Earthquake! (Walk - Don't Run) plus Vivian Maier, Randolph Tower and a Holiday Hangover Party

original photograph courtesy Cinema Treasures - click images for larger view

The only time I can recall Chicago sustaining earthquake damage was in 1975, when plaster fell from the ceiling of Holabird and Root's United Artists theater as Sensurround - a promotional gimmick invented for the disaster film Earthquake - sent enough low frequency rumblings through a battery of subwoofers to set the entire house shaking.  Building inspectors were called, the auditorium de-woofed and Terra firma reestablished.

Which is not to say a major earthquake can never happen here, although the closest we've gotten to "the big one" was a 3.8 magnitude event on February 10, 2010 centered in the Kane County town of Virgil.  The New Madrid Fault downstate generated a devastating 8.2 magnitude quake in 1811, and remains a potential source for future shenanigans.

So, just to be on the safe side, you can check out Illinois Emergency Management Agency's ATC-20: Post Earthquake Safety Evaluation of Buildings, an all-day seminar at the Thompson Center this Tuesday.  It's one of the highlights this week on the January Calendar of Chicago Architectural Events.  Tuesday evening, Michael Williams and Richard Cahan will at MCA to discuss their great new book - Vivian Maier: Out of the Shadows.

On Wednesday lunchtime, AIA/Chicago will be hosting Building Bureaucrats: Evaluating Architecture with National Register Staff, and a fundraiser for Landmarks Illinois will offer a tour of the newly restored Randolph Tower (Steuben Club).  On Friday, AFH-Chicago is holding its Holiday Hangover 2013 party at the DIRTT Showroom, and on Saturday, Save Wright is holding an open house at Frank Lloyd Wright's Heller House in Hyde Park.  (Bring your checkbook; it's for sale.)

These are just some of the highlights this week.  Check out the revised January Calendar of Chicago Architectural Events.