Chicago Rebuilt: Book Talk with Ryan Chester

What if Chicago’s lost buildings could be seen again?

Join architect, illustrator, and author Ryan Chester for an engaging presentation based on his forthcoming book, Chicago Rebuilt: Seeing Yesterday’s City Today. Bringing the city’s architectural past back to life, Chester uses original architectural reconstructions, archival research, historic photographs, and contemporary site comparisons to revisit approximately 40 buildings that have disappeared from Chicago’s streets.

The presentation offers a fresh way to experience the city’s changing architectural landscape, revealing what these lost buildings looked like, how they shaped their neighborhoods, and what their stories can tell us about Chicago today. Along the way, Chester explores the process of architectural documentation and reconstruction while considering larger questions of urban change, preservation, memory, and cultural identity.

Speaker Bio: 

Ryan Chester

Ryan is an architect based in Chicago who has a deep appreciation for the process of creating architectural space and design which has pushed him into a passion for drawing. He is always finding time to draw and sketch not only in his daily architectural work but also to document the world around him. For over 25 years Ryan has sketched on location in his travels and habitually drawn Chicago weekly in the form of onsite drawing or from photos.

His first published work “Chicago Reflected – A Skyline Drawing from the Chicago River” was released in 2023 with his second book titled “Chicago Rebuilt – Seeing Yesterday’s City Today” set for release in early 2027. In addition to drawing Chicago Ryan works on private commissions and gives lectures and presentations promoting architectural perspective drawing.

Along with his work as an architect and drawing projects Ryan is also an adjunct professor at his alma mater the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee as well as the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where he has taught design studios, sketching classes and intro to architecture seminars. He often partners with the Chicago chapter of the American Institute of Architects and the Chicago Architecture Center to host lectures on sketching.

For AIA Members: AIA Chicago will report your attendance for continuing education credit directly to AIA national. Please ensure your name matches your AIA membership record and your AIA number is correctly entered at the time of registration to receive proper credit. AIA Members cannot self-report courses for AIA CES credit.

For Non-Members: AIA Chicago does not report attendance for non-members. If you would like to request a certificate for proof of participation, please click here.

For Vendor Education Program Attendees (AIA Member and Non-Member): The hosting Vendor will report your attendance for continuing education credit directly to AIA national. Please ensure your name matches your AIA membership record and your AIA number is correctly entered at the time of registration to receive proper credit. To ensure accuracy, please request a certificate of completion from the Vendor.