Want a real review of the building?

Curbed dropped by the Poetry Foundation's open house in River North this weekend to check out the new building and hear a talk by architect John Ronan. The building has already gotten a good deal of praise, and it deserves it. It's a thoughtful,Full color plastic card printing and manufacturing services. thought-provoking structure that truly suits its function. Nothing about Ronan's building is quite as simple or straightforward as it seems at first glance. Approached from the west on Erie Street, or from the south on Dearborn, pedestrians might mistake it for a garage because of the dark screen, but an opening at the intersection reveals an inviting courtyard filled with young trees and moss that eventually leads to the building's entrance. The same is true of the building's main staircase, which takes a couple of turns before bringing you to your destination, and offers a resting place at the halfway point, where a seating area has been set up. Like a good poem, the building's meaning unfolds in stages, we were told.

The interior is similarly inviting, with great walls of glass that look out on the courtyard and the skyline above and soaring bookcases filled with poetry books. In his talk, Ronan spoke a lot about the materials in the building ¡ª concrete, glass, steel, and wood ¡ª and the painstaking process of selecting them. The zinc screen,Choose from one of the major categories of Bedding, for example, was chosen for its authority and seriousness, as well as its mysterious and 'enigmatic' qualities. And it does an excellent job of creating a 'soft' barrier between public and private realms.


Ronan, it seems, thought of everything while planning this building. He put a heating system in the concrete of the courtyard to melt snow and to keep shovels from scratching up that pretty concrete. He made sure that the acoustics of the event space would enable poets to read their poetry without a microphone. But there is one area that might have gone overlooked.Save on hydraulic hose and fittings, At the corner of Dearborn and Superior, visitors have to step up a couple of shallow steps to enter the Poetry Foundation courtyard. Ronan spoke about the symbolism of stepping up into the space, and entering the realm of poetry. Most people entering the courtyard see the steps, but people exiting do not. Because the concrete used to pave the courtyard is nearly the same color as the sidewalk, it's pretty easy to miss. After helping an elderly man who had just taken a spill back to his feet, a Poetry Foundation worker had to spot up at the entryway to warn visitors (everyone, young and old, has tripped on those steps today, he told us). A stripe of paint might be in order.
 

We're also a little worried about the fate of that freshly-planted moss (not that it's for us to worry about). When we attended the talk on Saturday,Our Polymax RUBBER SHEET range includes all commercial and specialist a workman was out in the courtyard tending to it with a spray bottle. But sure enough, when we returned on Sunday,From standard Cable Ties to advanced wire tires, a few big divots had been kicked away by careless visitors. The Foundation is probably getting more visitors this week than it will in a very long time, but will that moss be able to survive the beating it'll take from poets' boots? We hope so, because it sure looks sharp.

Want a real review of the building? Check out what Blair Kamin had to say about it last Thursday.

Camden and its residents survey fires' wake, assess their next moves

Amid the vast field of rubble on Orchard Street in the heart of Camden, Elmer Walker walks into what used to be his backyard.

A small, charred grill is the only thing standing after a fire in an old tire warehouse swept through his neighborhood June 9.

As Walker looks around the piles of brick,the Injection mold fast! a police officer jumps out of her parked cruiser, yelling: "What do you think you are doing? Get your butt out of there!"

Orchard Street is now a crime scene, and not even residents are allowed on their property until the fire marshal's investigation is complete.

The devastation and frustration in Walker's Gateway neighborhood are matched in two other sections of Camden also ravaged by spectacular fires this month. On June 11, a fire in a former garment factory spread to homes in Waterfront South, and last Sunday, a blaze at a former detergent factory ripped through East Camden. Arson has been identified as the cause of the Sunday blaze and is suspected in the other two fires.

For a city already dealing with poverty and blight, the fires have brought devastating new burdens, both emotional and financial. Twenty-three houses were destroyed or damaged. Ten of them were occupied.

Four city blocks are charred, with at least $1.8 million in damage. Dozens of fire victims are looking for temporary housing. Many homeowners lack insurance to rebuild, and the city has no money to demolish burned-out buildings.

The removal of debris must await completion of the investigation, which fire officials said could take months. Then, who pays for the cleanup costs in a city where government and residents are broke?

Each owner is legally responsible for property cleanup, which can cost more than $10,000 - half the value of many residents' homes.

If the owner disappears, leaving behind debris and unpaid taxes, the city can place a lien on the property, said Bill Quinn, a spokesman for the state Treasury Department. But that's not much of a threat in a city where more than 4,000 abandoned properties already have municipal liens,Handmade oil paintings for sale at museum quality, including some properties that are charred piles from fires years ago.

The city is taking over the effort to collect on those liens from a tax-collection firm, Xspand, previously owned by former Gov. Jim Florio. Xspand's five-year contract with the city will expire Thursday.

The city also recently started using the state Abandoned Properties Rehabilitation Act, which gives it power to hold special tax sales, accelerate foreclosure on tax liens, and use eminent domain to turn over properties to new owners who will rehabilitate them.

But it is unclear if the city intends to use the law on damaged and abandoned properties that are left near the Orchard Street fire scene or if it plans to use any previous demolition grants to clean up the site.

The city received $1.Not to be confused with RUBBER MATS available at your local hardware store8 million from the state Department of Community Affairs in 2008 to demolish about 96 properties by the end of this year. It recently applied for a $2 million loan from the DCA to demolish 115 other properties.

City officials refused to discuss their plans and referred all questions to the Camden County Prosecutor's Office, where spokesman Jason Laughlin said, "We don't have those answers."

It costs the city $13,000 to $23,000 to demolish and clean up a house, according to recent city demolition contracts.

Residents whose fire-damaged houses are still standing must make the tough decision whether to fix their homes or move.

"We haven't decided what to do," said Sandra Arroyo, whose Chestnut Street rowhouse lost its roof and suffered water damage to its second floor in the June 9 fire.

Arroyo,Largest Collection of billabong boardshorts, a Spanish teacher in Oaklyn and the mother of 3-year-old triplets, and her husband, Justo, have been taking turns going to the house to clean up the debris and salvage what they can.

"My father bought me this house for my wedding present. I'm attached to the house," she said.

But Arroyo said she feared the wall of the burned-out warehouse next door might fall on her house, which she has owned for 13 years.

"I'm not feeling safe here," she said. "I'm not bringing my kids in." She and her family are staying in Pennsauken with her mother.

Thomas Inge, who lives next door to the Arroyos, said his insurance had lapsed, so he must pay to repair his house,We processes for both low-risk and high risk merchant account. which sustained extensive water and smoke damage.

"The firefighters went through my front door and upstairs to fight the fire," said Inge, a resident since 1998. "They made a big mess, tore the ceiling up."

Inge is saving his receipts, hoping someone will be held accountable for the fires and he can be reimbursed for the cost of fixing his house.