She never intended to become a photographer but that is what Sandra Steinbrecher is and in her new book “The Salt Shed: The Transformation of a Chicago Landmark,” she shows herself to be an extraordinary one. “There is not a day, not one day over the last three years that I have not thought about this place, whether I was on site or not,” she says. “From the first photo, it seemed momentous to me.
But I never imagined how much work it would be. This is a Chicago story, but I think it could, or should, resonate with other cities, as all communities have to figure out how to manage their empty or abandoned buildings” The Salt Shed, as many of you likely know because millions of you have seen it while driving along the Kennedy Expressway, is the indoor and outdoor music venue and entertainment complex on Elston Avenue north of Division Street along the banks of the Chicago River. It was, for most of the previous century since being built in 1929, the operation of the Morton Salt Company, its charming little girl logo on the rooftop visible for all to see.
That Morton Salt girl, who Steinbrecher refers to as the “beloved Umbrella Girl,” is on the cover of her book, one of the 130-some stunning photos that capture the transformation, the rebirth actually, of this slice of the city. She started coming to the site as soon as she heard about what was taking place there. She was soon granted permission by the folks at Blue Star Properties and 16” on Center, the firms.