“Whenever he walks in Chicago, Tim not only sees the buildings that are there, he sees the buildings that used to be there. The whole skyline is haunted for him.”
—Ira Glass from Lost Buildings

It was Friday morning, and I was sitting with the usual band of ne’er-do-wells at the local spiaza. The Amazing Ronni—sleight-of-hand card-cheat, prestidigitateur, and ex-vegetable salesman—produced a small book from his sleeve. It was ornamented with black and white photos of demolished buildings. We skimmed it, and Ray—the hipster/shaman—borrowed it. While at home, he made a delightful discovery. Tucked behind the back cover endpapers he found the hidden jewel. A DVD. The disc, as it turns out, is the real point of the package. Play it, and you will see Lost Buildings—a moving, true story about a boy who loved the architecture of beautiful buildings, and fought to keep them from being demolished.

Ira Glass from public radio’s This American Life interviews Cultural historian for the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs’ Tim Samuelson about his endeavor to save the long-gone Louis Sullivan buildings of the city of Chicago.

The poignancy conveyed by these two storytellers, Samuelson and Glass, is compounded by the talent of Chris Ware. Using pacing, symbolism, color, and recurring motifs, Ware’s drawings carry the viewer through the melancholy adventure.

I recommend contacting your local public radio station, and acquiring Lost Buildings before they all disappear.

Thank you to Chris Ware for allowing me to post his images.