Wide Open Spaces
Within so much physical unobtrusion and almost self-negating structures, you’ve got to supply your own atmospheric narrative.
When we were still married, my ex and I would sometimes find a babysitter or willing grandparent with whom to leave the kids so we could spend a night at a hotel in downtown Chicago. Our last local getaway was spent at The Langham, the boutique hotel in what was formerly the IBM Building, designed by Mies van der Rohe. It was in the summer of 2016, the night of the “nevertheless, she persisted” presidential debate. After we checked in, my wife and I had a drink in the lounge and went out for dinner. We walked a bit, came back to the Langham, did our best to behave like adults in a hotel room, watched a little of the debate, and called it a night.
The hotel was, and most likely still is, quite lovely. The low-lit, capacious space was charming in a moody kind of way. The infestation of finance types in the lounge was mitigated by the windows, which were tall and ceaseless and gave the impression that the world…
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