Saturday, August 12…
We’ve allowed ourselves 2 days to go
into the city. Greg prefers to drive, but we are taking advantage of
prepaid/reserved parking. Leaving the garage, we walk east (under Lake Shore
Drive) to Ohio Beach and the Navy Pier. Even in just these few blocks, we can feel
the city vibe – it’s definitely a happenin’ place, but in a relaxed way. Also
turns out that Ohio Beach offers good photo ops.
The #1 item on our must-do list is the architecture boat tour, which we boarded at 10:30. After the first 10 minutes, it was clear that I was only going to remember a very tiny fraction of the information, so I figured I'd just take lots of pictures and look up the stories later.The evolution of Chicago architecture is fascinating. The buildings reflect the city's history and multicultural heritage. Since most structures within the downtown area were destroyed by the Great Chicago Fire in 1871, buildings are noted for their originality rather than their antiquity. Snippets from the (excellent) tour guide's spiel include "Chicago School (steel frame, large windows), Chicago window, Mies van der Rohe, Prairie School, minimalist, Daniel Burnham, skyscrapers..." Taking photos from a boat doesn't always yield great composition, but here are a few shots.
Lunch at Gino’s
East – one of the classic deep dish pizza spots. (Personally, Pizza Hut’s
thin-crust sausage/gr pepper/onion will always be my fave – and it’s cheap!) Very popular place, long wait, cool graffiti-covered interior - and the spinach/mozzarella sticks were good. Afterwards, we
walked the upper portion of the Magnificent Mile. The Water Tower (one of the
few downtown bldgs to survive the fire) was very cool. Built in 1869 and still
going strong. Beautiful architecture. Beyond that and the Fourth Presbyterian
Church (lovely inside & out), it’s just high-end shops. Neiman Marcus and
Bloomingdales are out of my league in any city.
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| Looking back at the Lake Shore Drive skyline |
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| Ohio Beach & Milton Olive Park. (Behind the park is a water treatment plant. Out of sight, out of mind.) |
The #1 item on our must-do list is the architecture boat tour, which we boarded at 10:30. After the first 10 minutes, it was clear that I was only going to remember a very tiny fraction of the information, so I figured I'd just take lots of pictures and look up the stories later.The evolution of Chicago architecture is fascinating. The buildings reflect the city's history and multicultural heritage. Since most structures within the downtown area were destroyed by the Great Chicago Fire in 1871, buildings are noted for their originality rather than their antiquity. Snippets from the (excellent) tour guide's spiel include "Chicago School (steel frame, large windows), Chicago window, Mies van der Rohe, Prairie School, minimalist, Daniel Burnham, skyscrapers..." Taking photos from a boat doesn't always yield great composition, but here are a few shots.
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| Innovative parking... |
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| ...on lower portion of these bldgs (locals call them the corn cobs) |
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| Chicago School (but not Chicago windows) |
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| Geometric Nightmare? |
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| Yes, this is downtown Chicago. (156 miles of waterways run thru the city. We cruised 3 branches of the Chicago River.) |
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| Interior... someone (unseen) was practicing organ pieces. |
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| Fourth Presbyterian Church |
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| Water Tower (1 of 2 bldgs) |
Pristine!
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| This may be my fave photo today... half a dozen buildings reflected on this one. (And I can't identify any of them.) |
I never knew Chicago had so much water running through it. That sure does increase its draw. 😊 You got some great pictures. I never would have thought a water tower could look like that - thanks for the interior shot to make it real!
ReplyDeleteI think I've been through Chicago twice. I was at the train station once in college, when Satoshi and I took a train from Earlham to New Orleans. Then again during college I attended a Model UN conference there, so actually got into the city a little. It was windy then ( and cold!) and I loved it.
I really enjoyed these pictures. Gotta put it on my list of places to go.