Chicago in Photographs

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Chicago-based photographer, Richard Cleis (1965-2021)

05/12/2026

Chicago - The Redhead Piano Bar Signage

"A flirtatious redhead looks fetchingly over her shoulder and lures you into her chamber..."

The Redhead Piano Bar has been part of Chicago nightlife for as long as I can remember. Its bold sign, equal parts retro charm and theatrical invitation, captures the spirit of a place that doesn't take itself too seriously.

Even if you've never stepped inside, the image alone suggests the experience: music drifting out to the sidewalk, laughter in the doorway, and the glow of a classic city night. It's the kind of Chicago landmark people tend to either love or dismiss instantly and often predictably.

I haven't been back in years, but I still remember the energy. In a city filled with constant change, its reassuring to find a piece of neon personality that still feels unmistakably Chicago.

Richard Cleis (1965 - 2021)

05/08/2026

Chicago - LaSalle and Van Buren Station

This CTA station is one of nine stations that form the historic Loop and originally opened in 1897. Remarkably, much of what you see here—the platforms, structure, and surrounding details—remains largely unchanged more than a century later.

The station has also played a role in Chicago’s film history. It appeared in the 1986 movie Running Scared, starring Gregory Hines and Billy Crystal, and later served as a location in one of the final scenes of the 1987 classic Planes, Trains and Automobiles with Steve Martin and John Candy. Standing here today feels like stepping into both the city’s past and its cinematic memory, where everyday infrastructure quietly becomes part of a larger story.

Richard Cleis (1965–2021)

05/06/2026

Chicago - One North State Street

Through the late 1800s and early 1900s, State Street was Chicago's premier shopping destination, drawing visitors from across the city and beyond. By the late 1950s, Michigan Avenue known as the Magnificent Mile had overtaken it, but State Street's legacy remained strong enough to inspire Frank Sinatra's song "Chicago".

The building shown here, One North State, began as the Mandel Brothers retail store in the 1880s, known for offering goods imported from New York and Paris. Rebuilt in 1912 and later renovated, it would go on to house Wieboldt's Department Store before falling into vacancy as State Street declined. A major restoration in the late 1990s returned the building to use, preserving its architectural character.

Reflected in the window is the "Little" Jewelers Building, constructed in 1882 - another piece of Chicago's commercial history, layered into the scene.

Richard Cleis (1965 - 2021)

05/04/2026

Chicago - Navy Pier Centennial Ferris Wheel

There is a stillness here, despite the implied motion, a moment where architecture and atmosphere meet. The result is not just a portrait of a landmark, but a reflection on scale, perspective, and the quiet power of engineered form.

Richard Cleis (1965 - 2021)

04/30/2026

Chicago - Along The River

"An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day."
Henry David Thoreau

At 5am, Chicago is quiet. No tour boats on the river, only a few ducks and geese drifting past. No crowds, just the occasional sleepless tourist. No traffic jams, only the soft hum of a car crossing a bridge overhead. There is something uniquely peaceful about the city in these early hours.

From left to right in this view are Marina City Tower No. 2, the IBM Building, Trump Tower, the Wrigley Building, and the Equitable Building. Spanning the river are the State Street Bridge, the Wabash Avenue Bridge, and, glowing softly in the distance, the Michigan Avenue Bridge. Reflections ripple gently across the Chicago River, tying the skyline together in calm symmetry.

Richard Cleis (1965 - 2021)

04/28/2026

Chicago - Civic Opera Portico

I could speak at length about the Civic Opera Building and its history, but this photograph is not about that. It is about space, light, and restraint.

The long portico, more than twenty columns extending an entire city block, creates a perfect architectural canvas. Repeating geometry, muted color, and soft, even light establish a visual rhythm that feels both monumental and calm. It is a space that invites patience, waiting for the right moment to complete it.

I pass this building nearly every time I am in the city, always looking for a subject worthy of the setting. On this occasion, everything aligned. The couple walking hand in hand provides a quiet focal point, anchoring the composition and giving scale to the vastness around them. Without that gesture, without their connection, without the absence of other distractions, the photograph would not hold.

Understanding light, and how it shapes both subject and space, is the difference between simply taking a picture and making a photograph.

Richard Cleis (1965 - 2021)

04/24/2026

Chicago - The Oliver Typewriter Co.

Founded in 1895, the Oliver Typewriter Company became known for its distinctive visible writing machines, helping shape modern communication during a period of rapid industrial growth.

Richard Cleis (1965 - 2021)

04/22/2026

Distinctively Chicago

Light, shadow, and rain combine here to create a distinctly Chicago mood. This photograph was taken in the spring of 2015 during a torrential downpour, as sailboats made their way down the river toward Lake Michigan, their movement steady against the unsettled weather.

The raised leaves of the Wabash Avenue Bridge frame the Wrigley Building in the distance, naturally drawing the eye into the heart of the composition. Reflections ripple across the water, and the muted tones of the city soften under the rain, giving the scene a quiet tension—part motion, part pause.

In that moment, infrastructure, weather, and light aligned to express something familiar yet fleeting: the city revealing its character not in spite of the storm, but because of it.

Richard Cleis (1965–2021)

04/20/2026

Chicago - Union Station Portico

This photograph shows the Union Station Portico facing Canal Street. Construction began in 1913 under architect Daniel Burnham, with the building designed in the Beaux-Arts style. Union Station was completed in 1925, after Burnham's death, as a monumental expression of civic ambition and classical form.

The portico is defined by 22 Roman Doric columns, each rising nearly 40 feet, creating a rhythm of stone, shadow, and repetition that offers endless photographic possibilities. While this space is striking in daylight, it was the nighttime illumination that caught my attention here. The cool purple-blue uplighting, washing over the columns and transforming the familiar into something quietly dramatic.

Light changes architecture, and at night, this corridor becomes something entirely its own.

Richard Cleis (1965 - 2021)

04/10/2026

Chicago - Tiffany Mosaic Dome Closeup

The Tiffany Mosaic Dome shown in this photograph is constructed of iridescent Favrile glass and is located in the rotunda of the south room of the Marshall Fields State Street building. Completed in 1907, it remains the largest single-piece glass mosaic dome in the world and is believed to be the first dome ever created using iridescent glass. Spanning approximately 6,000 square feet, the dome is composed of nearly 1.6 million individual pieces of Favrile glass and required a year and a half of work by fifty craftsmen to complete.

This close study reveals the extraordinary complexity of the designinterlacing bands of color, geometric rhythm, and organic curves working together in precise harmony. Each tessera contributes to a larger visual language that balances structure with movement, creating a surface that feels both meticulously ordered and fluid.

The term Favrile means handmade, and the domes shimmering iridescent effect was achieved by mixing different colors of glass while still molten. Favrile iridescent glass was patented in 1894 by Louis Comfort Tiffany and became one of the defining materials of his decorative work. Seen in detail, the domes craftsmanship becomes not just architectural ornament, but an immersive work of art in its own right.

Richard Cleis (1965 - 2021)
chicagoinphotographs.com

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04/08/2026

Chicago - Roman Arch

Light slides across the Roman arch on the Washington Street side of what was once the Chicago Public Library, revealing a careful tension between restraint and ornament. The surrounding wall remains deliberately plain, allowing the carved panels within the arch to emerge slowly as shadow gives way.

Completed in 1897, the building now known as the Chicago Cultural Center was conceived as a civic monument. Granite at the base gives way to Bedford limestone above, while Roman arches soften what might otherwise feel severe. This entrance, in particular, was designed to reward attention: ornament concentrated inward, richness revealed only after one steps close.

What makes the arch compelling is contrast. The exterior wall holds back, almost austere, while the interior surface unfolds with layered reliefs and classical motifs. Sunlight does the final shaping, cutting diagonally across the stone and turning decoration into pattern.

Even more than a century later, the entrance works exactly as intended not by announcing itself loudly, but by asking the passerby to slow down and look.

Richard Cleis (1965 - 2021)
chicagoinphotographs.com

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