Fortunate husband. Proud dad. Former Chicago Tribune architecture critic. Pulitzer, Polk winner. 2013 Nieman. Books: “Why Architecture Matters,” “Terror and Wonder,” “Who Is the City For?,” “Gates of Harvard Yard,” “Amherst College: The Campus Guide.”https://bsky.app/profile/kaminblair.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/kaminblair.bsky.social/post/3mrn2ksocck2hNext week, I’ll be in conversation with former Chicago Tribune editor Ann Marie Lipinski about the new edition of “Gates of Harvard Yard.” Please join us at Bookends & Beginnings in Evanston on August 4. https://bookendsandbeginnings.com/event/2026-08-04/blair-kamin-gates-harvard-yard27 Jul 2026 13:59 +0000at://did:plc:dyf6efcmrasymn3lmkbszees/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrn2ksocck2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/kaminblair.bsky.social/post/3mr3jy4rmnc2mWhat do Lincoln Park’s Shakespeare statue + Harvard’s Johnston Gate have in common? Come find out on 8/4 at Bookends + Beginnings. I’ll be in conversation w/ former Chicago Tribune editor Ann Marie Lipinski about the new edition of “Gates of Harvard Yard.” bookendsandbeginnings.com/event/2026-08-…20 Jul 2026 14:47 +0000at://did:plc:dyf6efcmrasymn3lmkbszees/app.bsky.feed.post/3mr3jy4rmnc2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/kaminblair.bsky.social/post/3mqeop3yga22v“Enter to grow in wisdom,” says the inscription on Harvard’s Dexter Gate—the same words at the entry to Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Ala. Coincidence? Almost surely not. I’ll discuss this motto + the new edition of “Gates of Harvard Yard” on August 4. https://bookendsandbeginnings.com/event/2026-08-04/blair-kamin-gates-harvard-yard11 Jul 2026 12:40 +0000at://did:plc:dyf6efcmrasymn3lmkbszees/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqeop3yga22vhttps://bsky.app/profile/kaminblair.bsky.social/post/3mpylnhgqnc2eHarvard’s majestic Johnston Gate, built with a gift from Chicago businessman Samuel Johnston and completed in 1889, led to a wave of gate-building on U.S. campuses in the early 20th century. I’ll discuss the influential Harvard gates on 8/4 in Evanston: https://bookendsandbeginnings.com/event/2026-08-04/blair-kamin-gates-harvard-yard06 Jul 2026 17:14 +0000at://did:plc:dyf6efcmrasymn3lmkbszees/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpylnhgqnc2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/kaminblair.bsky.social/post/3mpbx3pk5rc23What a blast to be at the American Library Association conference at McCormick Place this morning. So great to meet all the librarians who stopped by to get a signed copy of the new clothbound edition of “Gates of Harvard Yard.”27 Jun 2026 17:07 +0000at://did:plc:dyf6efcmrasymn3lmkbszees/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpbx3pk5rc23https://bsky.app/profile/kaminblair.bsky.social/post/3mp6ztayfkk2kIf you’re in Chicago for the American Library Association convention, please drop by the Harvard University Press booth on Saturday at 10 a.m. I’ll be signing copies of the new clothbound edition of “Gates of Harvard Yard,” a guide to the 25 portals that enclose the Edenic Yard.26 Jun 2026 13:18 +0000at://did:plc:dyf6efcmrasymn3lmkbszees/app.bsky.feed.post/3mp6ztayfkk2khttps://bsky.app/profile/kaminblair.bsky.social/post/3mp4vl4wtkc22Sincere thanks to Harvard Magazine and writer Gabriella Gage for taking notice of the new edition of “Gates of Harvard Yard” in their new issue. https://www.harvardmagazine.com/arts-culture/harvard-recent-books-harvard-authors25 Jun 2026 16:57 +0000at://did:plc:dyf6efcmrasymn3lmkbszees/app.bsky.feed.post/3mp4vl4wtkc22https://bsky.app/profile/kaminblair.bsky.social/post/3mp3fmg4qws2pAs much as I’m enormously pleased with the new clothbound edition of “Gates of Harvard,” I want readers to know that there’s also a popular new Kindle edition.25 Jun 2026 02:38 +0000at://did:plc:dyf6efcmrasymn3lmkbszees/app.bsky.feed.post/3mp3fmg4qws2phttps://bsky.app/profile/kaminblair.bsky.social/post/3moxgtqtu2s2iThanks to Martin Pedersen of Common Edge for allowing me to share observations about the Obama Presidential Center in an interview. My take is mixed: https://commonedge.org/blair-kamin-on-the-obama-presidential-center-a-huge-improvement-to-the-public-realm/23 Jun 2026 12:50 +0000at://did:plc:dyf6efcmrasymn3lmkbszees/app.bsky.feed.post/3moxgtqtu2s2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/kaminblair.bsky.social/post/3mot4rpty4k2lThanks to everyone who’s made the new edition of “Gates of Harvard Yard” an Amazon new releases best seller. I’m looking forward to the first Chicago signing event for the book this coming Saturday, June 27, at the American Library Association convention at McCormick Place.21 Jun 2026 19:39 +0000at://did:plc:dyf6efcmrasymn3lmkbszees/app.bsky.feed.post/3mot4rpty4k2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/kaminblair.bsky.social/post/3mnfplqtqlk2aCome tour Harvard Yard’s newest gate, which takes playful inspiration from beloved children’s books. Thanks to Harvard University Press, publisher of the new edition of “Gates of Harvard Yard,” for shooting and producing the video. https://www.instagram.com/stories/harvardpress/3911515048233811033?utm_source=ig_story_item_share&igsh=MWR2b2swYmsyNDF5dA==03 Jun 2026 18:13 +0000at://did:plc:dyf6efcmrasymn3lmkbszees/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnfplqtqlk2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/kaminblair.bsky.social/post/3mmrkl4c35s2iLook what’s in the window of the Harvard Book Store.26 May 2026 17:50 +0000at://did:plc:dyf6efcmrasymn3lmkbszees/app.bsky.feed.post/3mmrkl4c35s2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/kaminblair.bsky.social/post/3mmhgzsc4f224Who new? “Gates of Harvard Yard” has been officially declared “hot.”22 May 2026 17:20 +0000at://did:plc:dyf6efcmrasymn3lmkbszees/app.bsky.feed.post/3mmhgzsc4f224https://bsky.app/profile/kaminblair.bsky.social/post/3mmcl4qnssc2xThanks to harvarddesignmagazine.org for publishing this excerpt from the new edition of “Gates of Harvard Yard.” It’s my essay about the Yard’s newest portal, the welcoming and whimsical Solomon Gate by Höweler + Yoon. Yes, that’s the Cheshire Cat. https://www.harvarddesignmagazine.org/articles/the-harvard-peter-j-solmon-gate-by-howeler-and-yoon/20 May 2026 18:50 +0000at://did:plc:dyf6efcmrasymn3lmkbszees/app.bsky.feed.post/3mmcl4qnssc2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/kaminblair.bsky.social/post/3mlowldnu322cFinally! Total is the long-awaited “pub date” for the new clothbound edition of “Gates of Harvard Yard.” It took eight days, and then 13 years, to make this dream happen, as I explain in a new piece for Nieman Reports. Congrats to all who collaborated on the book! https://niemanreports.org/nieman-harvard-yard-gates-architecture-cambridge-campus/12 May 2026 23:22 +0000at://did:plc:dyf6efcmrasymn3lmkbszees/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlowldnu322chttps://bsky.app/profile/kaminblair.bsky.social/post/3mjzdos4uds2aLooking forward to discussing the new clothbound edition of “Gates of Harvard Yard” on May 6 at the Coop with Sharmila Sen, editorial director of Harvard University Press. Join us as we explore the beauty, history and legacy of the Yard’s 25 gates. RSVP here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-gates-of-harvard-yard-architecture-history-and-legacy-tickets-1987640160225?aff=oddtdtcreator21 Apr 2026 15:53 +0000at://did:plc:dyf6efcmrasymn3lmkbszees/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjzdos4uds2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/kaminblair.bsky.social/post/3mjsjradqr22u1/2 Look what just arrived in the mail: First copies of the new clothbound edition of “Gates of Harvard Yard,” an exploration in words, photos and sketches of the 25 beautiful, but often-overlooked, portals that enclose the famous heart of America’s oldest university.18 Apr 2026 22:53 +0000at://did:plc:dyf6efcmrasymn3lmkbszees/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjsjradqr22uhttps://bsky.app/profile/kaminblair.bsky.social/post/3mjcf62qhtk2wThrilled and deeply honored to have received the Order of Lincoln, Illinois’ highest honor for professional achievement and public service, last night from Gov. JB Pritzker and Todd Shapiro, chancellor of the Lincoln Academy. My remarks from the ceremony are posted on Facebook.12 Apr 2026 12:48 +0000at://did:plc:dyf6efcmrasymn3lmkbszees/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjcf62qhtk2whttps://bsky.app/profile/kaminblair.bsky.social/post/3lwcxilq6u22eSt. Regis Chicago from McClurg Court.13 Aug 2025 23:17 +0000at://did:plc:dyf6efcmrasymn3lmkbszees/app.bsky.feed.post/3lwcxilq6u22ehttps://bsky.app/profile/kaminblair.bsky.social/post/3lvg5m6jods2mhttps://chicago.suntimes.com/architecture-design/2025/08/02/harold-washington-library-officials-new-chapter-institution02 Aug 2025 12:19 +0000at://did:plc:dyf6efcmrasymn3lmkbszees/app.bsky.feed.post/3lvg5m6jods2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/kaminblair.bsky.social/post/3lultk4yqls2dhttps://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/07/22/editorial-a-new-cta-day-for-edgewater-and-uptown-but-what-about-broadway/23 Jul 2025 01:10 +0000at://did:plc:dyf6efcmrasymn3lmkbszees/app.bsky.feed.post/3lultk4yqls2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/kaminblair.bsky.social/post/3lttvhsb2ls24https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/07/13/column-national-public-housing-museum-chicago-affordable-housing/13 Jul 2025 12:41 +0000at://did:plc:dyf6efcmrasymn3lmkbszees/app.bsky.feed.post/3lttvhsb2ls24https://bsky.app/profile/kaminblair.bsky.social/post/3ltp33e4fd22xhttps://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/07/10/lincoln-yards-developer/11 Jul 2025 14:38 +0000at://did:plc:dyf6efcmrasymn3lmkbszees/app.bsky.feed.post/3ltp33e4fd22xhttps://bsky.app/profile/kaminblair.bsky.social/post/3ltmb22czlc2jhttps://chicago.suntimes.com/architecture-design/2025/07/09/landmarks-commission-lasalle-street-art-deco-field-building-skyscraper10 Jul 2025 11:46 +0000at://did:plc:dyf6efcmrasymn3lmkbszees/app.bsky.feed.post/3ltmb22czlc2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/kaminblair.bsky.social/post/3lsqoh5xny223https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/06/29/column-nascar-chicago-street-race-keegan/29 Jun 2025 12:32 +0000at://did:plc:dyf6efcmrasymn3lmkbszees/app.bsky.feed.post/3lsqoh5xny223https://bsky.app/profile/kaminblair.bsky.social/post/3lrw5wqxr2k2xBack from Ireland, where they know how to make stone walls sing.18 Jun 2025 23:27 +0000at://did:plc:dyf6efcmrasymn3lmkbszees/app.bsky.feed.post/3lrw5wqxr2k2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/kaminblair.bsky.social/post/3lphferyswc27A peek at the Thompson Center’s new curtain wall.18 May 2025 15:40 +0000at://did:plc:dyf6efcmrasymn3lmkbszees/app.bsky.feed.post/3lphferyswc27https://bsky.app/profile/kaminblair.bsky.social/post/3lph654g74c2fAn insightful column by Edward Keegan connects the childhood home and church of the new pope to the ordinary architecture that Chicago does so well—Chicago Tribune. https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/05/18/column-chicago-pope-leo-xiv-home-architecture-keegan/18 May 2025 13:30 +0000at://did:plc:dyf6efcmrasymn3lmkbszees/app.bsky.feed.post/3lph654g74c2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/kaminblair.bsky.social/post/3lp32ssbtgk24https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/05/13/glencoes-frank-lloyd-wright-cottage-fundraising-to-open-architectural-gem/13 May 2025 17:59 +0000at://did:plc:dyf6efcmrasymn3lmkbszees/app.bsky.feed.post/3lp32ssbtgk24https://bsky.app/profile/kaminblair.bsky.social/post/3lp2wa34azs2bhttps://chicago.suntimes.com/obituaries/2025/05/13/marilyn-hasbrouck-architecture-themed-prairie-avenue-bookshop-dies-9113 May 2025 16:37 +0000at://did:plc:dyf6efcmrasymn3lmkbszees/app.bsky.feed.post/3lp2wa34azs2b