STORY BEHIND THE IMAGE: The Oriole Staircase

As an architectural photographer, I've always wanted to capture this staircase.

It lives in the Rookery Building in Chicago's vaunted Financial District.  It was built to be the City Hall, and for a long time, was the tallest building in Chicago... at 11 floors.  :)  There was so much corruption in Chicago city government at the time, that the building was nicknamed the "Rookery," and it stuck.  There is even a relief carving of a couple of crows on either side of the main entrance.

It was remodeled around the turn of the century (1900, not 2000) by Frank Lloyd Wright, the famous architect. 

Visitors can tour the main lobby and atrium (which is spectacular in its own right), but as I found out to my dismay, the famous staircase is not accessible by the public.  There are some high-powered financial companies occupying the building currently, who aren't very keen on strangers and tourists wandering around the building.

I told my sob story to the guard in the lobby, and how I had come all the way from Dallas to photograph this staircase, blah, blah.... I was certain no one would care.  But there was a very sweet young lady who took pity on me, and called upstairs to the building manager's office, and relayed my story.

The building manager just happened to be contemplating taking a break, and decided to take pity on me.  I assured him that I only needed 30 seconds to get the shot I needed.  No tripod, no monopod, just a quick handheld shot.  He agreed, and took me up to the 11th floor to the top of the staircase.  

I quickly grabbed a couple of shots, and let him escort me back down to the lobby, thanking him profusely.  As an additional gesture of thanks, I printed up a 16"x24" metal print of one of my shots, and sent it to him.  :)

Sometimes it pays to grease the wheel.  And sometimes you luck out.