, he captured these images from his perch while building Trump International Hotel and Tower.

(Left) Ken’s tower crane cab is just south of the Trump tower, over the Chicago River. It is 7:34 a.m., according to the clock on the Wrigley Building. Taxis are lined up on Wabash Avenue at left. Wendella tour boats are docked on the river at right. In upper right, Michigan Avenue, Wrigley Building, and Tribune Tower.

Photographs by Ken Derry. (Click on images to view larger versions.)

Views of the Chicago River with Marina City in frame. In image above, the Wabash Avenue and State Street bridges are raised to allow sailboats to pass.

(Above) During the 2008 Chicago Air & Water Show, Derry has to aim the camera slightly downward to capture U.S. Navy Blue Angels flying in tight formation.

(Right) Another dizzying view from Ken’s tower crane.

Ken looks down on buildings of perfectly respectable height. Nearby are 330 North Wabash (52 floors above ground) and Marina City (61 floors).

“The view is just unbeatable,” says Derry. “360 degrees. You can see the weather coming. You can see it going.”

When the 92-story, 1,361-foot tower is completed this year, it will be the tallest residential building in North America. The complex includes a 225-room hotel, 472 residential units, 50,000 square feet of retail space, and 868 parking spaces. Including a spire installed on January 3, it will be the second tallest structure in Chicago.

(Above) Ken’s view and the back of his head, photographed by a co-operator on June 21, 2008. (Right) The northwest corner of Chicago’s Loop at sunrise on May 22.

Ivanka Trump is Vice President of Real Estate Development and Acquisitions at the Trump Organization, a former fashion model, and the daughter of Ivana and Donald Trump.

Known to climb tower cranes, a physically demanding feat in itself, Ivanka wanted to operate a crane at the Trump project in Chicago and it was up to Ken to teach her.

“She was a blast. Quite a person. She’s absolutely unbelievable. When she came up there – no fear whatsoever. She wanted to get into the seat. And she was actually a good learner. I had to put my hands on hers on the [controls] to show her what to do. A couple minutes later, I took my hands off and she was making a couple of quick turns.”

Derry points out these were relatively safe, practice maneuvers.

“Ironworkers she was working with were getting a kick out of it,” he recalls. “They were all watching.”

(Above) Ivanka at the controls of a tower crane. (Right) Ivanka poses with Ken Derry. That’s Ivanka on the left and Ken on the right.

Ken has been working on the Trump project from the beginning. He says these are the highest cranes have ever been in Chicago – as Sears Tower was constructed using derricks, a lifting device composed mainly of a pole connected to lines that move it in various directions.

He has been a crane operator for 27 years. His grandfather and father were crane operators, and so is his brother.

It can be stressful at times, he says, especially when it’s foggy. “A lot of times you can’t even see the other cranes. You got to trust your judgement.”

More images by Derry may be seen at SmugMug: jimojimo.

(Left) View looking toward Sears Tower at sunrise. Marina City in lower right.

(Right) A tower crane at the Trump project, photographed by Derry from a another tower crane.

Edited by Steven Dahlman