Chicago Revisited: Part 2

So, clearly I took way too many photos on this short trip to Chicago. Here's the second part of my "Chicago Revisited" post. (Check out Part 1, too! http://hired-pen-blog.blogspot.com/2013/05/chicago-revisited.html)

Day 4, continued

Here's our daughter at Indian Boundary Park. This is the only Chicago park that has a zoo. (A small one, but a zoo nevertheless.) We lived across the street from this park from the time our daughter was born until we moved out of state. What a boon to have a place like this in your neighborhood!

In addition to the zoo, this park has a lagoon, a community garden, and tennis courts (the very same courts on which the aforementioned daughter learned how to splash in puddles). On two sides there are lovely condo buildings, one of which was designed by Jens Jensen, landscape architect who designed many of the Chicago city parks, as well as the Garfield Conservatory.

After driving hither and yon in the suburbs, visiting former apartments and houses, we met friends for dinner. Here's our daughter and an old friend from her preschool class at Tot Learning Center. We also were able to get together with another friend from that preschool class, who is now a talented artist and a student at Columbia College. It was very gratifying to see how these former playmates have grown to be charming, smart, and talented adults.

Day 5

We splurged on the architectural river tour sponsored by the Archicenter. Well worth the price of admission! (Caveat: when you go, bring sunscreen.) On the river, you get a cool breeze and a fresh perspective on the great buildings. This one is at 35 E. Wacker. It's known informally as the Jeweler's Building. It was built between 1925 and 1927. Originally, a jeweler could drive into the building, and then into an elevator that would take him and his car to the floor that his office was on. This allowed safe and secure transfer of goods. The top floor of this building (where you see the dome) at one time housed a speakeasy (??? not much of a secret location, is it?). It later housed the offices of architect Helmut Jahn. Oh, and if it looks familiar, perhaps it's because it was the Gotham City Courthouse in "Batman Begins."

This is one of our favorite Chicago buildings. It's called River Center and is at 111 N. Canal, about a block from the Merchandise Mart. Daniel Burnham designed it, and it was completed in 1913. Currently, each side of the clock tower bears the name of a tenant in the building, among them Encyclopedia Britannica. This building will look familiar to fans of the TV show "The Good Wife." The law firm where the leading character works is supposed to be in this building. (P.S. Don't worry, the building isn't really listing, as it appears here; that's an artifact of our perspective on the river.)

A very slender (and green) bridge tender's tower. (Sorry a little crooked; remember, we were on a moving boat.)

More interesting reflections.

Once again, my old office building, at Monroe and Canal Streets. 

Our tour boat, reflected in windows of a building near Wacker Drive.

The warmer weather was a welcome change from the bone-chilling 38 degrees when we arrived.

River City apartments/condos, on the river at Wells Street. The area is called Printer's Row or the South Loop. (Random factoid: for a time, I lived a few blocks from here. I could have taken a boat to work--if I'd had a boat--since my office was also along this river.) This was designed by the same architect who created Marina City. This building was supposed to be the first installment in a series of buildings that lined the river in an S-shaped configuration. For whatever reason, the subsequent buildings live only as a twinkle in the architect's eye. The Fates haven't been kind to either Marina City or River City; the latter has fared worse, I think. I hope their fortunes change.

River City, up close.

River City on the right; 311 S. Wacker in mid-ground, and the Sears (not Willis) tower behind, with the tall white antennas.

The building in the mid-ground with the statue atop it is the Board of Exchange. The statue is Ceres, the goddess of grain. For more on Ceres, see Part 1 of this blog post.

Another view of River Center. The building at left is Two North Riverside Plaza, an Art Deco gem.

Here's the matching pair of buildings that make up Marina City (our daughter's favorite buildings). Most people say these buildings remind them of corn cobs. The architect has said that he envisioned them as tree trunks, with the balconies representing the branches. Tree trunks?? Maybe he grew up in the desert.

     The center core of each building houses the mechanicals. But even so, you end up with wedge-shaped apartments. It's hard to furnish a place that's shaped like a piece of pie, since furniture isn't generally pie-shaped.

Along the river walk, across the river from the Wrigley building. The river walk is one of the things that's been expanded since we lived in Chicago. All buildings built along the river now have to have public access along the water. In theory, you should be able to walk along the river all the way to the lakefront. (In practice, that's a long distance, and it's tough on the feet. But if your feet don't fail you, at least you have the option.)

The venerable Marshall Field's department store, on State Street. It's now called Macy's, but who are we kidding? It will always be Marshall Field's. (This shot was taken while standing on the ground floor, looking up.)

Day 6 (departure day)

The view from our hotel window (Madison St.). On the weekend there wasn't a soul in sight; during the week, there was a steady stream of pedestrians.

Another view from our hotel room.

The Tribune Tower.

The Wrigley Building at left, Tribune Tower in center. This was taken from the boat, docked along the river.

Yet another tour! This was a river/lake tour on the Wendella (boat). Tours were the best way to cover a lot of ground (or, in our case, a lot of water) in an hour or two. Which was just about all the time we had.

This is a view of the parking lot at Marina City. The lowest floors are parking floors, with the apartments above. Me, I'd be worried about misjudging and backing right out beyond the edge of the garage and landing in the drink. (I guess I'm not the only one who's thought of this; in at least one movie, there's a scene of a car driving off the edge and into the river.) But I'm told that all the parking is via valet service. Presumably they've had a lot of experience judging where the edge of the garage is.

A bonus! There were several bridge-raisings while we were out on the river. Along the river, many pedestrians stopped to watch. No matter how long you live in Chicago, it's still fun to watch the bridges go up (and back down).

View of the shoreline, from Lake Michigan. Just look at all those beautiful tall buildings. What I love most is that despite the variety of styles, the overall look is harmonious. Instead of competing for attention, the buildings provide a contrast and thus spotlight each other.

Auditorium at the end of Navy Pier. The pier is the #1 tourist attraction in the state. When our daughter was little, she used to think it was called "Baby Pier," a factoid that I think we find more charming than she does.

Going up! Another bridge raising, this time looking north from Wacker Driver. You can see several bridges, in different stages of being raised/lowered.

And then we scurried to the airport for the trip home. We were sorry to leave, but glad to be going home, too.

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