(DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Chicago

EYEWITNESS TRAVEL








CHICAGO





























































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EYEWITNESS TRAVEL








CHICAGO





























































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Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
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Date 6th September 2012
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EYEWITNESS TRAVEL






CHICAGO






Main Contributors:
Lorraine Johnson and John Ryan























































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Produced By International Book Productions,
Part of Denise Schon Books Inc.
Toronto, Canada
Project Editor And Art Director Barbara Hopkinson
Editor Judy Phillips
Designers Dietmar Kokemohr, Stella Powelczyk
Editorial And Map Assistance Terri Rothman
Picture Research
Karen Taylor Permissions and Photo Research
Nuclear Energy by Henry Moore at
Main Contributors University of Chicago (see p102)
Lorraine Johnson, John Ryan
Contents
Photographer
Andrew Leyerle
How to
Illustrator
William Band Use this Guide 6
Introducing
Printed and bound in China
First American edition, 2001 Chicago
16 17 18 19 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Great Days
Published in the United States by
Dorling Kindersley Limited, in Chicago 10
345 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014
Putting
Reprinted with revisions 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, Chicago on the Map 14
2010, 2012, 2015, 2017
Copyright 2001, 2017 © Dorling Kindersley Limited, London The History
A Penguin Random House Company of Chicago 16
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above,
no part 0f this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a Chicago
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without at a Glance 22
the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and
the above publisher of this book. Chicago
A Catalog Record is available from the Library of Congress Through the Year 34
ISSN 1542-1554
ISBN 978 1 46545 709 7







The information in this
DK Eyewitness Travel Guide is checked regularly.
Every effort has been made to ensure that this book is as up-to-date as possible
at the time of going to press. Some details, however, such as telephone numbers,
opening hours, prices, gallery hanging arrangements and travel information are
liable to change. The publishers cannot accept responsibility for any consequences
arising from the use of this book, nor for any material on third party websites, and
cannot guarantee that any website address in this book will be a suitable source of
travel information. We value the views and suggestions of our readers very highly.
Please write to: Publisher, DK Eyewitness Travel Guides, Dorling Kindersley,
80 Strand, London, WC2R 0RL, UK, or email: [email protected].
Twisted Columns by Ricardo Bofill,
Front cover main image: Chicago skyline and lake Michigan at sunset R. R. Donnelley Building (see p57)
The Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University in Chicago


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Chicago Area
by Area

Downtown
40

Near North
Side
60

South Loop
and Near South
Side 80

South Side
100
South Michigan Avenue, one of Chicago’s grandest streets (see p85)
Shops and General Index 202
Markets 158
Acknowledgments 211
Entertainment
in Chicago 164 Chicago Transport Map
Inside Back Cover
Survival Guide
Practical Information
172
Travel
Information
180
Chicago
Raptor perched on a tree branch in
Washington Park (see p106) Street Finder
188 Painted-glass window in St. James
Farther Afield Episcopal Cathedral (see p69)
112
Three Guided
Walks 122

Beyond Chicago
128
Travelers’
Needs

Where to Stay
140
Where to Eat and
Drink 146
Street-by-street map of South Loop (see pp82–3)




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6  HOW T O USE THIS GUIDE

HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE

This DK Eyewitness travel guide helps trips outside the city center. Beyond Chicago
you get the most from your stay in Chicago. delves into destinations in the region ideal
Introducing Chicago locates the city for either day trips or longer sojourns, such
geographically, sets modern Chicago in as weekend getaways. Restaurant and
its historical context, and describes events hotel recommendations, as well as specially
through the entire year. Chicago at a Glance selected information about shops and
highlights the city’s top attractions. The entertainment, are found in Travelers’ Needs.
main sightseeing section of the book is The Survival Guide gives practical information
Chicago Area by Area. It describes the city on everyday needs, from using Chicago’s
sights, with photographs, maps, and medical system and public transportation
drawings. It also offers suggestions for day to the telephone system.


Finding your way around the Sightseeing Section
Each of the sightseeing areas in covered, located by numbers around the chapter is made
Chicago is color-coded for easy on an area map. This is followed simple by the numbering
reference. Each chapter opens by a Street-by-Street map, system used throughout.
with a description of the area illustrating an interesting part Sights outside Chicago have
and a list of sights to be of the area. Finding your way a regional map.


CHIC A GO AREA B Y AREA  61 Each area has color-
NORTH SIDE coded thumb tabs.
Just north of the Chicago River, Chicago’s the ashes, and today the Magnificent
North Side encompasses several Mile, Gold Coast, Streeterville, and River
neighborhoods, most settled in the North are all upscale residential and
mid-1880s by Irish, German, and Swedish shopping districts. Modest Old Town is
immigrants. Tragically, the 1871 fire razed an eclectic mix of residences, shops, and
the entire area. The communities rose from entertainment venues.
Restaurants pp149–51 8 Gibson’s Steakhouse 20 Mity Nice Bar and Grill
1 Billy Goat Tavern 9 Gino’s East 21 MK Restaurant Area Map For easy reference, the
22 Mr. Beef
2 Café Iberico 10 Hugo’s Frog Bar and 23 NoMI Kitchen
3 Café Spiaggia Fish House 24 Osterio Via Stato
4 Capital Grille 11 Foodlife 25 P.F. Chang’s 1sights in each area are numbered and
5 Coco Pazzo 12 Frontera Grill 26 Pizzeria Uno
6 Cyrano’s Farm Kitchen 13 Joe’s Seafood, Prime 27 Portillo’s Hot Dogs
7 David Burke’s Steak & Stone Crab 28 Quartino
Primehouse 14 Kiki’s Bistro 29 RA Sushi Bar plotted on a map of the area. The map
15 Lawry’s The Prime Rib 30 Rosebud Steakhouse
16 Le Colonial 31 Roy’s
17 Les Nomades
W MENOMONEE ST 18 Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria 32 Signature Room at the 95th also shows CTA and Metra stations
33 Spiaggia
W WILLOW ST 19 Mike Ditka’s Restaurant
34 The Pump Room
35 The Purple Pig
W EUGENIE ST
N FERN CT
36 Topolobampo
LASALLE DRIVE
NORTH CLARK STREET
SEDGWICK STREET
37 Tru and major parking areas, as well as
NORTH WELLS STREET
N HUDSON AVE
Sedgwick 38 Wildfire
W NORTH AVENUE
39 Xoco
W BURTON PL N ASTOR ST indicating the area covered by the
N ORLEANS ST
N NORTH PARK AVE
N WIELAND STREET
W SCHILLER ST NORTH LASALLE STREET NORTH STATE PARKWAY
E BANKS ST Street-by-Street map. The sights are
W GOETHE STREET E GOETHE ST 0 meters 500
0 yards 500
E SCOTT ST
NORTH DEARBORN STREET
NORTH CLARK STREET
Clark/ also shown on the Chicago Street
W DIVISION STREET Division E DIVISION ST
WEST ELM STREET E ELM ST
E CEDAR ST
W HILL ST
W MAPLE ST E BELLEVUE PL Finder on pages 188–201.
W SCOTT ST NORTH WELLS STREET
8 •10 NO RTH LAKE SHORE D RIV E NORTH LAKE SHORE DRIVE
WEST OAK STREET N RUSH ST E OAK ST 3 •33 E LAKE SHORE DR
Sights at a Glance WALTON ST W E WALTON ST E WALTON PL
Historic Buildings and Streets Modern Skyscrapers Shopping Streets NORTH ORLEANS STREET W LOCUST ST E DELAWARE PL
1 Wrigley Building 7 John Hancock Center 8 Oak Street W CHESTNUT ST W CHESTNUT ST E CHESTNUT ST WAY VAN DER ROHE MIES N DEWITT PL See also Streetfinder
2 Tribune Tower e Marina City and IBM Building Piers and Beaches Chicago NORTH LASALLE STREET Chicago E PEARSON ST maps 1& 2
3 Hotel InterContinental Chicago x Trump International Hotel & Tower W CHICAGO AVE E CHICAGO AVE
5 Water Tower and Pumping Station Churches and Cathedrals q Navy Pier E SUPERIOR ST
9 Drake Hotel 6 Fourth Presbyterian Church z Oak Street Beach N WELLS STREET W SUPERIOR ST
t Richard H. Driehaus Museum and y St. James Episcopal Cathedral W HURON ST E HURON ST
Ransom R. Cable Houses WEST ERIE STREET NORTH MICHIGAN AVENUE E ERIE STREET
9 •38
i Newberry Library u Archdiocese of Chicago and WEST ONTARIO STREET N ST CLAIR STREET EAST ONTARIO ST
Chapel of St. James
p Menomonee Street o St. Michael’s Church N FRANKLIN ST WEST OHIO STREET EAST OHIO STREET
a Wacker Houses NORTH STATE STREET N WABASH ST
s Crilly Court and Olsen-Hansen Museums and Galleries WEST GRAND AVENUE Grand N RUSH ST E GRAND AVE N MCCLURG COURT
Row Houses 4 Hershey’s Chicago WEST ILLINOIS STREET E ILLINOIS ST
NORTH FAIRBANKS COURT
f 1550 North State Parkway 0 Museum of Contemporary Art WEST HUBBARD STREET 12•36•39
g Residence of the Roman Catholic w Chicago Children’s Museum WEST KINZIE STREET E NORTH WATER ST
Archbishop of Chicago r River North Gallery District
j 1500 North Astor Street d Chicago History Museum Merchandise W CARROLL ST Chicago River
Mart
k Edward P. Russell House h International Museum of
l Charnley-Persky House Surgical Science
Sunset at the downtown distict by the Chicago River For keys to symbols see back flap
42  CHIC A GO AREA B Y AREA DOWNT OWN C ORE  43
Street-by-Street: The Loop NORTH SIDE
A locator map shows where The Loop gets its name from the elevated track system DOWNTOWN CORE
that circles the center of the Downtown Core. Trains
you are in relation to other screeching as they turn sharp corners and the steady stream 9 . Art Institute of Chicago SOUTH LOOP
of businesspeople during rush hour add to the Loop’s bustle.
In the canyon vistas through the many tall, historic
areas in the city center. buildings – and modern edifices such as the Federal Center – The Impressionist and Post- Locator Map
you can catch glimpses of the 19 bridges spanning the
Impressionist collection at this
Chicago River. The conversion of warehouses to
See Street Finder maps 3 & 4
museum, one of the most
condominiums and the renovation of historic theaters have 8 Santa Fe Building important in the country, is
world famous.
helped to enliven the Loop at night.
This classic Chicago School
3 Marquette Building building, with an elegant two- Key
This early skyscraper (1895) was story atrium, houses the Chicago
1 . Willis Tower designed by William Holabird Architecture Foundation. Suggested route
At a height of 1,454 ft and Martin Roche, central
(443 m), this is one of Chicago School figures and
the tallest buildings in architects of more than M O N R O E S T
the world. Views from 80 buildings in the Loop.
the glass-enclosed
A suggested route takes in some of the observation deck on the S O U T H
103rd floor are stunning.
most interesting streets in the area. 190 South LaSalle Street W A B A S H J A C K S O N B L V D
(1987), designed by New S TAT E
York architect Philip
Johnson, has a white-
marble lobby with a gold- M I C H I G A N A V E N U E
leafed, vaulted ceiling.
2 The Rookery S T R E E T
One of the earliest designs by A V E N U E
Burnham and Root, this 1888
building has a lobby that was
remodeled by Frank Lloyd
Wright in 1907. S T R E E T C L A R K P K W Y
C O N G R E S S
A D A M S S T R E E T
S T R E E T The “Elevated,” or “L,”
B U R E N train tracks opened in
1897. Its loop in the city’s
core is seven blocks long
and five blocks wide.
F R A N K L I N
W A C K E R
V A N
5 Monadnock Building
The north half of this building
Street-by-Street Map This gives a D R I V E ever constructed entirely 7 Fine Arts Building
(1891) is the tallest building
S T R E E T
of masonry.
Frank Lloyd Wright once
Chicago Board of Trade
2bird’s-eye view of the most important occupies a 45-story Art Deco 4 Federal Center had a studio in this 1885 6 Auditorium Building
building designed by
Solon S. Beman. The
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
building, with a statue of
building was originally
designed this three-building
Ceres atop its roof. The
The lavish birch paneled theater
in this 1889 multipurpose
frenetic action inside can be
office complex around a central
used as a carriage
part of each sightseeing area. The 0 meters 100 100 seen from a viewers’ gallery plaza, which holds Alexander showroom by the skyscraper, is one of Adler and
Studebaker Company.
Sullivan’s best interiors.
Calder’s 1973 sculpture Flamingo.
(group tours only).
0 yards
For hotels and restaurants see pp142–5 and pp148–57
numbering of the sights ties in
with the area map and the fuller
descriptions on the pages that follow.
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Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
How to use this book (Source v1.2) “UK” LAYER
Date 5th November 2012
Size 125mm x 217mm

HOW T O USE THIS GUIDE  7

Chicago Area Map
The colored areas shown on Chicago Area by Area
Most of the sights in this guide lie within the four main
areas of central Chicago shown below. Each of these areas
this map (see inside front cover) has its own chapter and is distinguished by a color code.
The sights slightly outside central Chicago or those beyond
but worth visiting are covered in the Farther Afield and
are the four main sightseeing Beyond Chicago chapters. For map references, see the
Street Finder on pages 188–201.
areas – each covered by a full NORTH SIDE Downtown Core
chapter in Chicago Area by Area DOWNTOWN Pages 40–59 Street
Finder maps 3 & 4
CORE
(see pp38–111). The four areas
are highlighted on other maps
North Side
throughout the book. In Chicago at Finder maps 1 & 2
Pages 60–79 Street
a Glance (see pp22–33), for example, SOUTH LOOP
AND NEAR
SOUTH SIDE
they help locate the top sights. South Loop and Near
South Side
Pages 80–99 Street
Finder maps 3–6
Farther Afield
Pages 112–121
SOUTH SIDE
0 kilometers 2 South Side
0 mile 1 Beyond Chicago Pages 100–111 Street
Pages 128–137
Finder maps 7 & 8
Numbers refer to each
sight’s position on the Practical information provides all you need to know to visit
area map and its place each sight, including a map reference to the Chicago Street
in the chapter. Finder (see pp188–201).
Detailed information All the
46  CHIC A GO AREA B Y AREA DOWNT OWN C ORE  47
3important sights in Chicago are
north entrance and at the south enterprises remain in the
elevator banks, you can see, building, including the Fine
under glass, part of the original Arts Building Gallery in Suite
marble floor. A corridor 433, which showcases Chicago described individually. They are
bordered by shops and artists, with a new exhibition
restaurants runs the length of each month. There are also two
the building, much like an movie theaters.
interior street. The sound of singers listed in order, following the
practicing scales can be heard
6 Auditorium echoing through the halls, and
a ride in the old elevator (with
Building an operator) is an experience numbering on the area map.
430 S Michigan Ave. Map 4 D3. not to be missed.
Tel (312) 341-3500. q Library. Roosevelt University admissions office in The Artist’s Café on the ground floor of the Fine Arts Building
@ 3, 145, 147, 151. Open 7:30am– the Auditorium Building 8 Santa Fe Building Practical information such as
10:30pm Mon– Thu; 7:30am–6pm Fri; 7 Fine Arts Building the building as a cultural
10:30am–5pm Sat, Sun. Closed major center. The facade of the 224 S Michigan Ave. Map 4 D2.
public hols. 7 8 Building: (312) (World War II servicemen 410 S Michigan Ave. Map 4 D2. Tel (312) 341-9431. q Adams.
See Entertainment: p164.
replaced with a three-story
The Monadnock Building’s filigree 341-3555; Theater: (312) 922-2110. used the stage as a bowling Tel (312) 566-9800. q Library. eighth floor was removed and Open 24 hrs daily. Closed major address, telephone number, and
alley), it was restored in
public hols.
@ 3, 4, 145, 147, 151. Open 7am–
wrought-iron staircase the 1960s and is now a venue 10pm Mon–Fri; 7am–9pm Sat; addition. Inside, studios, shops,
5 Monadnock Designed by Dankmar Adler for performing arts events. 10am–5pm Sun. Closed major and offices were added, and The Santa Fe Building gleams – opening hours is provided for
public hols. 7
the building quickly became a
inside with white marble, and
Four elliptical arches span
and Louis Sullivan, their first
Building major commission together, the the width of the theater, hub of artistic activity. The outside with white-glazed terra-
Auditorium Building (1889), which is ornamented with Although now closely literary magazines Dial, Poetry, cotta. Designed by D.H. Burnham
53 W Jackson Blvd. Map 3 C2. with its walls of smooth stenciling, stained glass, associated with fine art and and Little Review were and Co. in 1904 and originally
Tel (312) 922-1890. q Jackson (Blue each sight. The key to the symbols
Line). Open 7am–6pm Mon–Fri. limestone typical of the and gold-leaf plaster reliefs. culture, the Fine Arts Building published here; the Little known as the Railway Exchange
Closed public hols. 7 Richardsonian Romanesque Its excellent acoustics enable was originally commissioned Theater staged dramas; and Building, it is now called the
∑ monadnockbuilding.com style (see p28) rising above guests in the last row by Studebaker Brothers painters, sculptors, and Santa Fe because of the rooftop
sign, erected in the early 1900s
to hear an unam-
the rough granite
architects (including Frank
Manufacturing to house a
Constructed in two parts two base, broke plified whisper wagon carriage showroom. Lloyd Wright, see p32) had by the Santa Fe Railroad. used is on the back flap.
years apart (and by two many records on stage, six (The name “Studebaker” their studios on the tenth floor. Porthole windows line the
different architectural firms), and achieved stories below. inscribed outside in stone is In 1892, resident artists, top floor; terra-cotta reliefs of
the interestingly bisected a number The grand still visible above the first floor.) including Frederic Clay Bartlett ancient goddesses decorate
Monadnock Building looks both of firsts. lobby, with Designed by Solon S. Beman and Ralph Clarkson, formed a the vestibule. The atrium’s
to the past and to the future. Combining its onyx and completed in 1885, the group called the Little Room balustraded mezzanine,
The northern half of this office a 400-room Stained-glass detailing in the walls and building, with its columns, and produced eight murals, marble staircase, and elevators
building, designed by Burnham hotel, a Auditorium Building ornate rough stone, and arched which still can be seen on the with grillwork are all notable.
and Root, was built first, in 1891. 17-story office staircase, entranceway and windows, is walls of the tenth floor. The building also houses
Sixteen stories tall and with tower, and a 4,300-seat theater, contains an exhibition on the typical of the Romanesque style. Today, the building, which the Chicago Architecture
masonry load-bearing walls (the it was the tallest building in building’s history. The tenth- When the Studebaker has been given national Foundation, which has a “mini-
building method at the time), it Chicago and the first building floor library, originally the Company moved to a new historic landmark status, has museum” detailing the history
is the tallest commercial masonry of its size to be electrically hotel’s dining room, has a location, Beman was a slightly frayed, run-down of Chicago architecture and
building ever constructed. The lighted and air-conditioned. dramatic barrel-vaulted ceiling commissioned to renovate charm. Many arts-related offers guided tours of the city.
southern section, designed by Not surprisingly, it was also and superb lake views.
Holabird and Roche, has a steel the most expensive, costing The building also houses
skeleton sheathed in terra-cotta, over $3 million to build. Roosevelt University.
an innovation that in the At 110,000 tons,
1890s allowed skyscrapers to it was the
soar. Upon completion, it was heaviest building
the largest office building in in the world,
the world. and the
The building is named after most fireproof.
one of New Hampshire’s White The building’s
Mountains. “Monadnock” is crowning jewel
also a geological term for a is the lavish
mountain surrounded by a Auditorium The visitors’ checklist provides
glacial plain – an appropriate Theatre, the
name, as its walls are 6 ft (2 m) first home of
thick at the base. The interior the Chicago all the practical information
was restored in the 1980s: the Symphony
mosaic floor is a replica; the Orchestra. After
white-marble ceiling and ornate many years Facade of the Auditorium Building, with cows from a past public-
staircase are original. At the of neglect art project in the foreground White-marble lobby of the Santa Fe Building needed to plan your visit.
For hotels and restaurants see pp142–5 and pp148–57
88  CHIC A g o A r EA B y A r EA F IE l D Mus E u M  89
Façades of important buildings are often Hall of Jades
This impressive collection of
shown to illustrate their architectural style, 0 Field Museum over 500 jade artifacts includes ViSiTorS’ CHECKLiST
The Field Museum is one of the world’s great natural history
Practical Information
items from Neolithic burial
1400 S Lake Shore Dr. Map 4 E4.
and the early 20th century.
under one per cent are displayed). Following the success of
and to help you recognize them quickly. museums, with a collection of over 25 million objects (just sites, the Chinese Dynasties, (312) 922-9410. open 9am–5pm
daily (last adm. 4pm). Closed Dec
the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, a group of prominent
25. & Check website for free
Chicagoans decided to create a museum with objects from Upper Level days. 7 via east entrance. 8
the fair. With funding from Marshall Field (see p79), they 11am, 2pm Mon–Fri. 0 = h
opened, in 1894, the Columbian Museum of Chicago in ∑ fieldmuseum.org
Lectures, films, special events.
Jackson Park’s Palace of the Fine Arts, one of the fair’s finest . Crown Family Playlab Transport
buildings. This lodging soon proved too small for the A miniature interactive world of q Roosevelt then free trolley.
museum. In 1921, its current home – a white-marble Neo- art, music, science, and nature. @ 12, 146. £ Roosevelt then
Classical structure designed by Daniel H. Burnham – was built, free trolley.
and The Field Museum, with its celebrated collection of
anthropological, botanical, zoological, and geological objects,
opened to the public. . Pawnee Earth Lodge
The only precise
Egyptian Mummy Mask recreation of a fully
furnished Pawnee earth
This decorative linen-and- lodge, this interactive
plaster burial mask encased exhibit showcases
a mummified child. traditional artifacts used
by 19th-century Great
Plains Indians.
Main Level
Key To Floorplan
Animals, plants, and ecosystems . Sue
Rocks and fossils The original bones of Sue, the world’s
largest Tyrannosaurus rex, are on
Ancient Egypt Field Museum Store display in the Stanley Field Hall. Other
Americas spectacular fossils can be seen in the
Pacific cultures Dino Zone on the upper level.
Special exhibits
Nonexhibition space Ground Level Egyptian Mastaba is a
Chicago’s major sights These Museum Guide two rooms from a 4,400-year-
reconstruction incorporating
old tomb. Visitors can roam
through it, as the deceased’s
4 are given two or more full The museum has three levels: ground, main, and Main Entrance spirit was meant to.
upper. Most of the exhibition galleries are on the
main and upper levels. Each level has east and
west wings; those of the main and upper are
pages in the sightseeing area bisected by a large central hall. The upper level Lions of Tsavo These bull elephants are 1905
features exhibitions on nature (plants and earth
African Elephants
The two lions that, in 1898,
terrorized a Kenyan outpost,
sciences), dinosaurs, and Pacific cultures. Exhibits
on the main level focus on animals, birds, and
where they are found. Museums American Indians. The highlight of the ground consuming 35 workers before bull is poised to plunge its only
specimens from Kenya. One
being shot, are on display in the
tusk into the other as it rears.
Mammals of Africa gallery.
level is the Underground Adventure exhibition.
and galleries have color-coded
For hotels and restaurants see pp142–5 and pp148–57
floor plans to help you find Stars indicate the features
important exhibits. no visitor should miss.
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Date 15th November 2012
Size 125mm x 217mm

INTRODUCING


CHICAGO





Great Days in Chicago 10–13

Putting Chicago on the Map 14–15
The History of Chicago 16–21
Chicago at a Glance 22–33
Chicago Through the Year 34–37















































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10  INTRODUCING CHIC A GO

GREAT DAYS IN CHICAGO

Chicago is a city full of things to see and do, theme and then by duration of stay. The sights
and is well-known for its influential architec- and activities included are cross-referenced to
ture, excellent shopping, renowned museums, detailed entries in the guide and are easily
and many cultural institutions. The following accessible by foot or public transportation.
itineraries, which take in a variety of sights and Prices mentioned on pages 10–11 cover
activities, are aimed at helping you make the travel, food, and admission fees. Family prices
most of your time here. They are listed first by are for two adults and two children.


Fun for the Family
Family of four allow at least
$100
• Funfair at Navy Pier
• Animal adventures at
Lincoln Park Zoo
• Butterfly heaven at
Peggy Notebaert
Nature Museum
Morning
Jutting out into Lake Michigan
Chicago’s skyline, dominated by the John Hancock Center, from the lake just east of downtown, Navy
Pier (see p67) is the city’s most
walk north, the 1895 Reliance popular tourist attraction and
City of Skyscrapers Building (see p52), is an airy, a great place to start a day out
terra-cotta clad gem – with the kids. From interactive
Two adults allow at least $50 forerunner of the modern exhibits at the Chicago
• Breakfast at Lou Mitchell’s skyscraper. North on State Children’s Museum (see p67) to
Street towards the river you will IMAX movies, boat cruises, and
• Be awestruck by the
stunning Willis Tower see more modern architecture. an almost 200-ft- (61-m-) high
Built in 1964, the two towers of Ferris wheel, there’s enough at
• Admire the city’s Marina City (see p68) rise like this vast park to keep the family
historic architecture twin corn cobs, and to the east busy all morning. Stop for lunch
• Enjoy the view from the top is Mies van der Rohe’s stark at the food court or check out
of John Hancock Center AMA Plaza, still commonly the scene in Joe’s Be-Bop Café
known as the IBM Building, (see and Jazz Emporium where
p68). Facing each other are the there’s live music daily.
Morning more Classical Wrigley Building
Start your day with pancakes (see p64), clad in white terra-
at the legendary diner Lou cotta and Tribune Tower (see
Mitchell’s at 565 W. Jackson p64), a Neo-Gothic structure.
Blvd. Two blocks east, the glass-
and-steel Willis Tower (see p44) Afternoon
is the second-tallest building in After a quick bite on North
the US at 1,450 ft (442 m); go Michigan Avenue, stroll up to
up to the 103rd-floor Skydeck the Water Tower and Pumping
and The Ledge for views of Station (see p65), a Gothic,
four states on a clear day. limestone survivor of the Great
The Monadnock Building Chicago Fire of 1871. The
(see p46), a few blocks west, interior showcases Chicago-
is a lesson in 19th-century themed photographs. One
architectural history. Finished block ahead, looms the John
in 1891, its north half is a Hancock Center (see p66), for
traditional structure with 6-ft- now the city’s fourth tallest
(1.85-m) thick walls; the south at 1,127 ft (343 m). Try the
half, finished three years later, screened skywalk, or enjoy the
has a more modern steel-frame view for the price of a drink in Landing point for Navy Pier, in front of
construction. A five-minute the Signature lounge. the Ferris wheel
Lithographic depiction of the view of Chicago from Lake Michigan (1860-69)



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Date 7th January 2013
Size 125mm x 217mm

GREA T D A Y S IN CHIC A GO  11


Afternoon Impressionist collection, the
For an animal-themed centerpiece of which is Seurat’s
afternoon, take the bus to A Sunday on La Grande Jatte–
the free Lincoln Park Zoo 1884. Also worth checking out
(see pp114–15), which houses is the Modern Wing, opened
rhinos, giraffes, gorillas, snakes, in 2009 and designed by
polar bears, and more than Pritzker Prize-winning architect
1,000 other animals from the Renzo Piano. For lunch, grab a
world over. Be sure to visit the bite in the lower-level café or
Pritzker Family Children’s Zoo, pop out to an eatery on
which simulates a walk in the Michigan Avenue. Michigan Avenue, a magnet for shoppers
woods with exhibits of wolves, and tourists alike
bears, beavers, otters and other Afternoon
woodland creatures. Catch the No. 146 bus from State compete with department
If you still have the energy, Street to the Museum Campus stores and shopping centers
pay a visit to the John G. and head for the Field Museum such as the famous Water Tower
Shedd Aquarium (see pp98–9), (see pp88–91). Inside, you will Place (see p63), the nation’s first
for a close-up view of sea come face-to-face with the vertical mall. An all-white interior
otters, dolphins, whales, and largest and best-preserved packed with iPods and iMacs
over two dozen sharks. The T. rex skeleton ever discovered. makes the Apple Store a stylish
Underwater Viewing gallery Walk through “Evolving Planet,” must-stop for the high-tech set.
of the Oceanarium will which tells the story of the Earth’s Farther north, Nike Town shows
captivate the kids. 4 billion-year history. The adjacent off the latest in shoes and sports-
lakeside Adler Planetarium wear. Alternatively, take in the
(see pp94–5) has a really good elegant scene of Oak Street (see
interactive exhibit of America’s p66), where upscale boutiques
space program. such as Hermès, Prada, Kate
Spade, and Tod’s reside. Lunch
Shop till you Drop in style (Italian-American cuisine)
around the corner at Fred’s (15 E.
Oak St., 312-596-1111) within
Two adults allow at least $30 Barneys department store.
(cost of transport and food)
• Wonderful stores on Afternoon
Michigan Avenue Take the El to the Armitage
Brown Line stop to browse the
• Boutiques on Oak Street
boutiques of Armitage Avenue
• Upscale elegance on
The impressive tyrannosaurus rex skeleton district where it’s all top-quality,
at the Field Museum Armitage Avenue from truffles at Vosges Haut-
Chocolat (951 W. Armitage
Museums and Culture Avenue) to hand-made station-
Morning ery at Paper Source (No. 919).
Start your day on Michigan Or catch the No. 73 bus west to
Two adults allow at least $80 Avenue, one of the world’s Damen Avenue and stroll south
• A morning at the Art greatest retail areas, where to trendy Wicker Park (see p116)
Institute of Chicago names such as Crate & Barrel, for some great shopping as well
• T. rex at the Field Museum Gap, and Banana Republic as interesting galleries and cafés.
• An interactive planetarium

Morning
Spend the morning at the
Art Institute of Chicago
(see pp48–51), one of the world’s
finest museums, just south of
Millennium Park (see p55) on the
east side of Michigan Avenue.
It has some exquisite works of
American art such as Grant
Wood’s American Gothic, Edward
Hopper’s Nighthawks, and
several iconic pieces by Georgia
O’Keeffe. Admire its French Exhibits at the Adler Planetarium




010-011_EW_Chicago.indd 11 13/07/16 2:58 pm

12  INTRODUCING CHIC A GO


2 Days in Chicago Afternoon Window shop on on dry land, stroll down State
the Mag Mile. Look out for the Street and check out the
castle-like Water Tower and marquee at the landmark
• Admire Impressionist Pumping Station (see p65), Chicago Theatre (see p56).
masterpieces at the Art the only downtown Chicago
Institute of Chicago building predating the Great Day 2
• Get a bird’s-eye view of Chicago Fire. North of the Water Morning Enjoy breathtaking
four states from the Tower, the serene Fourth views of four states from the Willis
Skydeck of Willis Tower Presbyterian Church (see p65) Tower Skydeck (see p44). Then,
is the second oldest building on visit Chinatown (see p96) for a
• Window shop on the
Magnificent Mile Michigan Avenue. Across the wholesome dim sum brunch
street, visit the John Hancock and some window shopping.
Center (see p66) – it has the best
Day 1 panoramic views of the city. Afternoon The museum campus
Morning Start the day with houses three of Chicago’s cultural
the Chicago Architecture 3 Days in Chicago gems: the Field Museum (see
Foundation (see p47) tour, pp88–91), the John G. Shedd
which offers a first-hand Aquarium (see pp98–9), and Adler
orientation to the city’s • Explore the collections of Planetarium (see pp94–5). After
landmark architecture. Follow world-class museums at spending time at the museum of
it up with the amazing view the Museum Campus your choice, enjoy the gorgeous
from the Skydeck at Willis • Have brunch and wander harbor views from the campus
Tower (see p44). Next, head over through Chinatown lawn. At sunset, catch the sound
to Millennium Park (see p55) • Cruise along the Chicago and light show at Buckingham
to see the skyline reflected in River for a panoptic view of Fountain (see p87).
the mirrored surface of Anish the landmark architecture
Kapoor’s jellybean-like Cloud Day 3
Gate sculpture, and appreciate Morning Meander up the Mag
the brushed steel headdress of Day 1 Mile (see pp62–3), and enjoy
Frank Gehry’s J. Pritzker Pavillion. Morning Spend a couple of the interesting juxtaposition of
hours looking at the lovely modern complexes with historic
Afternoon Spend at least two Impressionist collection and the buildings. Take in the castle-like
hours viewing the Impressionist new Modern Wing of the Art Neo-Gothic architecture of
collection of the Art Institute of Institute of Chicago (see pp48– the historic Water Tower and
Chicago (see pp48–51). Don’t miss 51). Move on to contemporary Pumping Station (see p65). Shop
Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks and art in Millennium Park (see p55), at fashionable Oak Street (see
Grant Wood’s iconic American including the reflective Cloud p66) boutiques if so inclined or
Gothic. From here go south Gate, the Pritzker Pavillion else, climb up to the observation
through Grant Park (see pp86–7) with Frank Gehry’s sweeping deck of the John Hancock
for a photo op at Buckingham bandshell, and Jaume Plensa’s Center (see p66) for mesmerizing
Fountain (see p87). That done, Crown Fountain. views of the city.
walk across to State Street and
head north to the Theater Afternoon Begin with the Afternoon Spend the afternoon
District. Continue on to the State two-hour Chicago River exploring Navy Pier (see p67). If
Street Bridge for terrific views of Architecture tour (see p59) traveling with children, be sure to
the Chicago River. that allows you to sit back visit to the hands-on Chicago
and appreciate the landmark Children’s Museum (see p67) or
Day 2 buildings as you float by. Back catch a movie at the IMAX theater.
Morning The Michigan
Avenue Bridge (see pp56–7)
is ground zero for the
Magnificent Mile (see pp62–3).
As you pass the Tribune Tower
(see p64), look for the collage
of labeled fragments from the
Taj Mahal, the Parthenon and
the Great Pyramid that are
embedded in its Neo-Gothic
façade. Head east on to Grand
Street toward Navy Pier (see
p67), with its almost 200-ft-
(61-m)-high Ferris wheel, an
IMAX theater, and several shops
and restaurants. Sunset in Chicago, with the Marina Towers on the right




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Date 21st March 2014
Size 125mm x 217mm

GREA T D A Y S IN CHIC A GO  13


5 Days in Chicago

• Visit the animals at the
Lincoln Park Zoo
• Discover the University
of Chicago’s myriad
cultural attractions
• Tour a captured U-Boat at
the Museum of Science
and Industry

Day 1
Morning Begin your day at
Navy Pier (see p67), browsing
shops and visiting tourist Wrigley Field, the world-famous home of the Major League Baseball Chicago Cubs
attractions. If you have kids on
board, make a trip to the Chicago Day 3 out for Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie
Children’s Museum (see p67) or, Morning With plenty of exhibits House (see p104), an excellent
catch an IMAX movie. With or and a petting zoo, a few hours at example of Prairie School
without kids, a Lake Michigan the Lincoln Park Zoo (see pp114– architecture. Visit the Oriental
boat excursion is a must. 15) is a great way to start the day. Institute Museum (see pp104–
Later, visit the Lincoln Park 105) to see remnants from ancient
Afternoon Stroll the Mag Conservatory which has on civilizations and the Smart
Mile (see pp62–3) from the display thousands of botanical Museum of Art (see p105) for its
Michigan Avenue Bridge (see specimens, as well as the dazzling master artworks. Later, see the
pp56–7), past the Wrigley butterfly exhibits at Notebaert second-largest bell tower in the
Building (see p64) and Tribune Nature Museum (see p125). world at the Rockefeller
Tower (see p64) towards the Memorial Chapel (see p104).
historic Water Tower and Afternoon Get a sense of the
Pumping Station (see p65) – city’s turbulent history at the Afternoon Plan on about
Chicago’s oldest building, Chicago History Museum (see two hours to explore the
which houses a cafe and a p76). A few blocks further down Museum of Science and
theater. Also visit Water Tower on Clark Street is the site of the Industry (see pp108–11). The
Place (see p159) – a mall with notorious gangland St. Valentine’s collection includes a U-Boat,
a fabulous food court. Day massacre. Continue north the Apollo 8 command
to the historic Wrigley Field module, and a fairy castle
Day 2 (see p116), the famous home of dollhouse. Afterwards, enjoy
Morning Get schooled in Chicago Cubs baseball team. the expansive skyline from
Chicago’s architecture with a Jackson Park (see p107), site
two-hour Chicago Architecture Day 4 of the 1893 World’s Fair.
Foundation (see p47) walking, Morning Take a pleasant stroll
Segway, or river tour. Afterward, around the University of Chicago Day 5
visit Anish Kapoor’s jellybean-like campus (see pp102–103), looking Morning The Museum Campus
Cloud Gate sculpture and the is home to three world-class
other public art in Millennium museums. Take your pick of the
Park (see p55). Later, head south Field Museum’s (see pp88–91)
to take in the spectacle that is dinosaurs, John G. Shedd
Buckingham Fountain (see p87). Aquarium’s (see pp98–9) aquatic
life, or the Adler Planetarium
Afternoon A couple of hours at (see pp94–5) starscapes.
the Art Institute of Chicago (see
pp48–51) is essential to explore its Afternoon Golden-age
Impressionist galleries and the industrialists made their homes
Modern Wing, opened in 2009. in the Prairie Avenue Historic
Then, State Street is great for District (see p92), and a tour
some retail therapy; take a detour of Clarke House and Museum
to see the Picasso sculpture at (see p93) or Glessner House (see
Daley Plaza (see p163), and the p92–3) lends insight to that era.
futuristic James R. Thompson A short stroll away, Chicago’s
Center (see p58). At dusk, ascend Chinatown (see p96) is the
Willis Tower (see p44) for an The interiors of the massive James R. largest in the Midwest. Browse
amazing view of the sunset. Thompson Center the shops and stay for dinner.




012-013_EW_Chicago.indd 13 13/07/16 2:58 pm

14  INTRODUCING CHIC A GO

Putting Chicago on the Map Hudson
Lake
Wallaston Bay
Chicago, a city of 2.75 million people, covers 228 sq miles Churchill
(591 sq km) of the US’s Midwest. Situated at the southwest
edge of Lake Michigan, the world’s fifth-largest freshwater Nelson
body, Chicago claims 26 miles (42 km) of lakefront. Two MANITOBA
airports handle international and internal flights. There are also
interstate highways and rail links serving both the East and SASKATCHEWAN S e v e r n
Saskatchewan
West Coasts and other parts of the country, and Canada.
Lake
N Saskatchewan
Winnipeg ONTARIO
Calgary CANADA
Calgary
Vancouver
Vancouver S Saskatchewan Winnipeg
Seattle Columbia Winnipeg
Seattle-Tacoma WASHINGTON Winnipeg
Missoula Great Missouri NORTH
Portland C ol u m bia Falls DAKOTA Lake
Portland MONTANA Bismarck MINNESOTA Superior ONTARIO ME
Snake
OREGON Lester B
Lake
IDAHO Billings Huron Pearson VT
Boise SOUTH WISCONSIN NH
DAKOTA St Paul Lake Michigan MICHIGAN Toronto Lake Ontario NEW
Minneapolis YORK MA
Minneapolis- Hamilton
Eureka Rapid City St Paul Detroit Buffalo CT RI
Casper Sioux Mississippi Metropolitan
WYOMING
Sacramento Falls Chicago- Milwaukee Lake Erie PENNSYLVANIA New York JFK
Detroit
See inset
Cleveland
Des
Chicago
Salt Lake City NEBRASKA Moines IOWA O'Hare map above Pittsburgh Philadelphia NJ
Salt Lake City OHIO Pittsburgh Baltimore Philadelphia
San Sacramento Omaha ILLINOIS INDIANA DE
Francisco NEVADA UTAH Denver Indianapolis Indianapolis Washington Washington, DC
San Denver Lambert- Cincinnati Dulles
WEST
Francisco KANSAS Kansas City St Louis VIRGINIA MD
Colorado COLORADO St Louis Louisville VIRGINIA
CALIFORNIA Las U NITED S T A TES OF AMERIC A Ohio
Vegas KENTUCKY
McCarran MISSOURI NORTH CAROLINA
Nashville
Los Angeles Rio Grand e OKLAHOMA TENNESSEE Tennessee Charlotte- Charlotte
Douglas
Los Angeles ARIZONA Albuquerque Amarillo Little SOUTH
Rock
San Diego Colorado Phoenix Phoenix Oklahoma Arkansas Memphis CAROLINA
City
San Diego Sky Harbor NEW Red ARKANSAS Atlanta
MEXICO Hartsfield-Jackson
Mexicali TEXAS Dallas Mississippi Birmingham Atlantic
Tucson Fort Worth GEORGIA Ocean
Montgomery
Key Dallas Jackson Alabama ALABAMA Savannah
Ciudad
Interstate highway Juarez Red MISSISSIPPI Jacksonville
Major road Hermosillo LOUISIANA Tallahassee Jacksonville
Hermosillo San Houston
Minor road Antonio FLORIDA
SONORA New New
Major railroad CHIHUAHUA Houston Orleans Orleans Orlando
International border BAJA San Antonio Orlando
CALIFORNIA MEXICO Rio Grande
State/provincial boundary Corpus The Bahamas
COAHUILA Christi
Pacific G u l f o f C a l i f o r n i a
NUEVO Miami Miami
Ocean SINALOA Torreón Monterrey LEON
DURANGO TAMAULIPAS
For keys to symbols see back flap
014-015_EW_Chicago.indd 14 13/07/16 2:58 pm
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Date 6th November 2012
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PUT TING CHIC A GO ON THE M AP  15


Greater Chicago Beloit Zion
Churchill Pecatonica River McHenry Waukegan
Lake Hudson
Wallaston Bay Harvard
Rockford
Lake
Michigan
Nelson Freeport Byron Belvidere Arlington Highland Park
Crystal Lake
Lanark Rock River Carpentersville Heights
MANITOBA Chicago Skokie
Polo
O’Hare
SASKATCHEWAN S e v e r n ILLINOIS Oregon De Kalb Geneva Addison Chicago
Dixon
Saskatchewan Rock Falls Aurora Chicago Oak Lawn
Midway
Lake
N Saskatchewan
Winnipeg ONTARIO Amboy
Prophetstown
Calgary CANADA Joliet Hammond
Calgary
Vancouver
Vancouver S Saskatchewan Winnipeg Ottawa
Princeton
Peru
Seattle Columbia Winnipeg Bourbonnais
Seattle-Tacoma WASHINGTON Winnipeg Illinois Streator Kankakee
0 kilometers 50
Missoula Great Missouri NORTH
Portland C ol u m bia Falls DAKOTA Lake 0 miles 25
Portland MONTANA Bismarck MINNESOTA Superior ONTARIO ME
Snake
OREGON Lester B
Lake
IDAHO Billings Huron Pearson VT
Boise SOUTH WISCONSIN NH
DAKOTA St Paul Lake Michigan MICHIGAN Toronto Lake Ontario NEW
Minneapolis YORK MA
Minneapolis- Hamilton
Eureka Rapid City St Paul Detroit Buffalo CT RI
Casper Sioux Mississippi Metropolitan
WYOMING
Sacramento Falls Chicago- Milwaukee Lake Erie PENNSYLVANIA JFK
Detroit
New York
See inset
Cleveland
Des
Chicago
Salt Lake City NEBRASKA Moines IOWA O'Hare map above Pittsburgh Philadelphia NJ
Salt Lake City OHIO Pittsburgh Baltimore Philadelphia
San Sacramento Omaha ILLINOIS INDIANA DE
Francisco NEVADA UTAH Denver Indianapolis Indianapolis Washington Washington, DC
San Denver Lambert- Cincinnati Dulles
WEST
Francisco KANSAS Kansas City St Louis VIRGINIA MD
Colorado COLORADO St Louis Louisville VIRGINIA
CALIFORNIA Las U NITED S T A TES OF AMERIC A Ohio
Vegas KENTUCKY
McCarran MISSOURI NORTH CAROLINA
Nashville
Los Angeles Rio Grand e OKLAHOMA TENNESSEE Tennessee Charlotte- Charlotte
Douglas
Los Angeles ARIZONA Albuquerque Amarillo Little SOUTH
Rock
San Diego Colorado Phoenix Phoenix Oklahoma Arkansas Memphis CAROLINA
City
San Diego Sky Harbor NEW Red ARKANSAS Atlanta
MEXICO Hartsfield-Jackson
Mexicali TEXAS Dallas Mississippi Birmingham Atlantic
Tucson Fort Worth GEORGIA Ocean
Dallas Jackson Alabama ALABAMA Savannah
Montgomery
Ciudad
Juarez Red MISSISSIPPI Jacksonville
Hermosillo LOUISIANA Tallahassee Jacksonville
Hermosillo San Houston FLORIDA
Antonio
SONORA New New
CHIHUAHUA Houston Orleans Orleans Orlando
BAJA San Antonio Orlando
CALIFORNIA MEXICO Rio Grande
Corpus The Bahamas
COAHUILA Christi
Pacific G u l f o f C a l i f o r n i a
NUEVO Miami Miami
Ocean SINALOA Torreón Monterrey LEON 0 kilometers 500
DURANGO TAMAULIPAS 0 miles 300
014-015_EW_Chicago.indd 15 13/07/16 2:58 pm

016-021_EW_Chicago.indd 16 13/07/16 2:58 pm
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Date 20th August 2012
Size 125mm x 217mm

INTRODUCING CHIC A GO  17

THE HISTORY OF

CHICAGO


The third-largest city in the US is world famous for magnificent and innovative
architecture, its colorful and turbulent political history and significance as a
national transportation hub, the now-vanished stockyards, as well as its
educational institutes and vibrant cultural venues.

The French missionary Jacques Marquette Dearborn was destroyed during the War
and French-Canadian explorer Louis of 1812 between the US and the UK;
Jolliet were the first Europeans to record soldiers and their families were
a visit to this spot at the foot of Lake slaughtered by the Indians, allies of the
Michigan, in 1673. The peaceful, friendly British, as they fled the fort. Although
local Potawatomi Indians called the the fort was rebuilt in 1816 and Illinois
low-lying swampy area “Checau gou,” became a state in 1818, the area remained
which likely means “wild onion” or “skunk Indian territory until it was ceded in
cabbage.” Jolliet and Marquette used 1833 and the Indians were relocated to
this Indian name on the maps they reservations by the federal government.
drew, which were then used by That year, Chicago became a town.
later explorers.
More than 100 years passed before Early Chicago
the first permanent settlement was With the land open for development,
established in 1779 by Jean Baptiste the rivers gained importance as shipping
Point du Sable, an African-American routes. In 1837, Chicago, its population
trader from the Caribbean. Du Sable now over 4,000, received city status.
and his Indian wife built a house on The expansion of the lake ports,
the north bank near the mouth of completion of the Illinois and Michigan
the Chicago River. Canal connecting the Great Lakes with
A treaty negotiated with local Indian the Mississippi River, and arrival of the
tribes in 1795 gave US citizens access railroads spurred rapid growth. Public
to most of Ohio and a 6-sq-mile (15.5- schools were established in 1840, and
sq-km) area of land where the Chicago by 1847 the new city had two daily
River emptied into Lake Michigan – now newspapers. From 1855 to 1858,
the heart of Chicago’s downtown. Chicago literally pulled itself out of
In 1803, the US Army built Fort Dearborn the mud, jacking up the downtown
along the river to protect settlers from the buildings and filling in the swamp
Indians, the British, and the French. Fort muck with soil (see p59).

1779 First settlement
1673 Explorers in Chicago established
Jacques Marquette by trader Jean Baptiste 1848 Illinois &
and Louis Jolliet arrive Point du Sable 1803 Fort Michigan Canal
at “Checaugou” Dearborn built completed (see
Jean Baptiste Point pp120–21)
du Sable
1650 1700 1750 1800 1850
1682 Frenchman 1858 Chicago
La Salle explores 1783 British cede 1825 Erie becomes US’s
area and land that is now Canal opens chief railroad hub
establishes forts Chicago to the
A Potawatomi newly established 1837 Chicago 1847 Chicago Tribune
chief US government incorporates as a city newspaper founded
A contemporary lithograph depicting the Great Chicago Fire of 1871


016-021_EW_Chicago.indd 17 13/07/16 2:58 pm

18  INTRODUCING CHIC A GO


Chicago’s proximity to both the Mississippi O’Leary shed, the cause of the fire was
River and the Great Lakes confirmed it as not determined, and the O’Leary family
the nation’s trans portation hub. By 1860, was later given public pardon. An 1874
15 railroad companies had terminals here. bylaw prohibited the building of wooden
Christmas Day 1865 saw the opening of structures downtown. Consequently,
the gigantic Union Stock Yards, the city’s Chicago architect William Le Baron Jenney
largest employer for decades. (It eventually (see pp28–9) designed the Home Insurance
closed in 1971.) Meat packing laws, along Building (1884), a nine-story structure
with the Food and Drug Administration, supported by a steel skeleton, regarded by
were created after many to be the first skyscraper. Jenney’s
Upton Sinclair’s stirring design paved the way for the canyons of
1906 book, The tall buildings found in city centers today.
Jungle, revealed
the poor Social Unrest, Social Reform
Detail of cow (1879) on the archway conditions of As Chicago’s downtown rebuilt and the
to Union Stock Yards such stockyards. city continued to expand – to 500,000
Although meat inhabitants by 1880 – social divisions grew.
processing remained Chicago’s major In the 1873 Bread Riot, police trapped
industry, positioning the city as the US’s thousands of protesting hungry workers
primary supplier, the grain-handling and under a bridge, clubbing many to death.
manufacturing industries were also strong Four years later, during the 1877 national
in 19th-century Chicago. railroad strike, Chicago police fired on
demonstrators, killing 30. On May 4, 1886,
The Great Fire workers rallied at Haymarket Square to
The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 burned for protest the police killing of two laborers
36 hours, October 8 to 10,
destroying most of the
buildings in downtown
Chicago, all of which were
made of wood. At least 300
people died, and about
100,000 – one-third of the
population – were left
homeless. A cow, belonging
to a certain Mrs. O’Leary, was
blamed for kicking over a
lantern and starting the fire.
Although an inquiry confirmed
that the blaze started in the The aftermath of the Great Fire, as seen from Chicago Harbor


1860 Abraham Lincoln 1871 Great Chicago Fire 1880 Chicago’s
nominated for US president 1874 City council prohibits population 1886
at Republican Convention reaches 500,000 Haymarket
Lincoln Statue, in the building of wooden
Lincoln Park structures downtown Riot
1860 1870 1880
1861 Civil
War begins 1865 Union 1873 Bread Riot 1879 Art Institute of 1889 Hull-
Stock Yards, Chicago (see pp48–51) 1884 World’s first House
world’s biggest founded as the Chicago skyscraper (see (see p118)
stockyard, opens Academy of Fine Arts pp28–9) built founded





016-021_EW_Chicago.indd 18 13/07/16 2:58 pm
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Date 20th August 2012
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THE HIST OR Y OF CHIC A GO  19


the nickname “The Loop.” Chicago
celebrated the 400th anniversary of
Christopher Columbus’ journey to the
Americas with the 1893 World’s Columbian
Exposition, held in Jackson Park (see p107).
Over 25 million visitors came to it, the largest
fair yet to be held in the Americas. Despite
a deep national economic depression, the
city built a fabulous fairground, dubbed
Protesters clash with police in the 1873 Bread Riot the “White City” because of its Neo-Classical
white plaster buildings. It was to have a
demanding the short ening of the workday huge impact on US architecture. Most of
to eight hours. A bomb exploded in the the buildings burned down or were
midst of the police officers, starting a riot vandalized after the fair.
that eventually killed seven officers. It was
never determined who threw the bomb, Growth and Growing Pains
and the ensuing trial, in which eight men By 1890, the population climbed past one
were charged with murder and four million. Awareness of public health issues
subsequently executed, is considered one of led to concern that the city discharged,
the worst miscarriages of justice in the US. directly or indirectly, most of its waste into
Into this social tumult stepped Jane the Chicago River, and from there into
Addams (see p33) and Ellen Gates Starr. In Lake Michigan, the source of drinking
1889, they founded Hull-House to help settle water. In 1900, the Chicago Sanitary and
immigrants (see p118). It would soon become Ship Canal opened, and the direction of
a leader in US social welfare and reform. the Chicago River was reversed so that
the river flowed away from the lake, not
Progress, and the 1893 World’s into it (see p59).
Columbian Exposition In 1903, a disaster affected both urban
Downtown, other initiatives were design and bylaws nationwide.
underway. The Art Institute of Nearly 600 people died when a
Chicago (see pp48–51) was fire tragically destroyed the
founded in 1879, and the Iroquois Theater (see p53).
Chicago Symphony Orchestra Investigators blamed the fatalities
(see p166) and the University of on the doors. Many opened
Chicago (see pp102–3) in 1890. inward: impossible to open with a
The first elevated tramway frantic crowd pressed against
opened in 1892, and in 1897 a them. Most US cities now require
circle around the commercial Guidebook for the 1893 that doors of all public buildings
core opened, giving downtown World’s Columbian Fair open outward.

1890 Chicago becomes second- 1900 Chicago Sanitary 1907 University of Chicago’s Albert
largest US city, its population over and Ship Canal opens, Michelson is first US scientist to
1 million
1886 reversing flow of win a Nobel Prize in Physics, for
Haymarket 1892 Elevated tramway Chicago River measurement of the speed of light
Riot (“The Loop”) opens
1890 1900 1910
1889 Hull- 1893 Chicago hosts World’s 1909 Plan of Chicago
House Columbian Exposition (see p32), the first civic
(see p118) blueprint for a city,
founded 1890 University of Chicago Opening of the published
(see pp102–3) founded new canal




016-021_EW_Chicago.indd 19 13/07/16 2:58 pm

20  INTRODUCING CHIC A GO


By 1914, waves income-tax evasion that put Capone in
of immigrants prison in 1931. He was released on parole
from Europe eight years later.
had arrived
in Chicago. Chicago Milestones: 1920s–60s
Industrialization The Chicago Municipal Airport (now
now brought Midway Airport) opened in 1927. From
another wave: 1945 to 1958, it was the world’s busiest
African Americans airport, before being replaced by O’Hare,
from the South, which was equipped to handle the new
Speakeasy directions written in chalk seeking work jetliners and is today one of the
after being world’s busiest airports.
displaced from farm work by the cotton gin The old airport brought vis-
and other new machinery. Chicago’s Black itors to the 1933–4 World’s Fair.
population increased by about 14,000 in Showcasing innovative
1910 to almost 110,000 by the early 1920s. uses of electricity, the fair
Previous arrivals did not always welcome attracted 39 million people.
the new migrants. A 1919 race riot that Another kind of energy came
started at a segregated South Side beach to the fore when, in 1942, Physicist Enrico Fermi
raged for several days, leaving 38 dead physicist Enrico Fermi from the
and nearly 300 injured. University of Chicago conducted the world’s
Speakeasies, illicit social clubs offering first controlled atomic reaction (see p102).
liquor despite the prohibition of alcohol, After World War II, the city’s economy
flourished in the 1920s and made way for boomed, its population peaking at 3.6
the bootlegging gangster. The most million. New arrivals included musicians
famous gangster – and the one most from the Mississippi Delta and by 1950,
closely linked to Chicago in the public they were recording a new form of blues.
mind – was Al Capone, who
arrived in 1919 from New York.
Capone is legendary for his
bloody gang war. In the
notorious 1929 St. Valentine’s
Day Massacre, seven mobsters
from a rival gang were killed
execution-style by mobsters
loyal to Capone.
Almost as famous were Eliot
Ness and his team, who
collected the evidence of Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, one of the world’s busiest

1968 Democratic National
1933 Chicago 1942 First controlled 1953 Hugh Hefner Convention riots
1928 Chicago River hosts Century atomic chain reaction, publishes first
straightened to allow for of Progress at University of Chicago issue of Playboy
expansion of downtown World’s Fair
magazine
1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970
1929 St. Valentine’s 1955 Richard J. Daley 1966 Martin
Day Massacre 1931 Eliot Ness elected mayor Luther King Jr.
succeeds in brings civil rights
1919 Mobster convicting Al 1943 Chicago’s 1959 White Sox win movement
Al Capone Capone first subway opens American League to Chicago
arrives Eliot Ness baseball pennant




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THE HIST OR Y OF CHIC A GO  21


after his re-election as mayor in 1987.
Richard M. Daley, son of former mayor
Richard J. Daley, was Chicago’s longest
serving mayor (1989–2011). In 2011,
Rahm Emanuel was elected mayor.

Chicago Today
In 1990, Chicago’s title of “Second City”
became an honorific, as the population
Richard J. Daley, mayor of Chicago for 21 years of Los Angeles surpassed that of Chicago
to become the second largest in the
The 1950s saw many milestones: Carl US. Chicago remains the US’s largest
Sandburg won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in transportation center and the financial
1951; and Ray Kroc’s first McDonald’s opened capital of the Midwest. Chicago Board of
in 1955 in Des Plaines, just outside Chicago. Trade, founded in 1848, continues to be the
most important grain market in the nation.
Turbulent Politics Willis Tower (see p44) captured the title of
In 1955, Chicago elected Democrat Richard World’s Tallest Building in 1997. The Chicago
J. Daley as mayor, a position he held until Bulls won six NBA champion ships. In 2004,
his fatal heart attack in 1976. In 1966, Martin Millennium Park opened as Chicago’s “front
Luther King Jr. brought the civil rights yard,” serving as Mayor Richard J. Daley’s
movement to Chicago, challenging Daley’s multi-million dollar legacy.
political machine and the segregation of Chicago has had its share of disasters.
the Black population. Daley’s administration In 1992, the Chicago River poured
survived the West Side riots, prompted by into a hole in a tunnel in the Loop. Water
the assassination of King in Memphis, and filled downtown
the confrontations between police and basements, threat-
demonstrators outside the Democratic ening to sink
National Convention, both in 1968. the city center
Daley was equally well known for his below the level
commitment to a clean city. of the original
Daley’s successors include Jane Byrne, swampland.
Chicago’s first female mayor (1979–83), Today, Chicago
and Harold Washington, Chicago’s first has a lot to offer,
Black mayor (1983–7), called “the people’s with superb
mayor” because he was in touch with the public art and
grassroots. Washington made significant architecture, and
structural changes in city operations before an impressive Willis Tower, one of the iconic
dying of a heart attack at his desk, shortly cultural scene. sights of Chicago

1979 Jane Byrne elected 2004 Millennium Park
mayor of Chicago 2008 Chicago resident
1971 Union Stock opens (see p55)
Yards close 1986 Refurbished Barack Obama becomes
Chicago Theatre US president
reopens (see p56)
1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
1973 Willis 1983 Harold 2015 Chicago Blackhawks
Tower (see Washington 1992 Chicago River leaks win Stanley Cup for the
p44) opens elected mayor into abandoned freight 2005 White third time in six seasons
as tallest of Chicago tunnel, threatening to Sox win the
building in collapse downtown World Series 2011 Rahm Emanuel takes
world Willis Tower office as mayor




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INTRODUCING CHIC A GO  23

CHICAGO AT A GLANCE

More than 100 places of interest are stay, the following ten pages are a
described in the Area by Area and Beyond time-saving guide to the best Chicago
Chicago sections of this book. They range has to offer. The guide highlights the
from the Gothic-style Rockefeller Memorial city’s best museums and architecture, as
Chapel (see p104) to the Post-Modern well as the people and cultures that have
James R. Thompson Center (see p58), from given Chicago its unique character over
the trendy neighborhood of Wicker Park the years. Below are the top ten tourist
(see p116) to tranquil Washington Park attractions that no visitor to Chicago
(see p106). To help make the most of your should miss.

Chicago’s Top Ten Tourist Attractions






Museum of Science and Industry John G. Shedd Aquarium
See pp108–111 See pp98–9














Magnificent Mile Willis Tower Navy Pier
See pp62–3 See p44 See p67









Art Institute of Chicago Millennium Park Lincoln Park Zoo
See pp48–51 See p55 See pp114–15











Adler Planetarium Field Museum
See pp94–5 See pp88–91
Chicago’s River North district (on the left) and the Loop (on the right)



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24  INTRODUCING CHIC A GO

Chicago’s Best: Museums

Chicago has some of the world’s finest museums, and the
buildings in which they are housed are often works of art
themselves. The Art Institute of Chicago, world-renowned
for its Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings, and Near NORTH STATE STREET
Museum Campus – consisting of the Field Museum, Adler North N MICHIGAN AVENUE
Planetarium, and Shedd Aquarium – are prominent on any Side
visitor’s itinerary. There are many smaller museums, too, WEST GRAND AVENUE
celebrating Chicago’s heritage and giving insight into the
people and events that have left their mark on the city.
Lake
Michigan
Downtown










Chicago History Museum
This museum traces Chicago’s rich history,
beginning with its first explorers and settlers,
through the development of the city, to major
events in modern-day Chicago (see p76).



South
Loop and
Near
South
Side
SOUTH STATE STREET
E 35TH STREET
Chicago Cultural Center
The great hall is one of many highlights
in this much loved center. Visitors can
also enjoy theater, film, dance, and music.
Most productions are free (see p54). MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DRIVE SOUTH LAKE SHORE DRIVE



International Museum of
Surgical Science S COTTAGE GROVE AVENUE
The history of medicine and surgery,
from blood-letting to X-rays, is
brought to life at this fascinating E HYDE PARK BOULEVARD
museum (see p77).


Spertus Museum
This Torah cover is part of the
outstanding collection of art and
artifacts reflecting 5,000 years of
0 kilometers 2 Jewish culture and ritual exhibited
0 miles 1 at this museum (see p86).




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CHIC A GO A T A GLANCE  25

Museum of Contemporary Art
Cutting-edge modern works by European
and American artists such as sculptor
Alexander Calder are featured in permanent
and rotating exhibits (see p67).

Near NORTH STATE STREET
North N MICHIGAN AVENUE
Side Art Institute of Chicago
WEST GRAND AVENUE One of the largest holdings of Impressionist
and Post-Impressionist paintings outside
France can be found here (see pp48–51).
Lake
Michigan
Downtown

Field Museum
An encyclopedic collection of
objects relating to the earth’s
natural and cultural history are
explored in vivid displays at this
museum (see pp88–91).











South Adler Planetarium
Loop and One of the world’s foremost planetariums, the Adler has a webcam
Near atop its dome – offering a superb view of Chicago – and over 2,000
South astronomical artifacts (see pp94–5).
Side
SOUTH STATE STREET
E 35TH STREET


Smart Museum of Art
The specialties within the
wide-ranging collection
of this compact museum
are antiquities and Old
Masters (see p105).
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DRIVE
SOUTH LAKE SHORE DRIVE

E HYDE PARK BOULEVARD
S COTTAGE GROVE AVENUE

South Museum of Science and Industry
Side Many of the technological inventions and scientific
discoveries that have changed our world are on
display at this very popular museum, a leader in
interactive exhibits (see pp108–11).




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26  INTRODUCING CHIC A GO

Chicago’s Best: Architecture

Chicago’s downtown skyline is characterized by high-rises, both
modern and historic, while a range of residential architecture Near
styles, such as Queen Anne and Prairie, are found in the city’s North
neighborhoods. After the 1871 fire (see p18) and subsequent ban Side
on wood as a building material, the use of terra-cotta and cast- NORTH STATE STREET
iron – both fire resistant and durable – became prevalent. Terra-
cotta was also an excellent material for decorative carving and N MICHIGAN AVENUE
so sheaths many of the city’s steel-frame buildings. A detailed
overview of Chicago’s architecture is found on pages 28–9. WEST GRAND AVENUE



Crilly Court Downtown Lake
The Crilly Court row houses (see p73), with Michigan
their turrets and bays, are one of the finest
examples of Queen Anne style in the city.




Newberry Library
Henry Ives Cobb, master of
the Richardsonian Romanesque
style, designed the library
in 1890–93 (see p69). Its
heavy stone walls and
recessed, arched windows
are typical of this style,
popular in the second Gage Group
half of the 19th century. These three buildings reflect
different approaches to
the Chicago School: two, South Loop
designed by Holabird and and Near
Roche, have minimal exterior SOUTH STATE STREET South Side
decoration; the third, with
a facade designed by Louis
Sullivan, is more ornate.
E 35TH STREET SOUTH LAKE SHORE DRIVE









MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DRIVE


E HYDE PARK BOULEVARD
S COTTAGE GROVE AVENUE
333 West Wacker Drive Harold Washington Library Center
A Post-Modern structure designed by the architect firm This Neo-Classical giant (see p84)
Kohn Pedersen Fox, this building (see pp58–9) was met alludes to Chicago’s many historic
with critical acclaim and local approval when buildings through its varied
constructed in 1983. architectural features.




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CHIC A GO A T A GLANCE  27

John Hancock Center
The towering glass walls and
horizontal beams of the John
Hancock Center (see p66) are
Near characteristic of the
North International Style.
Side NORTH STATE STREET





WEST GRAND AVENUE N MICHIGAN AVENUE



Lake
Downtown
Michigan



Water Tower
The Gothic Revival-style
castellated tower is one
of the city’s best-loved
landmarks (see p65).
Field Museum
Designed in white marble by Daniel H.
Burnham, this monumental Neo-Classical
building (1921) features a long colonnaded
facade with Greek-style caryatids (see pp88–91).


South Loop
and Near
South Side 0 kilometers 2
0 miles 1

SOUTH STATE STREET
E 35TH STREET


Christopher Bouton House
This villa-like residence, with its tall
windows and dominant cornice, was
built in 1873 in the Italianate style
popular in 19th-century Chicago.

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DRIVE
SOUTH LAKE SHORE DRIVE

E HYDE PARK BOULEVARD
S COTTAGE GROVE AVENUE
Robie House
South Built 1908–1910, this
Side house is considered by
many to be Frank
Lloyd Wright’s Prairie
School masterpiece
(see pp104–5).



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28  INTRODUCING CHIC A GO


Exploring Chicago’s Architecture Queen Anne
Chicago is world famous as a center of architectural Mainly used in residential
innovation, a city where new building techniques have architecture, Queen Anne
been developed and where architects have pushed the style was highly influential
boundaries of creative expression. This reputation had its in Chicago from the mid- to
late 1800s. The name does
beginnings in the defining event of Chicago’s history – not reflect a historical
the tragic fire of 1871. With a blank slate on which to build, period but was coined by
architects rose to the challenge, transforming devastation English architect Richard Shaw.
into opportunity and reshaping the city. It was in Chicago Queen Anne homes are built
that the world’s first skyscraper was built, and here that on a human scale. A mix of
Classical, Tudor, and Colonial
Frank Lloyd Wright developed his distinctive Prairie elements lead to a hybrid look.
School of architecture. Victorian detailing, such as
curlicue cutouts on the trim,
is often prominent.
ornate door and window Crilly Court (1885) and the
Gothic Revival designs, the windows often Olsen-Hansen Row Houses
Popular in the 1830s and 1840s, grouped into arcades. One (1886) are fine examples of
Gothic Revival was inspired by such example is the Richard Queen Anne style. There are
the medieval architecture of H. Driehaus Museum (1883), also many Queen Anne houses
Europe, parti cularly of England. home of banker Samuel M. to be found in the Pullman
Steeply pitched roofs, pointed Nickerson (1830–1914). Historic District.
arches, turrets, and buttresses
are typical features. One of Richardsonian
Chi cago’s best examples of this
style is the Water Tower (1869). Romanesque
Interest in Gothic continued Richardsonian Romanesque,
through the 19th century and is or Romanesque Revival,
reflected in many of the city’s was popularized in the US
most impressive buildings, such in the latter half of the 19th
as the Fourth Presbyterian century by Bostonian Henry Crilly Court, the name of Crilly’s son
Church (1914) and those of the Hobson Richardson (1838– carved above the door
University of Chicago. 86). His architectural legacy
is represented in Chicago Chicago School
by the severe yet subtly
Italianate Style
ornamented Glessner House Named after the city in
Popular from the mid- to (1887). Typical features of which it developed, the
late 1800s, the Italianate this style are heavy rough-cut commercial style of the
design style is based on the stone, round arches, and Chicago School led to both
historic architecture of Italy: deeply recessed windows. an engineering and aesthetic
the villas of northern Italy Richardson’s influence can be revolution in architecture.
and the palaces of the Italian seen in the work of Henry Ives William Le Baron Jenney
Renaissance. Characteristic Cobb, particularly Cobb’s created the first skyscraper
features include asymmetrical design of Newberry Library when he designed the nine-
balancing, low-pitched flat (1890–93) and the former story Home Insurance Building
roofs, projecting eaves, and home of the Chicago History (1884; demo lished 1929),
Museum (see p76) at Dearborn using skeletal steel frames
and Ontario streets. rather than the conventional

Balloon Frame
Balloon-frame construction was first developed in Chicago by
Augustine D. Taylor, in 1833 (though some credit George Washington
Snow’s 1932 Chicago warehouse as the first such construction). The
name refers to the ease of construction: it was as simple as inflating a
balloon, although critics said it referred to the ease with which the wind
would blow away such structures. Raising a balloon-frame house
required simply joining machine-cut lumber with machine-made nails,
rather than interlocking time-consuming joints. Various interior and
exterior surfaces could then be applied. Chicago’s early balloon-frame
houses fed the flames of the 1871 fire, but some built after the fire still
The elegant Richard H. Driehaus Museum exist in Old Town (see pp72–3).
built in the Italianate style




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CHIC A GO A T A GLANCE  29


height-limiting, masonry
load-bearing walls. Prairie School Where to Find the
Jenney trained many of In the first two decades of Buildings
Chicago’s celebrated the 20th century, Frank Lloyd Charnley-Persky House pp78–9
architects, including Louis Wright developed a truly Chicago Cultural Center p54
Sullivan, William Holabird, indigenous American Crilly Court p73
Daniel Burnham, and John architectural style. Reflecting Fourth Presbyterian Church p65
Wellborn Root, whose the sweeping lines of the Glessner House p92
architect firm Midwestern landscape, Prairie IBM Building p68
designed style is characterized by low Illinois Institute of Technology p96
several horizontal lines, projecting James R. Thompson Center p58
Chicago eaves, and rectangular John Hancock Center p66
School windows. It is used mostly in Newberry Library p69
buildings, residential architecture. Oak Park pp116–17
such as the Oak Park is a treasure- Olsen-Hansen Row
Rookery trove of Wright-designed Houses p73
(1885–8) and houses. Notable Wright Pullman Historic District p121
the Reliance buildings elsewhere in Reliance Building p52
Richard H. Driehaus
Building Chicago are Robie House Museum p68
(1891–95). The (1908–1910) and Charnley- Robie House pp104–5
new window Persky House (1892). The Rookery p44
style of these Prairie School is considered Trump International Hotel &
buildings, a part of the Chicago School. Tower p79
made possible 333 West Wacker Drive pp58–9
by Jenney’s Reliance Building, Willis Tower p44
structural Chicago School International Style University of Chicago pp102–5
innovation, The international style developed Water Tower p65
became known as Chicago primarily at Germany’s Bauhaus
windows. Each consists of School. Luminary Ludwig Mies
a large central glass pane, van der Rohe immigrated to
flanked by two slender Chicago in 1938, after the Nazis
windows that open. closed the Bauhaus, and his
ideas took root in the US. Simple,
severe geometry and large
Neo-Classical or expanses of glass are typical
Beaux-Arts
elements. One of the best places
Neo-Classical, or Beaux-Arts, to see examples of Mies’ “less
style became popular in is more” philosophy is at the
Chicago once it was chosen Illinois Institute of Technology
as the design style for the campus. Another landmark
1893 World’s Fair. Based on Mies building is the austere The Post-Modern Harold Washing ton
classical Greek and Roman but beautifully proportioned Library Center (see p84)
architecture, with its columns, IBM Building (1971).
pilasters, and pediments, these Chicago firm Skidmore, Post-Modern
buildings are often monumental Owings and Merrill, architects
in scale. Many of Chicago’s most of the John Hancock Center Post-Modern architecture
notable cul tural institutions, (1969), Willis Tower (1974), and developed in the 1970s
such as the Chicago Cultural Trump International Hotel & primarily in response to –
Center (1893–7), are housed Tower (2009), is famous for its and as a rejection of – the
in Neo-Classical buildings. International-style designs. formal ideals of the International
style. It is an eclectic style
without strict rules or unified
credo, although playful refe-
rences to architectural styles
of the past are typical features
of Post-Modern structures.
The building at 333 West
Wacker Drive (1983), designed
A balloon-frame house is one
the most common building by the firm Kohn Pedersen
types in the US today. Fox, and the James R.
Thompson Center (1985),
The balloon frame consists of two-by-fours designed by architect Helmut
fastened with inexpensive, machine-made nails. Jahn, are notable examples
of Post-Modern design.




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30  INTRODUCING CHIC A GO


Multicultural Chicago

Chicago prides itself on being one of the most ethnically
diverse cities in the US. In the 1840s, the Irish, fleeing their
country’s potato famine, arrived in droves in the young city
of Chicago. Since then, successive waves of immigrants from Spanish sign welcoming visitors to Pilsen,
countries around the world have shaped the city’s many once a Czech community
neighborhoods. These varied ethnic communities continue
to celebrate their cultures at various festivals that are held South Side neighborhoods such
throughout the year (see pp34–7). as Hyde Park and Kenwood
(see pp106–107) were populated
by wealthy German Jews.
known as Andersonville. The Over 125 Jewish congregations
community, with its bakeries worshipped in the city by the
and shops, retains its original late 1920s, with the Jewish
character. Midsommarfest is population and synagogues
celebrated here each June. spread throughout the city.
Prosperous Italians arrived in
Chicago in the 1860s. By 1900,
they were joined by poorer Italian The Eastern Europeans
farmers, some of whom settled The political unrest in
Irish police officers joining the between Van Buren and 12th Czechoslovakia in 1848 led
St. Patrick’s Day celebrations streets. Taylor Street, between to the first wave of Czech
Madison and Halsted streets, on immigrants to the US, many
The Irish Chicago’s West Side, used to be settling in the Midwest. By the
The first Irish immigrants to regarded as the nucleus of Little 1870s, Chicago had a Little
Chicago worked as laborers, Italy, but most Italians have now Prague along DeKoven Street
helping build the Illinois and left the neighborhood to live in on the West Side. Over the next
Michigan Canal (see p120) in different suburbs. few decades, a thriving Czech
the mid-1800s. By 1870, the Greek immigration was community developed nearby,
Irish represented over 13 per spurred by the 1871 fire, when along Blue Island Avenue from
cent of the city’s popu lation. laborers came to help rebuild 16th Street to Cermak Road
Settled mostly in the South the city. By 1927, 10,000 shops, (then known as 22nd Street).
Side industrial town of mainly selling fresh produce Named Pilsen, after the west
Bridgeport, they soon became and flowers, were operated by Czechoslovakian city Plzeň,
a powerful force in city Greeks. A short stretch of Greek the neighborhood today is
politics. Over the years, there restaurants lies along South predominantly Hispanic.
have been eight Irish mayors. Halsted Street near Van Buren Remnants of the Czech
An Irish tradition not to be Street, on the West Side. community, however, can
missed is a foaming glass of be seen in buildings such as
Guinness beer at one of the Thalia Hall (see p118).
city’s many Irish pubs. The Polish community, which
is the largest outside Warsaw, is
also the largest White ethnic
The Western Europeans group in Chicago after the
Germans were some of the Hispanics. Poles began arriving
earliest immigrants to Chicago. in large numbers during the
Settling primarily in the North 1870s. By the turn of the
Side neighborhood of Old century, the Polish Downtown
Town, by the 1870s they were had been established at
Chicago’s largest ethnic group. Division Street and along
Today, the core of Germantown Milwaukee Avenue.
is Old Town’s Lincoln Square, Ukrainians arrived in Chicago
teeming with delicatessens during the early 1900s, settling
and dance halls. Ukrainian Village, an area
In the mid-1800s a small bounded by Division Street
community of Swedes was and Chicago, Damen, and
established just north of the Western avenues, northwest
Chicago River. They later of the Loop. Two interesting
moved to Clark Street and Traditional German maypole at the corner museums in the community
Foster Avenue, an area now of Linden in Lincoln Square celebrate Ukrainian culture. The





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CHIC A GO A T A GLANCE  31



Lithuanian community, in the middle-class Black communities,
suburban village of Lemont, such as Park Manor, as well as
also has a strong presence in somewhat racially integrated
Chicago, as does the smaller areas, such as Hyde Park. The
Latvian community, west Black Metropolis Historic District
of Lakeview. (35th Street and Indiana Avenue)
Eastern European Jews settled is commonly known as
the West Side’s Maxwell Street at Bronzeville and was created in
Halsted Street from the 1880s 1984 to commemorate the
until the 1910s. Community life vibrant Black Belt community.
focused around the Maxwell Today, African Americans
Street Market (see p161), which represent around 33 per cent of
was once the world’s largest flea Chicago’s population.
market, with stalls selling their
reasonably priced wares.
The Hispanic Americans
The first flood of Mexican Colorful Vietnamese and Chinese signs on
immigrants was early in the bustling Argyle Street
20th century, as laborers came
to Chicago to help build the district known as the Levee. That
city’s railroad. A second wave Chinatown dissolved in the early
came after World War II, again 1900s once the vice lords left.
as laborers. This time they were Chinese immigrants, faced with
accompanied by Puerto Ricans. anti-Chinese sentiment reflected
Cubans, fleeing from the 1959 in excessive rent increases,
revolution, joined Chicago’s found themselves forced to
Hispanic community. Today, the the fringes of the district. They
Hispanic Americans – nearly settled at 22nd (now Cermak
Jazz legend Nat “King” Cole, son of a 30 per cent of the city’s Road) and Wentworth streets,
Chicago Baptist minister population – continue to have an area that is now the heart
an enormous impact on the of Chicago’s Chinese community
The African Americans cultural fabric of Chicago. (see p96). Marked by a pagoda
Despite Chicago’s first settler In the two southwest on Argyle CTA stop on the
being mulatto (see p17), racist neighborhoods of Pilsen (see North Side, “New Chinatown,”
practices significantly affected p118) and Little Village (south which is also known as “Little
African-American settlement of Cermak Road between Saigon,” is home to a large
throughout Chicago’s history. Western Avenue and Pulaski Vietnamese population, as
By 1850, the city was home to Road), the colorful streets are well as Cambodian, Laotian,
a small population of fugitive alive with Latin music, and and Thai communities.
slaves from the South. From inviting aromas waft from Chicago’s Asian population
1915 all the way to the 1970s, the numerous eateries. swelled considerably in the
the Great Migration brought 1980s with the arrival of
African Americans seeking Vietnamese, Cambodian, and
to escape the oppressive Thai political refugees, as well
conditions in the South, and as Filipino, Indian, Korean, and
hoping to secure factory work Japanese immigrants. Many
and a better life in the North. settled in various pockets on
Many settled in the area known the North Side.
as the Black Belt, a 30-block
stretch along State Street that at
one point housed half the city’s The Melting Pot
African American population. A Menu and graffiti on the wall of Mi Barrio Other cultures are represented
lively cultural scene developed, Taqueria, in Pilsen in Chicago but are not as
establishing Chicago as a hub distinctly defined. Chicago’s
for jazz, blues, and gospel. The Asians American Indian population
In the 1940s and 1950s, the of approximately 17,000,
Chicago Housing Authority Chinese immigrants first arrived concentrated in Uptown, north
replaced South Side tenements in Chicago in the 1870s, working of Lakeview, is the highest of
with public-housing projects, on building roads and canals. By any US city after San Francisco
which soon became notorious for the turn of the century, a and Los Angeles. Chicagoans
crime. But by the 1960s and Chinese community was of Middle Eastern origin are
1970s, Chicago also had several growing in the South Side vice scattered throughout the city.





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32  INTRODUCING CHIC A GO


Remarkable Residents

Chicago has always been a city at the forefront. It has
nourished leaders in diverse fields, from music to industry,
from architecture to sports. Some have been drawn to Chicago
from other parts of the US and abroad; others were born and
bred in Chicago. All have left their mark on the city and,
indeed, on the world, including, most notably, the current
President of the United States, Barack Obama. As the city
where the skyscraper was developed in the late 1800s, Chicago
has long been a center for architectural innovation, with many Blues legend Muddy Waters playing
his electric guitar
of North America’s influential architects based here for at least
part of their careers. Having nurtured outstanding musicians Delta to Chicago, where his use
since the 1910s, the city is also famous for its jazz and blues. of electric guitar was seminal.
Nat “King” Cole (1919–65),
(see p52), Sullivan declared that with his unique and velvety
form follows function. Indeed, vocals, broke several color
the detailing allowed the barriers in the 1950s. He was
architect artistic license while the first African American to
drawing in passers­by. have a radio and TV show.
Sullivan nurtured a young The electronic dance music
draftsman with whom he worked, genre House originated here,
Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959). and the 90s rock scene erupted
Over the next 70 years, Wright with bands like Smashing
played a significant role in Pumpkins and Wilco. Hip­hop
Frank Lloyd Wright, one of the world’s modern architecture, fathering star Kanye West is from Chicago.
most influential architects the Prairie School (see p29) and
designing such masterpieces as
Robie House (see pp104–105). Actors and Comedians
Architects Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Paul Sills and Bernie Sahlins
Chicago architects have literally (1886–1969) moved to opened Chicago’s renowned
shaped the city. Daniel Burnham Chicago in 1937. The impact improvisational comedy spot
(1846–1912) was one of of his International style (see Second City in 1959. Many
Chicago’s most successful p29) was profound. comics, including Gilda Rad ner
architects. His partnership with (1946–89), Stephen Clobert,
John Wellborn Root (1850–91) Tina Fey, Bill Murray, Dan
led to buildings such as the Musicians Aykroyd, and Joan Rivers, got
Rookery (see p44), a stunning Louis Armstrong (1901–1971) their start here. Comic genius
early skyscraper. His later lived in Chicago from 1922 to Jack Benny (1894–1974) and
partnership with designer 1929. He launched a revolution Saturday Night Live star John
Charles Atwood (1849–95) with his trumpet playing, Belushi (1949–82) both lived in
resulted in the groundbreaking popularizing the new art of jazz. Chicago suburbs.
Reliance Building (see p52). If Armstrong was the king of Several Chicago­based
Burnham was in charge of jazz, Benny Goodman (1909– actors, including John Cusack
designing the 1893 World’s Fair. 1986) was the king of swing. and John Malkovich, have
However, it is for the 1909 Plan of His Russian parents settled in
Chicago, which he coauthored Chicago’s West Side, where
that he is best known. This Goodman joined the Hull­House
document of civic planning (see p118) youth band. Later,
became the vision for Chicago, he led the US’s first racially
proposing a series of riverfront integrated band, inviting black
public spaces and the widening pianist Teddy Wilson to join his
of major roads to make the orchestra. Jelly Roll Morton
downtown easily accessible. (1890–1941), the great pianist
Louis Sullivan (1856–1924) from New Orleans, came to
has been called the first truly Chicago in 1922. Morton claimed
American architect. Cele­ to have invented jazz. Muddy
brated for his organic style of Waters (1915–83) didn’t claim to
ornamentation, as seen on the have invented blues, but he did Chicago’s Oprah Winfrey, a national
windows of Carson Pirie Scott bring the sound of the Mississippi TV personality





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CHIC A GO A T A GLANCE  33



gone on to international fame. rejected the conservative Entrepreneurs and
One of the city’s best-known mindset of this Chicago
TV personalities is talk-show suburb at that time, saying Industrialists
host Oprah Winfrey, whose it was full of “wide lawns Young Chicago
show was watched by nearly and narrow minds.” attracted many
15 million Americans each Theodore Dreiser (1871–1945), enterprisers.
weekday. It was in Chicago that considered the father of American Cyrus Hall
the concept of the TV talk literary naturalism, wrote about McCormick
show was born, in 1949, with Chicago, his home city, in his (1809–1884)
NBC’s Garroway at Large. masterpiece Sister Carrie. transformed
African-American novelist wheat farming Charles Wacker,
Richard Wright (1908–1960) with his invention city planner
Athletes
moved to Chicago at age 19, of the Virginia
Sports teams in Chicago are not though he wrote his reaper. In 1848, he concentrated
known for their winning streaks, bestselling novel Native Son, his farm-implement empire in
but they do boast a number of about a man raised in a Chicago. He died the richest
superstars. Former Chicago Chicago slum, in New York. man in Illinois.
Bulls basketball player Illinois-native poet Carl Real-estate developer Potter
Michael Jordan is perhaps Sandburg (1878–1967) Palmer (1826–1902) built
most famous, known as moved to Chicago in 1912, luxury hotels and is credited
much for his product where he worked as a with creating the wealthy Gold
endorsements as for literary critic. His 1914 Coast area (see pp74–9).
his scoring. poem “Chicago” Marshall Field (1834–1906)
Hockey legend describes it as the built his fortune as a department
Bobby Hull, as the star “City of the Big store owner (see pp52–53),
of the 1961 Chicago Renowned poet Shoulders.” Poet funding some of Chicago’s
Blackhawks team, Carl Sandburg Gwendolyn Brooks most important institutes.
helped bring the (1917–2000) lived in Brewer Charles H. Wacker
Stanley Cup to the city – the Chicago her whole life, writing (1856–1929), son of Frederick
team’s only cup win in more exclusively about it. She was, Wacker (see p73), helped shape
than half a century. in 1950, the first African- the city as chair of the Chicago
Johnny Weissmuller (1904– American to win a Pulitzer Plan Commission, overseers of
1984) may be best known as Prize, for Annie Allen, her coll- the 1909 Plan of Chicago (see p32).
the star of 18 Tarzan movies; ection exploring the Black
however, the boy who swam experience in Chicago. Social Reformers
at Oak Street Beach (see p79)
became the man who held Gangsters and Criminals At the turn of the 20th century,
every world freestyle swimming Chicago was home to three
record of the 1920s. The city’s reputation for of the most influential women
lawlessness was secured in the US.
in the 1920s with the rise Black civil-rights activist Ida B.
of the US’s infamous crime Wells (1862–1931) successfully
lord, Al Capone (1899–1947). sued a railroad company for
Prohibition set the stage racial discrimination. Her
for mob warfare as gangsters columns appeared in many of
monopolized the lucrative the nation’s 200 Black papers
market of banned alcohol. More during the 1890s (see p97).
than 300 gang-related murders Jane Addams (1860–1935)
occurred in the 1920s, includ- was involved with almost every
ing the Capone-orchestrated US social movement of the
St. Valentine’s Day Massacre early 20th century, winning a
(see p20). Nobel Peace Prize for her work.
Bank robber John In 1889, she co-founded
Michael Jordan, the Chicago Bulls’ no. 1 Dillinger’s daring made Hull-House (see p118).
basketball player him a folk hero of sorts. Suffragist Frances
When he was killed by Willard (1839–98)
the FBI outside Lincoln helped found the
Writers Park’s Biograph Theatre WCTU, the first
Chicago’s most famous literary in 1934, onlookers international
figure is Ernest Hemingway dipped handkerchiefs women’s organi-
(1899–1960), who grew up in in his blood for A bank robber as folk zation (see Frances
Oak Park (see pp116–17). He morbid mementos. hero, John Dillinger Willard House, p132).





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34  INTRODUCING CHIC A GO

CHICAGO THROUGH
THE YEAR

Chicago’s nickname “The Windy City” originally “City in a garden.” In summer, Chicago’s
referred to its blustery politicians who lobbied beaches offer cooling breezes and the sun-
to host the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, warmed waters of Lake Michigan. These same
but, Downtown Chicago or anywhere else by waters keep the city temperate during fall.
the lakefront is windy whatever the season – In winter, they lead to “lake effect” storms:
although it ranks only 14th for wind velocity in plenty of snow and chilling breezes. Intrepid
the country. locals bundle up and take advantage of winter
Springtime in Chicago begins in late March. attractions such as the Winter Delights festival.
The city bursts into bloom after a long winter, City Visitor Centers and the mayor’s office
living up to its official motto, Urbs in Horto, or (see p165) provide event information.

April
Chicago Park District Summer
Spring Flower Show (early Chicagoans throng to art fairs
Apr–mid-May), Lincoln Park and outdoor concerts during
and Garfield Park conservatories. the summer. A long-standing
An exuberant display of Chicago tradition is the free
colorful flowers. evening concerts – from opera
Chicago Cubs and to blues, from country to pop –
Chicago White Sox Home at Millennium Park’s (see p55)
Openers (early Apr). See Pritzker Pavilion. Neighborhood
both Major League Baseball festivals take place around the
teams start the season on city virtually every weekend
their home turf. from May to September, and
range from market days to
Irish reveler at Chicago’s annual St. Patrick’s May street festivals.
Day Parade Greek National Parade
(first Sun), Greektown. Annual June
parade commemorating the Chicago Blues Festival (early
Spring anniversary of the Greek Jun), Grant Park. A three-day
Chicagoans welcome the Declaration of Independence. extravaganza of local blues
arrival of spring by jogging Chicago Kids and Kites Fest musicians and southern artists.
through Grant Park, enjoying (early May), Montrose Harbor. Printer’s Row Lit Fest (early
Lincoln Park’s magnificent All Wright (mid- or late May), Jun), Dearborn Ave.
flower displays, and cheering Oak Park (p116). Tour Frank between Congress Pkwy
on the city’s two baseball Lloyd Wright-designed and Polk St (p84). Book
teams, the Chicago Cubs private residences and dealers, along-side
and the White Sox, whose national historic landmarks papermaking and book-
seasons begin in April in this annual housewalk. binding demonstrations.
(see pp166–7). Mayfest (end May), Lakeside. Old Town Art Fair (second
This three-day community weekend), N Lincoln Ave. and
March festival kicks off summer and W Wisconsin. Artists from
Pulaski Day Reception (1st includes local food vendors, around the world display and
Mon in Mar), Polish Museum of live music, and games for kids. sell their work.
America, 984 N Milwaukee Ave.
Celebrations in honor of Polish
freedom fighter and later US
Civil War hero Casimir Pulaski.
St. Patrick’s Day Parade
(Sat before Mar 17), the Loop.
The Chicago River is dyed
green in celebration.
South Side Irish Parade (Sun
before Mar 17), Western Ave.
from 103rd to 114th streets.
One of the largest Irish
parades outside Dublin. Navy Pier, Chicago’s amusement park for the entire family (see p65)




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CHIC A GO THROUGH THE Y EAR  35


Average daily hours of sunshine Sunshine
More than 50 days a
Hours year on average have
10 clear skies, whereas
240 are overcast.
8
Night descends early
6 during the winter
months, but the days
4 can be brilliantly
clear. December is the
2 cloudiest month of the
year, with an average of
0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec just four cloud-free days.
Wells Street Art Festival music festival featuring
(second weekend), Wells St. alternative bands and artists.
between Division and North South Shore Jazzfest (late Jul/
aves. Crafts and fine art on early Aug), South Shore Cultural
display and for sale. Center, 7059 S Shore Dr. Top jazz
Ravinia Music Festival (mid- musicians perform.
Jun–mid-Sep), Ravinia Park. Chinatown Summer Fair (mid-
Dozens of performances in all or late Jul), Wentworth Ave.
musical styles (p166). between Cermak Rd and 24th
Chicago Pride Parade (fourth St. Fabulous food, art, and dance
Sun), from Lakeview (p116) to displays to admire.
Lincoln Park, celebrates the gay Celebrate Clark Street Festival
and lesbian community. (end Jul), Rogers Park. Top world
music acts and a diverse range
July of food vendors.
Chicago Gospel Festival (first Taste of Lincoln Ave. (end Jul), Air maneuvers over the North Side as part
week), Millennium Park. A Lincoln Ave. The street is closed to of the Air and Water Show
two-day free event featuring traffic for a weekend street festival
gospel composers, singers, with live bands and a kids carnival. Northalsted Market Days
and musicians. (mid-Aug), Halsted St. Gay
Taste of Chicago (first week), August festival, with market
Grant Park (pp86–7). Concerts Lollapalooza (first weekend), stalls, comedians, and
and cooking lessons Grant Park. Massive alternative pop groups.
accompany the cuisine of some rock festival held in Chicago Ukranian Festival (mid-Aug),
of the city’s finest restaurants. since 2007. Ukranian Village. An authentic
Kwanzaa Summer Festival (first Bud Billiken Day Parade ethnic festival with crafts,
Sat), Abbott Park, 49 E 95th St. (second Sat), King Dr. from 35th food, and dancing.
Musical entertainment, food, to 55th sts. One of the US’s oldest Chicago Air and Water Show
and activities for children. African-American parades (late Aug), North Ave. Beach.
Chicago Country Music culminates with a huge picnic Planes perform maneuvers in
Festival (early Jul), Grant Park in Washington Park (p106). the sky and boats do stunts on
(pp86–7). Part of the Taste of Chicago Carifete (mid-Aug), the water.
Chicago Festival. Midway Plaisance (p106). Music, Bucktown Arts Fest (late Aug),
Rock Around the Block (mid- dance, and food from the N Oakley Blvd (p116). Local
Jul), Lakeview (p116). islands of the Caribbean. artists display their work.
Annual weekend-long
neighborhood festivities.
Chicago Folk and Roots
Festival (mid-Jul), Welles Park.
A mix of musical styles from
around the world.
La Fiesta del Sol (late Jul),
Pilsen (p118). Carnival rides, arts
and crafts, local and visiting
musicians, and Mexican cuisine
are featured at this festival, one
of Chicago’s largest.
Pitchfork Music Festival (third
weekend), Union Park. Three-day Visitors sampling delicacies of dozens of restaurants at Taste of Chicago




034-035_EW_Chicago.indd 35 13/07/16 2:59 pm

36  INTRODUCING CHIC A GO


Average monthly rainfall Precipitation
Chicago’s average
MM Inches monthly precipitation
300 12 is much the same
240 throughout the year,
9 with a modest peak in
180 early summer. Summer
6 storms are brief but
120 dramatic, and provide
3 relief from humidity.
60 Winter brings blizzards.
0 0 Rainfall
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Snowfall

September Oktoberfest (early Oct), Lincoln
Chicago Jazz Festival (Labor and Southport Ave. Celebrates
Day weekend), Grant Park German culture with food and
(pp86–7). Swing to the lively beer gardens.
sounds of renowned jazz Chicagoween (month-long),
musicians and singers. Daley Plaza. An outdoor haunted
North Coast Music Festival village that kids will love.
(Labor Day weekend), Union
Park. With electronic, hip-hop, November
and rock acts, this festival Holiday Windows at Macy’s
rivals Loopalooza. (Nov–Dec). Animated Christmas
Art on Harrison (second displays in the windows of the
weekend), Oak Park (pp116–17). State Street store (pp52–3) are
Showcasing Oak Park’s artists, a Chicago tradition.
galleries, and studios, with Christmas Around the World
displays, demonstrations, and Holidays of Light (mid-
Pumpkins at a local farmers’ market, and food. Nov–Jan), Museum of Science
a telltale sign of fall Renegade Craft Fair (mid-Sep), and Industry (pp108–111).
Division St. between Damen Chicago’s ethnic groups decorate
and Ashland. Handmade goods, trees in an “enchanted” forest and
Fall
live music, craft workshops, and share holiday traditions.
Fall is an invigorating season food stalls. Magnificent Mile Lights
in Chicago. September’s Mexican Independence Day Festival (third weekend),
comfortable weather provides Parade (mid-Sep), Columbus Michigan Ave. from the Chicago
an inviting backdrop to the Dr between Monroe and River to Oak St. Christmas
numerous outdoor festivals Columbus. Floats, bands, lights are lit during this
held throughout the city. and dancers join to celebrate annual procession.
Fall is also the season when Mexico’s 1820 independence State Street Thanksgiving Day
45,000 runners, Chicagoans from Spain. Parade (Thanksgiving), State St.
and visitors alike, test their World Music Festival (mid- between Congress Pkwy and
mettle and stamina during to late Sep), various locations. Randolph St. Santa and his elves
the internationally celebrated The eclectic sounds of music delight children.
annual marathon. from Europe, Africa, and
Football season kicks off South America.
the first week of September
with the Chicago Bears playing October
at Soldier Field. The city’s Annual House Tour (second
many sports enthusiasts also weekend), Pullman (p121).
flock to the United Center A rare opportunity to see
to see the Chicago Bulls play inside this historic district’s
basketball and the Chicago 19th-century houses.
Blackhawks play hockey Chicago Marathon (second
(see p167). Sun), downtown. One of the
In late fall, the city gets world’s largest marathons, with
a head start on the Christmas thousands of participants, and
season, with many holiday spectators in the hundreds of
traditions beginning thousands giving support and
immediately after Thanks- cheering runners along the The Chicago Marathon, attracting athletes
giving, in November. 26.2-mile (43-km) course. from around the world




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CHIC A GO THROUGH THE Y EAR  37


Average monthly temperature Temperature Chart
Spring is generally mild. Most
°C 30 86 °F
summer days are comfortably
warm, but there may be some
20 68 very hot and humid periods.
Fall is crisp, with unpre dictable
temperatures. Winter winds are
10 50
often bitingly cold. This chart
shows the average minimum
0 32 and maximum temperatures
for each month.
-10 14 Maximum Temperature
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Minimum Temperature
Holiday Tree Lighting Winter Flower and Train Show
Ceremony (day after (early Dec), Lincoln Park
Thanksgiving Day), Daley Plaza. Conservatory. Model trains
Christkindlmarket (late Nov– weave through colorful holiday
Dec), Daley Plaza. Holiday poinsettia displays.
shopping in a German Night of the Luminaria (third
marketplace, complete with Sat), Galena (pp136–7).
an 80-ft (24-m) tree. Thousands of candle-lit
Zoo Lights (last weekend Nov luminaria line the streets
until Jan 1), Lincoln Park Zoo of the town’s Victorian
(pp114–15). More than 1.5 historic district and
million lights illuminate the zoo. surrounding neighborhoods.
Free admission. New Year’s Eve (Dec 31), Navy
Pier (p67) and Buckingham
Fountain (p87). An evening of
Winter celebration with laser-lights
The city sparkles during winter and fireworks.
with elaborate decorations, and
buildings and trees festooned January Illuminated Christmas tree in front of
with green and red lights. The New Year’s Day (Jan 1), Navy Pier the Tribune Building
Merchandise Mart, on the north (p67). Family activities and fire-
bank of the river, looks like a works to start off the New Year. February
massive wrapped gift. Winter Delights (Jan 1–Mar 31). Chinese New Year Parade
City-wide indoor and outdoor (date varies), Wentworth Ave.
December events, including music per- from Cermak Rd. to 24th St.
Winter Wonderfest (throughout formances, themed weekends Festivities include colorful
Dec), Navy Pier. Family-friendly and the Magnificent Mile floats, traditional music and
activities, a carousel, ferris Crystal Carnival, with its dancing, and food.
wheel, and ice-skating. giant ice sculptures.
Public Holidays
New Year’s Day (Jan 1)
Martin Luther King Day
(3rd Mon in Jan)
President’s Day (3rd Mon
in Feb)
Pulaski Day (1st Mon in Mar)
Memorial Day (last Mon
in May)
Independence Day (Jul 4)
Labor Day (1st Mon in Sep)
Columbus Day (2nd Mon
in Oct)
Veterans Day (Nov 11)
Thanksgiving Day (4th Thu
in Nov)
Christmas Day (Dec 25)
Ice skaters enjoying a bright winter day outdoors
The glittering skyline of Chicago at night



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Date 15th November 2012
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CHICAGO


AREA BY AREA





Downtown 40–59

Near North Side 60–79
South Loop and
Near South Side 80–99

South Side 100–111
Farther Afield 112–121













































038-039_EW_Chicago.indd 39 13/07/16 2:59 pm

Chicago River
E WACKER DRIVE
WEST WACKER DRIVE NORTH
W HADDOCK PL S WATER STREET
Clark/ State/ NORTH MICHIGAN AVENUE E SOUTH WATER ST COL N FIELD BLVD NORTH HARBOR DRIVE
POST PL
WEST LAKE ST Lake Lake
Lake NORTH LAKE SH O RE D RIVE
BENTON PLACE
N WELLS ST
Randolph/
WEST RANDOLPH ST NORTH STATE STREET Wabash
EAST RANDOLPH STREET
NORTH STETSON AVENUE
N LASALLE ST
Washington/ NORTH CLARK STREET N GARLAND COURT Millennium
Wells Washington Station MAGGIE
WEST WASHINGTON ST
MILLENNIUM DALEY PARK
WEST CALHOUN PLACE PARK
NORTH FRANKLIN STREET
NORTH WABASH AVE
NORTH DEARBORN STREET
WEST MADISON STREET
NORTH WACKER DRIVE
1 •21
Monroe Madison/
WEST MONROE STREET S LASALLE ST Wabash EAST MONROE DRIVE
GRANT
WEST ADAMS STREET SOUTH CLARK STREET S DEARBORN STREET SOUTH STATE ST Adams/ PARK
Wabash
Quincy W QUINCY ST SOUTH MICHIGAN AVENUE EAST LAKE STREET UMBUS DRIVE S OU TH COLUMBUS DRIVE
SOUTH WACKER DRIVE
WEST JACKSON BOULEVARD Jackson EAST JACKSON DRIVE SOUTH LAKE SHORE DRIVE
Buren
LaSalle/ Harold Washington Van
Library
Van Buren E VAN BUREN ST Street
E CONGRESS PKWY E CONGRESS DR
040-041_EW_Chicago.indd 40 13/07/16 2:56 pm

CHIC A GO AREA B Y AREA  41

DOWNTOWN

Bordered on the north and on the west by Great Fire of 1871, a mere two decades
the Chicago River, on the east by Lake later it had been rebuilt with pioneering
Michigan, and on the south by the Congress skyscrapers, including the Marquette
Parkway, Downtown is Chicago’s historic and Building. Along with this architectural
financial center. The downtown’s nucleus is legacy, the area is home to such famous
the Loop, named for the elevated train museums as The Art Institute of Chicago.
tracks encircling it. Even though the area State Street is home to landmark
was completely destroyed by the department stores.

Sights at a Glance
Historic Buildings Modern Skyscrapers Restaurants pp148–9
2 The Rookery 1 Willis Tower 1 Acanto
3 Marquette Building 4 Federal Center 2 Aria
5 Monadnock Building o R. R. Donnelley Building 3 Artist’s Café
6 Auditorium Building p James R. Thompson 4 Atwood Café
7 Fine Arts Building Center 5 Cafecito
8 Santa Fe Building a 333 West Wacker Drive 6 Catch35
0 Sullivan Center Museums and Galleries 7 Frontera Fresco
q Reliance Building 8 Heaven on Seven
w Macy’s 9 The Art Institute of 9 Italian Village
Chicago pp48–51
e Oriental Theater 10 Lockwood
y Chicago Theatre r Chicago Cultural Center 11 Miller’s Pub
i 35 East Wacker Drive Bridges, Parks, and 12 Morton’s The Steakhouse
Streets 13 Native Foods Café
t Millennium Park 14 Park Grill
u Michigan Avenue Bridge 15 Pastoral
s Wacker Drive 16 Petterino’s
17 Pizano’s Pizza
18 Plymouth Pub
19 Rosebud Prime
0 meters 500
20 Russian Tea Time
0 yards 500 21 The Gage
22 Trattoria No.10
See also Street Finder
maps 3 & 4 Chicago River
E WACKER DRIVE
WEST WACKER DRIVE NORTH
W HADDOCK PL S WATER STREET
Clark/ State/ NORTH MICHIGAN AVENUE E SOUTH WATER ST COL N FIELD BLVD NORTH HARBOR DRIVE
POST PL
WEST LAKE ST Lake Lake
Lake NORTH LAKE SH O RE D RIVE
BENTON PLACE
N WELLS ST
Randolph/
WEST RANDOLPH ST NORTH STATE STREET Wabash
EAST RANDOLPH STREET
NORTH STETSON AVENUE
N LASALLE ST
Washington/ NORTH CLARK STREET N GARLAND COURT Millennium
Wells Washington Station MAGGIE
WEST WASHINGTON ST
MILLENNIUM DALEY PARK
WEST CALHOUN PLACE PARK
NORTH FRANKLIN STREET
NORTH WABASH AVE
NORTH DEARBORN STREET
WEST MADISON STREET
NORTH WACKER DRIVE
1 •21
Monroe Madison/
WEST MONROE STREET S LASALLE ST Wabash EAST MONROE DRIVE
GRANT
WEST ADAMS STREET SOUTH CLARK STREET S DEARBORN STREET SOUTH STATE ST Adams/ PARK
Wabash
Quincy W QUINCY ST SOUTH MICHIGAN AVENUE EAST LAKE STREET UMBUS DRIVE S OU TH COLUMBUS DRIVE
SOUTH WACKER DRIVE
WEST JACKSON BOULEVARD Jackson EAST JACKSON DRIVE SOUTH LAKE SHORE DRIVE
LaSalle/ Harold Washington Van
Buren
Library
Van Buren E VAN BUREN ST Street
E CONGRESS PKWY E CONGRESS DR
Skyscrapers lining the waterfront in Chicago’s Downtown area For keys to symbols see back flap
040-041_EW_Chicago.indd 41 13/07/16 2:56 pm

42  CHIC A GO AREA B Y AREA

Street-by-Street: The Loop

The Loop gets its name from the elevated track system
that circles the center of Downtown. Trains screeching
as they turn sharp corners and the steady stream of
businesspeople during rush hour add to the Loop’s
bustle. In the canyon vistas through the many tall, historic
buildings – and modern edifices such as the Federal Center –
you can catch glimpses of the 19 bridges spanning the
Chicago River. The conversion of warehouses to
condominiums and the renovation of historic
theaters have helped to enliven the Loop at night.
3 Marquette Building
This early skyscraper (1895) was
1 . Willis Tower designed by William Holabird
At a height of 1,454 ft and Martin Roche, central
(443 m), this is one of Chicago School figures and
the tallest buildings in architects of more than
the world. Views from 80 buildings in the Loop.
the glass-enclosed
observation deck on the
103rd floor are stunning.


190 South LaSalle Street
(1987), designed by New
York architect Philip
Johnson, has a white-
marble lobby with a gold-
leafed, vaulted ceiling.
2 The Rookery
One of the earliest designs by
Burnham and Root, this 1888
building has a lobby that was
remodeled by Frank Lloyd
S T R E E T C L A R K
Wright in 1907.



A D A M S S T R E E T





F R A N K L I N
V A N
W A C K E R


S T R E E T

D R I V E
Chicago Board of Trade
occupies a 45-story Art Deco
building, with a statue of
Ceres atop its roof. The
frenetic action inside can be
0 meters 100
seen from a viewers’ gallery
0 yards 100 (group tours only).


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DOWNT OWN  43


NEAR NORTH SIDE

DOWNTOWN



9 . Art Institute of Chicago SOUTH LOOP
The Impressionist and Post- Locator Map
Impressionist collection at this See Street Finder maps 3 & 4
museum, one of the most
important in the country, is
8 Santa Fe Building world famous.
This classic Chicago School
building, with an elegant two- Key
story atrium, houses the Chicago
Architecture Foundation. Suggested route
M O N R O E S T




S O U T H
J A C K S O N B L V D

W A B A S H
S TAT E


S T R E E T
M I C H I G A N A V E N U E
A V E N U E

P K W Y


C O N G R E S S


S T R E E T The “Elevated,” or “L,”
S T R E E T
B U R E N train tracks opened in
1897. Its loop in the city’s
core is seven blocks long
and five blocks wide.
V A N
5 Monadnock Building
The north half of this building
(1891) is the tallest building
ever constructed entirely
of masonry. 7 Fine Arts Building
Frank Lloyd Wright once
had a studio in this 1885
4 Federal Center building designed by
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Solon S. Beman. The 6 Auditorium Building
designed this three-building building was originally The lavish birch-paneled theater
office complex around a central used as a carriage in this 1889 multipurpose
plaza, which holds Alexander showroom by the skyscraper is one of Adler and
Calder’s 1973 sculpture Flamingo. Studebaker Company. Sullivan’s best interiors.




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44  CHIC A GO AREA B Y AREA

1 Willis Tower 1,600 people during the The 110-story tower
soars to 1,450 ft
peak period. More than 110 (442 m) – or 1,730 ft
233 S Wacker Dr. Map 3 B2.
Tel (312) 875-9696. q Quincy. concrete caissons anchored (527 m) if the higher
of the two antennas
Open Apr–Sep: 9am–10pm daily; in bedrock support the is included.
Oct–Mar: 10am–8pm daily; last adm tower’s 222,500 tons.
30 min before closing. & 7 0 Today, the tower contains
= h ∑ willistower.com; 3.5 million sq ft (0.3
theskydeck.com million sq m) of office The tower top sways
space and more than 6 inches (15 cm) in
strong wind.
In 2009 Sears Tower was 100 elevators. It also
renamed Willis Tower. It was contains approximately
the tallest building in the world 43,000 miles (69,000 km)
from the time of its construction of telephone cable, The glass-enclosed,
in 1973 until 1997 when the almost enough to 103rd-floor Skydeck,
Petronas Twin Towers were built encircle the Earth twice. and The Ledge, the
world’s third-highest
in Kuala Lumpur. In 2000 it The elevator to the observation deck,
regained its status as the world’s Skydeck travels at a provides views of the
tallest structure when one of its stomach-churning far shores of Lake
antennas was extended. The 1,600 ft (490 m) per Michigan and four
building held this record until minute. During summer, states on clear days.
early 2010 when Burj Khalifa in there are often lengthy
Dubai opened as the world’s lineups for the Skydeck
tallest building, with the highest and The Ledge, an The 16,000 bronze-
occupied floor in the world. observation deck that tinted windows are
Willis Tower remained the extends onto a glass- cleaned by six
automatic machines
tallest building in the western floored platform for eight times a year.
hemisphere until the 2013 thrilling views.
completion of New York’s One Diversions include a
World Trade Center. It remains a short movie and
significant landmark in Chicago. exhibits on Chicago. Black aluminum
The skyscraper was designed clads the framework,
by Bruce Graham, a partner at which is made from
76,000 tons of steel.
the Chicago architectural firm of 2 The
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, Rookery
with the assistance of chief
engineer Fazlur Khan. Construc- 209 S LaSalle St.
tion of the innovative building Map 3 C2. Tel (312) 553- Alexander Calder’s
took three years, employing 6100. q Quincy; mobile sculpture
Jackson (Brown Line). Universe (1974) is on
Open 8am–6pm Mon– display in the lobby.
Fri; 8am–2pm Sat.
Closed major
public hols. 7
When the Rookery
opened in 1888, it was
the tallest building in the
world. The 12-story building, innovation when artificial
designed by the influential lighting technology was in
firm Burnham and Root in its infancy.
the Richardsonian Romanesque Framing the main entrance
style (see p28), has a dark red is a monumental arch with
brick facade with terra-cotta geometric carvings, including
trim and a rough granite base. eponymous rooks. Inside is a
The building, now housing two-tiered court, remodeled in
offices, was constructed on 1907 by Frank Lloyd Wright,
a foundation of crisscrossing who covered the original iron
rails – necessitated by the clay columns and staircases with
soils unable to support the white marble, inlaid with gold
weight of the massive structure. leaf. The central staircase,
While its thick masonry walls framed with Wright’s signature
are load bearing, the iron urns, leads to a mezzanine
framing of the lower stories enclosed by a domed skylight.
The Willis Tower and Skydeck allows for the use of large A magnificent, cantilevered
on the Chicago River windows – a welcome cast-iron staircase leads from


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DOWNT OWN  45

4 Federal Center
Dearborn St, between Adams and
Jackson sts. Map 3 C2. q Jackson
(Blue Line). Open 7am–6pm Mon–Fri.
Closed major public hols. 7
The three-building Federal
Center complex, designed by
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and
completed in 1974, expresses
the pared-down functionalism of
Mies’ International style (see p29).
There is little ornamentation to
distract from these austere
curtain-wall structures made
of glass and steel.
The Rookery’s spectacular light court The 30-story Dirksen
courtroom building stands on
the second floor to the top. The glass designed by J. A. Holzer the east side of the complex;
building was made a National of Tiffany and Company depict the 42-story Kluczynski office
Historic Landmark in 1988, 100 scenes of the French exploration tower and one-story post office
years after its opening. of Illinois. Sculpted heads inset are to the west. The center is
above the elevators on the first interesting for the expert
3 Marquette and second floors pay tribute to arrangement of its buildings
around the plaza and with each
the Native American chiefs and
Building early French explorers of the other. The granite grid of the
Chicago area (see p17). The pavement forms a unity
140 S Dearborn St. Map 3 C2. Tel (312) revolving doors of the lobby
422-5500. q Monroe (Blue Line). between these three structures
Open 24 hrs daily. 7 ∑ marquette. show exquisite metalwork, The sterile plaza is graced
macfound.org including forged peace pipes, with Alexander Calder’s 53-ft
which Father Marquette gave (16-m) vermilion sculpture
Considered the premier to the Native Americans as a Flamingo (see p46), which seems
remaining example of the gesture of goodwill. almost to be dancing – its steel
Chicago School of architecture The building underwent organic form a surprising
(see pp28–9), the Marquette restoration in 1980, and a four- complement to the rigid
Building was designed by year renovation was also geometry of the buildings.
Holabird and Roche in 1895. completed in 2006. An exhibit Federal agencies located in
Commissioned by the owners located just past the lobby this building include the Air
of the Rookery, the architects outlines the building’s history. Force Recruiting Service,
faced the demanding task of Originally built for an Department of Labor, Internal
equaling the Burnham and Root insurance company, the Revenue Service, and the
original sophisticated design of Marquette Building is now Consumer Product Safety
that building. home to the MacArthur Commission. Barack Obama
The grid of this early Foundation, started by John briefly had offices here
commercial 17-story high-rise’s MacArthur, once one of the following his election as
steel-frame skeleton is easily wealthiest men in America. President of the USA in 2008.
seen in the terra-cotta and
brick exterior.
The building’s ground-
breaking expansive horizontal
windows became known as
Chicago windows (see p29).
They are one of the few
remaining examples of this
innovative window design.
Bronze bas-relief panels over
the entrance doors, designed by
Hermon Atkins MacNeil, illustrate
Jesuit missionary Father Jacques
Marquette’s 1673–4 expedition
to the area. Marquette was the
first European settler in Chicago.
In the two-story lobby, mosaic
panels of mother-of-pearl and Entrance to the Marquette Building




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46  CHIC A GO AREA B Y AREA


north entrance and at the south
elevator banks, you can see,
under glass, part of the original
marble floor. A corridor
bordered by shops and
restaurants runs the length of
the building, much like an
interior street.

6 Auditorium
Building
430 S Michigan Ave. Map 4 D3.
Tel (312) 341-3500. q Library.
@ 3, 145, 147, 151. Open 7:30am– Roosevelt University admissions office in
10:30pm Mon– Thu; 7:30am–6pm Fri; the Auditorium Building
10:30am–5pm Sat, Sun. Closed major
public hols. 7 8 Building: (312) (World War II servicemen
341-3555; Theater: (312) 922-2110. used the stage as a bowling
The Monadnock Building’s filigree See Entertainment: p164. alley), it was restored in
wrought-iron staircase the 1960s and is now a venue
5 Monadnock Designed by Dankmar Adler for performing arts events.
Four elliptical arches span
and Louis Sullivan, their first
Building major commission together, the the width of the theater,
Auditorium Building (1889), which is ornamented with
53 W Jackson Blvd. Map 3 C2.
Tel (312) 922-1890. q Jackson (Blue with its walls of smooth stenciling, stained glass,
Line). Open 7am–6pm Mon–Fri. limestone typical of the and gold-leaf plaster reliefs.
Closed public hols. 7 Richardsonian Romanesque Its excellent acoustics enable
∑ monadnockbuilding.com style (see p28) rising above guests in the last row
the rough granite to hear an unam-
Constructed in two parts two base, broke plified whisper
years apart (and by two many records on stage, six
different architectural firms), and achieved stories below.
the interestingly bisected a number The grand
Monadnock Building looks both of firsts. lobby, with
to the past and to the future. Combining its onyx
The northern half of this office a 400-room Stained-glass detailing in the walls and
building, designed by Burnham hotel, a Auditorium Building ornate
and Root, was built first, in 1891. 17-story office staircase,
Sixteen stories tall and with tower, and a 4,300-seat theater, contains an exhibition on the
masonry load-bearing walls (the it was the tallest building in building’s history. The tenth-
building method at the time), it Chicago and the first building floor library, originally the
is the tallest commercial masonry of its size to be electrically hotel’s dining room, has a
building ever constructed. The lighted and air-conditioned. dramatic barrel-vaulted ceiling
southern section, designed by Not surprisingly, it was also and superb lake views.
Holabird and Roche, has a steel the most expensive, costing The building also houses
skeleton sheathed in terra-cotta, over $3 million to build. Roosevelt University.
an innovation that in the At 110,000 tons,
1890s allowed skyscrapers to it was the
soar. Upon completion, it was heaviest building
the largest office building in in the world,
the world. and the
The building is named after most fireproof.
one of New Hampshire’s White The building’s
Mountains. “Monadnock” is crowning jewel
also a geological term for a is the lavish
mountain surrounded by a Auditorium
glacial plain – an appropriate Theatre, the
name, as its walls are 6 ft (2 m) first home of
thick at the base. The interior the Chicago
was restored in the 1980s: the Symphony
mosaic floor is a replica; the Orchestra. After
white-marble ceiling and ornate many years Facade of the Auditorium Building, with cows from a past
staircase are original. At the of neglect public-art project in the foreground




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Date 12th July 2013
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DOWNT OWN C ORE  47


enterprises remain in the
building, including the Fine
Arts Building Gallery in Suite
433, which showcases Chicago
artists with a new exhibition
each month. There are also
two movie theaters.
The sound of singers
practicing scales can be heard
echoing through the halls, and
a ride in the old elevator (with
an operator) is an experience
not to be missed.
The Artist’s Café on the ground floor of the Fine Arts Building
8 Santa Fe Building
7 Fine Arts Building the building as a cultural 224 S Michigan Ave. Map 4 D2.
center. The facade of the
410 S Michigan Ave. Map 4 D2. Tel (312) 341-9431. q Adams.
Tel (312) 566-9800. q Library. eighth floor was removed and Open 24 hrs daily. Closed major
@ 3, 4, 145, 147, 151. Open 7am– replaced with a three-story public hols.
10pm Mon–Fri; 7am–9pm Sat; addition. Inside, studios, shops,
10am–5pm Sun. Closed major and offices were added, and The Santa Fe Building gleams –
public hols. 7 the building quickly became inside with white marble, and
a hub of artistic activity. The outside with white-glazed terra-
Although now closely literary magazines Dial, Poetry, cotta. Designed by D.H. Burnham
associated with fine art and and Little Review were and Co. in 1904 and originally
culture, the Fine Arts Building published here; the Little known as the Railway Exchange
was originally commissioned Theater staged dramas; and Building, it is now called the
by Studebaker Brothers painters, sculptors, and Santa Fe because of the rooftop
Manufacturing to house a architects (including Frank sign, erected in the early 1900s
wagon carriage showroom. Lloyd Wright, see p32) had by the Santa Fe Railroad.
(The name “Studebaker” their studios on the tenth Porthole windows line the
inscribed outside in stone is floor. In 1892, resident artists, top floor; terra-cotta reliefs of
still visible above the first floor.) including Frederic Clay Bartlett ancient goddesses decorate
Designed by Solon S. Beman and Ralph Clarkson, formed a the vestibule. The atrium’s
and completed in 1885, the group called the Little Room balustraded mezzanine,
building, with its columns, and produced eight murals, marble staircase, and elevators
rough stone, and arched which still can be seen on the with grillwork are all notable.
entranceway and windows, is walls of the tenth floor. The building also houses
typical of the Romanesque style. Today the building, which the Chicago Architecture
When the Studebaker has been given national Foundation, which has a “mini-
Company moved to a new historic landmark status, has museum” detailing the history
location, Beman was a slightly frayed, run-down of Chicago architecture and
commissioned to renovate charm. Many arts-related offers guided tours of the city.



















White-marble lobby of the Santa Fe Building




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48  CHIC A GO AREA B Y AREA

9 The Art Institute of Chicago

The extensive collections at the Art Institute of Chicago
represent nearly 5,000 years of human creativity through
paintings, sculptures, textiles, photographs, cultural
objects, and decorative artifacts from around the world.
The museum was founded by civic leaders and art
collectors in 1879 as the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, Kartikeya sculpture,
changing its name to The Art Institute of Chicago in 1882. 12th century
Outgrowing two homes as wealthy patrons donated This gray granite sculpture of
collections, it finally settled in a Neo-Classical structure Kartikeya, Ganesha’s brother, is
built for the 1893 World’s Fair. The Modern Wing devoted to the Hindu God of War.
modern and contemporary art, designed by Renzo Piano,
opened in 2009, increasing gallery space by one third.




Key
American Art McKinlock
Eastern & Islamic Art Court
Architecture & Design First floor
Modern Art 1900–1950
African Art
Greek, Roman & Byzantine Art
Photography
Indian Art of the Americas
Prints and Drawings
Contemporary Art after 1945
European Art before 1900





Indra Statue (16th century)
Originating from Kathmandu
Valley, this gilded bronze statue McKinlock
is a fine example of Nepalese Court
handicraft. Indra, the Hindu
god of warriors and thunder,
was said to ride Airavat,
a four-tusked
white elephant.
Traditionally,
followers of Indra
would honor him
by sacrificing
animals. Lower level








Main Entrance





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Date 24th April 2013
Size 125mm x 217mm