Light defines Frank Lloyd Wright’s Beth Sholom synagogue in the Philadelphia suburb of Elkins Park. Even on a rainy day the inside of this temple seems bright. Daylight streams through its transparent ceiling, as if from the heavens, into the “house of peace” (Beth Sholom in English) . The pyramid-shaped structure, built high on a hill in the 1950s, is a National Historic Landmark, so changes to the temple pose a challenge. (Most of Wright’s original brown Naugahyde seats ha

Time is of the essence for firefighters. In old firehouses like the one at 1700 W. 95th St. on Chicago’s South Side, firemen would sleep upstairs and, at the alarm bell, zip down the fire pole, rev up the fire truck on the ground floor, and zoom out to extinguish the flames. Now that Optimo Hats , a manufacturer of luxury men’s hats, has moved their headquarters into the 1915 firehouse, things have slowed down a bit. The handful of hat craftsmen who work there can peek throu

When this old world starts getting you down--especially when it’s snowing in mid-April--think green! Up on the roof of the Uncommon...