Crane operator/photographer on Chicago Tonight...finally

Newsmagazine also tells of Marina City connection to tradition of dyeing Chicago River green

Mar. 17, 2009 – After being bumped twice by breaking news, Ken Derry was finally on Chicago Tonight, WTTW’s highly regarded nightly newsmagazine.

The tower crane operator, whose images from high above Trump International Hotel and Tower were seen in January on Marina City Online, was interviewed by lead anchor Phil Ponce Monday evening for about eight minutes.

Derry works for James McHugh Construction Company, which is building the 92-story, 1,361-foot tower scheduled for completion this year. He captures images during breaks, using a modest Kodak digital camera.

“Sometimes when it’s quiet, you feel like you’re in a different world,” he told Ponce. “It’s quite amazing.”

Derry’s photos have appeared on the cover of HPAC Engineering and Cranes Today, magazines for the construction industry. He says he is currently working on a book that will showcase his images.

Two tower cranes that were used to construct the Trump project have been taken down. Says Derry, “The structure is complete except for the plaza area in between the Wrigley building and Trump. That was the dock area for the building material entrance so there is a little work to be done there yet. And they have some condo interiors to finish.”

 Video: Ken Derry on Chicago Tonight (Windows Media File)

Can’t see the video? It is also posted to the Marina City Facebook Group.

 Pictorial: The View From The Top Of Chicago

Marina City workers may have inspired Saint Patrick’s Day tradition

Also on Monday’s program, we learned about a possible Marina City connection to the tradition of dyeing the Chicago River green. Every year for Saint Patrick’s Day, a green vegetable-based dye is mixed into the river. According to a story by John Callaway that first aired on Chicago Tonight in 2004, the tradition may have been inspired by workers building Marina City in 1962.

The workers were using green dye to trace a waste line that was emptying into the Chicago River. According to Callaway, when Stephen M. Bailey, business manager of the Chicago Journeyman Plumber’s Local Union, saw this, he convinced the Port of Chicago to dye the river for Saint Patrick’s Day.