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Soren Spicknall

@sorenspicknall.bsky.social
8.4K followers 1.6K following 26K posts

Chicago. Interested in how places are shaped. Friend to alley cats. I don't speak on behalf of my affiliations. he/him "We know this world is good enough because it has to be."

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Soren Spicknall @sorenspicknall.bsky.social · 27m
This is interesting coverage, but as someone who knows some of the dynamics but doesn't pay extremely close attention to the downtown market, I can't help but notice this article lacks examples from the Loop proper. I suspect things are slower there - "downtown" is several distinct neighborhoods.
chicagotribune.com
As downtown Chicago reinvents itself, demand is high for luxury apartment complexes as building costs rise
As downtown Chicago continues its transformation from a business-focused district into a mixed-use neighborhood with grocery stores, parks and coffee shops, there is huge demand for luxury rentals.
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bianca wylie @biancawylie.com · 6h
Thinking in plurals makes you a better collaborator because it organizes your thinking in a posture of humility. lesscomputer.ca/think-in-plu...
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Soren Spicknall @sorenspicknall.bsky.social · 14h
BOATCAM
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Soren Spicknall @sorenspicknall.bsky.social · 14h
When I went on WBEZ Reset in 2024 to talk about the Leave the Seat Empty photo project, I was asked about my favorite building I had documented prior to demolition. The one that came to mind was much like this - one that wasn't particularly notable, vernacular, scrambled by decades of modifications.
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Soren Spicknall @sorenspicknall.bsky.social · 15h
Maybe if we ever get a functioning CFPB again we can set about banning undisclosed GenAI imagery in real estate listings
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Soren Spicknall @sorenspicknall.bsky.social · 15h
So I hear that residents of Lincoln Square have suddenly all simultaneously realized that their neighborhood is genuinely popular now
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Soren Spicknall @sorenspicknall.bsky.social · 08/11/2024
Lighting study on Ektachrome
A photo of a vinyl-sided house on stilts situated among scrubby trees, seen around midday with light clouds in the sky. The home has an asymmetrical pitched roof that has skylights along its longest, steepest side. One window on the side of the house is in the shape of a diamond.The same house is pictured from the same angle in early evening, with sun giving its grey-beige siding a yellowish glow and throwing deep shadows off its mild gutter overhangs and the trees around it. The sky remains mildly cloudy, but the clouds are tinged pink by the setting sun.
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Soren Spicknall @sorenspicknall.bsky.social · 16h
mature camry no. 354
A photo of a white early to mid 2000s Toyota Camry sedan with a beige landau top and faux alloy hubcaps. The car is parked in front of a brick building that's covered in a black and white mural featuring wiggly shapes that resolve into the word "love" at the center of the wall.
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Soren Spicknall @sorenspicknall.bsky.social · 16h
mature camry no. 353
A photo of a gold-brown motor scooter parked on a city street in front of a gold-brown early to mid 2000s Toyota Camry sedan that has slightly yellowed headlight lenses and sporty-looking silver aftermarket wheels
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Soren Spicknall @sorenspicknall.bsky.social · 16h
At a coffee shop this morning the person next to me pulled their laptop out of a bag and then got my attention to tell me that they found a maggot on their laptop lid, which I suspect was an anxious attempt to signal "this isn't normal for me" in case I had noticed it, but it had the opposite effect
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whet moser @whetmoser.com · 03/10/2026
'That was the last time she heard from him. David Sopys, 46, died 31 years after his own father died at the same age from the heat. “He was a ‘95 heat stroke victim,” Tanja Sopys said about their father. ”So he died the same way — from the heat.”' jesus
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Tracy Baim @tracybaim.bsky.social · 23h
Happy fall — sneaking in one leaf at a time in Portage Park, Chicago.
Large tree with left side turning red and rest In yellows to green leaves. Blue sky behind. Outside Rickover Academy in Portage Park.
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garrett miller @garrett.bsky.social · 22h
my son was asked to name three monarch butterflies and he went with “Peanut”, “Guinea Pig” and “Bonarch”
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Every Lot Chicago @everylotchicago.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
4137 West Wilcox Street
Google Streetview of the property with PIN10 1615210009: 4137 West Wilcox Street
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Soren Spicknall @sorenspicknall.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
God DAMN does it suck when an influential organization that is ostensibly aligned with your values throws its weight and money behind a self-serving asshole as their chosen electoral prospect, pushing out other potentially values-aligned candidates in favor of their crappy one by sheer gravity
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Soren Spicknall @sorenspicknall.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Imagine being our neighbors and seeing this photoshoot happening on the block
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Soren Spicknall @sorenspicknall.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
POV: it's the mid-1980s, your lucrative privately held industrial firm is in need of a new exurban HQ building, and you decide to get a little funky with it
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Soren Spicknall @sorenspicknall.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Morley's prose here is not for me - I don't care much for writers who really want to hear themselves be clever, and his impressions of Chicago seem to be formed mostly from hotel lobbies - but this elicited a chuckle: "No club should be allowed to look as much like a club as the Union League does."
A photo of a thin hardcover book, bound in shimmering blue-black material in a diagonal checker pattern, illustrated on the front with a 1930s city scene at nighttime featuring Chicago skyscrapers drawn in black silhouette with shiny silver cloud or tree forms etched over them. Also in silver, the book's title and attribution read "Old Loopy, a love letter for Chicago by Christopher Morley, photographs by Guy Ederheimer Jr."
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Daniel Kay Hertz @danielkayhertz.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Obviously I’m entirely made of Housing but a real good zoning reform we could make is re-legalizing corner stores on residential streets. Banned by the same 1957 code that banned ADUs, so maybe that’s next
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Soren Spicknall @sorenspicknall.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Okay I heard about the Zach Bryan Free Palestine t-shirt thing yesterday but what I did not realize until seeing a photo today is that it is ALSO an An Appeal To Heaven t-shirt, which instantly puts it in the running for most confusing t-shirt in history
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Chicago Tribune @chicagotribune.com · 03/10/2026
Roseland hospital closing labor and delivery unit, leaving patients with fewer options on the South Side
chicagotribune.com
Roseland hospital closing labor and delivery unit, leaving patients with fewer options on the South Side
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Thomas Bamonte @thomasbamonte.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
The Chicago City Council’s four-month standoff over sale of the parking meter contract likely stopped dozens of long-range ICE flights. prospect.org/2026/10/02/i...
prospect.org
The City That Brought Down an ICE Airline - The American Prospect
In Chicago, progressive alderpeople held up a contract until a private equity firm was forced to dispatch Omni Air International, protecting thousands of immigrants from deportation.
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Soren Spicknall @sorenspicknall.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Alternate view of Bond, Bailey & Smith
A photo of a small brick machine shop with a painted yellow sign across its facade over a front garage door that reads "Bond, Bailey & Smith". The shop is cluttered with equipment, only some of which is visible through the front swing doors. A silver Lincoln Town car is parked out front.
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Chicago Tudor Revival AF @tudoraf.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
1. Always RT the Guardian Building 2. In the absence of Guardian Building pics, RT the Fisher Building
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Soren Spicknall @sorenspicknall.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Photo thread: coupla days in Detroit
A photo taken from an elevated vantage point shows a mostly clear sky with tree-filled city neighborhoods beneath it. In the foreground is the top of an old warehouse building made from concrete and brick, and beyond it in a gap in tree coverage we can see a commercial street lined with stores, churches, and more. In the distance, big industrial facilities rise taller than the neighborhoods around them.A photo of two turn-of-the-century two story wood frame houses, each with old siding and aluminum porch awningsA photo of a small portion of a city's downtown seen through a missing pane in an many-pane industrial window, with a parking garage the closest building and a tall residential building or hotel building beyond it.A photo of a pay parking lot attendant shack lit by dramatic evening light, casting deep shadows around the little structure.
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Marco Chitti @chittimarco.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
It's interesting how pre-modern development was much more linear than most people think. Cities saturating the space inside their walls, as you see in fantasy or poorly researched historical movies, is actually a very rare occurrence that happened when growth was constrained
An aerial view of Bergamo showing the tight, continuous development of the Borghi clearly different from the subsequent development around itAn historic map of Bergamo around 1815, showing the linear development of the "borghi" along the main roads connecting the upper city to Milan and Brescia
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Soren Spicknall @sorenspicknall.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
You experience a lot of awful, reckless driving just by existing around drivers, but there's nothing like the terror of taking a rideshare and getting 25 minutes of the concentrated reckless driver experience
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Pokey @junkyardcrawler.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
carved wooden fish date/designer unknown wood sourced from estate sale of a woodworker/artist (i think) on display on trinket shelf no.2 (ex-Saks 5th Avenue display shelf)
A small hand carved wooden fish on a chunky base, with a vacant expression.
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Soren Spicknall @sorenspicknall.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
I know [IYKYK] is a pretty deeply connected person, but I'm confused as to why all sorts of notable locals think it's worth going on her video podcast, which has very little audience and even less discernment in its choice of guests. The whole operation comes across as Maury for Chicago politics.
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Dan Hon @danhon.com · 02/10/2026
I have updated my Buffy agile meme
Buffy from Hush holding up a white board on which I've photoshopped: "They're using AI to do the wrong things faster!" but it originally said AGILE and I scrubbed out the G and the L.
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CTA Bus Insights @ctabusinsights.chicagotransitalerts.app · 01/10/2026
🕳️ Route 29 (State) — Southbound No buses between Grand & McClurg and Lafayette & 75th Street — a ~55 min gap, scheduled around every 20 min this hour Last seen: #8546 (5 min late) · Next up: #8491 (3 min late) Both buses here are near schedule — the gap is from trips missing between them.
Map of Route 29 (State) southbound showing a 55 min gap with no buses between Grand & McClurg and Lafayette & 75th Street.
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Soren Spicknall @sorenspicknall.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Spent some time today with an org that did massive work several years ago to build gov leadership buy-in to scrap and rebuild Michigan's integrated benefits application, which used to be the longest in the nation. This piece of their narrative resonates across so many public benefits contexts.
A piece of paper reads: MDHHS is a fraud prevention organization. You are made to feel guilty until proven innocent.
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Soren Spicknall @sorenspicknall.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
mature camry no. 352
A photo of a gold early to mid 2000s Toyota Camry sedan parked at a gas station
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Soren Spicknall @sorenspicknall.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Probably not gonna have time to post many photos from this work trip until after it's over, but I'm making an exception for this one because it's wild to see Michigan Central Station with intact windows
A photo shows the first ten stories of a tall 1910s office building, clad in beige brick with stone accents. At the bottom of the scene, part of the building is obscured by the top of a brick wall in the foreground on the roof of another building, clad partially in old graffiti.
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Soren Spicknall @sorenspicknall.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
We should task the people who put bibles in hotel rooms with doing public benefits outreach
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Soren Spicknall @sorenspicknall.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
mature camry no. 351
A photo of a brown late 1990s Toyota Camry sedan with a cracked rear bumper, aftermarket mesh wheels, and a silver replacement passenger side door handle. The car's rocker panels show some rust.
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Soren Spicknall @sorenspicknall.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
It'll be tragically funny if [bus] does become governor one day by some hellish miracle and then everyone who's spent years relentlessly making fun of him for being such an overconfident, self-congratulatory, obviously grifty comedy character in local politics gets retaliated against in weird ways
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Jana H-S (she, like a knife) @jana-aych-ess.bsky.social · 30/11/2024
I love how dog show announcers will say things like "this breed exhibits unparalleled naval supremacy"
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Soren Spicknall @sorenspicknall.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
My neighborhood doesn't have any restaurants, but sometimes my neighbor Nikisha will finish up a catering gig with ingredients left over, set up a canopy on the sidewalk outside her home, and cook the rest for us at neighbor-friendly prices. Some of my best unplanned dinners come to me this way.
A photo of a hand holding a paper tray filled with fried and seasoned catfish, potato wedges, and garlic bread
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Soren Spicknall @sorenspicknall.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
The last several Mountain Goats albums have been growers for me, rather than grabbing me right away like some of the band's older work - likely a combo of where I'm at in life and the graceful evolution of the band's sound. Which means I'm currently Getting Into Getting Into Knives.
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Patrick Cosmos @veryimportant.lawyer · 27/09/2026
Rob Sand is the name of a rapper who puts out one single on Def Jux and vanishes for fifteen years
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Soren Spicknall @sorenspicknall.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
I'm going to be in Detroit for most of next week. Haven't visited since before Michigan Central Station regained windows. I have limited free time between work obligations, but would love suggestions Mostly keen on neighborhood wandering, architecture, art spaces, small good museums, food, coffee.
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Soren Spicknall @sorenspicknall.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Honestly probably good for a lot of tentatively-reformed-but-still-afflicted former gifted kids that Bluesky didn't take off and has a somewhat embarrassing rep among regular people, so they don't think they're on the vanguard of something big and important by posting here
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I Scare You Like Sound Dog @chadstanton.blacksky.app · 26/09/2026
A lot of people are responding with the idea that real judges wouldn’t conduct themselves in this manner and y’all should volunteer for CourtWatch.
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Soren Spicknall @sorenspicknall.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
People often have a simplistic idea of how adverse possession works, and it works differently from one place to another, but ten years of open habitation without a written lease could actually meet the bar in some US states. England has a notification requirement that likely hasn't been met here.
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South Side Weekly @southsideweekly.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Best of the South Side 2026! This year, we hope features and longer neighborhood profiles will prompt deep thinking about this place we call home. How are we doing, collectively? What patterns are static in the region, and what things are changing? How are our communities evolving, over time?
southsideweekly.com
Best of the South Side 2026
ince last year’s Best of the South Side (BoSS), a new engagement editor, art director, editor-in-chief, and interim publisher have joined South Side Weekly. So, we appreciate your patience and grace, dear readers. Because this year, more than most, BoSS is brought to you by newbies. Ironically, we newbies have heard—from the hardbitten, dedicated vets—that […]
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Soren Spicknall @sorenspicknall.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Names of all our board members projected in the night sky, everyone in town offers their hands to shake and babies to kiss, random passers-by thank us with tears in their eyes, we're welcome to use the McCormick Place Busway, the works. That's what happens when you get named Best of the South Side.
southsideweekly.com
Best Meeting Place for Far South Side Artists: Block House Gallery
Best of Pullman
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Historical Marker Ahead @historicalmarker.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Hey Chicago South Siders (and others): please go to rhschallenge.square.site and help the Ridge Historical Society hire an archivist to go through the massive piles of history from the Beverly and Morgan Park neighborhoods. @sorenspicknall.bsky.social @suesswassersee.bsky.social
rhschallenge.square.site
Ridge Historical Society: $10,000 Matching Challenge
An anonymous donor has generously provided a $10,000 matching grant to help us preserve that history—help to unlock it!
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Soren Spicknall @sorenspicknall.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
LET ME IN
A screenshot of a webpage that says "Protected: Best of the South Side 2026. This content is password-protected. To view it, please enter the password below."
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Soren Spicknall @sorenspicknall.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Not sure if it's possible to solve for the fact that some people have such a strong urge to convince an outside audience that they were right about a peer conflict that the urge overrules any consideration they might have for how exposure to an outside audience could harm everyone involved
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