The Second City Revisited - Chicago in the Spring

My first visit to Chicago last October had left a lasting impression upon me. It had always been on my “dream list” of cities to visit for my love of architecture extends beyond ancient Greek and Roman sites in Europe to these wonderful, jaw-dropping vertical “cities-in-the-sky” that are synonymous with Chicago.

The opportunity to return arose partly thanks to my brother; being a huge motor racing fan, he’d decided to travel to Indianapolis for the famous Indy 500 and suggested we meet in Chicago for a few days after the race as it was also somewhere that he had always wanted to experience.

Having seen so many great sights last October, I decided that this time I would strive to see a totally different array of buildings, parks, museums, and attractions. Chicago has so many to offer, that this was relatively simple to organise using a good up-to-date guide-book and an accurate street plan of the city.

Major requirement was to see the city from the John Hancock Building observation deck. The tower is more centrally located than the Sears Tower, affording amazing views of not just the Magnificent Mile and the surrounding neighbourhoods, but far beyond on what was to be a fine, clear day. Combined with the Hancock visit was a stroll along the Mag Mile, taking in famous landmarks such as the Water Tower, the Wrigley Building, the Chicago Tribune Building, and the ever-growing Trump Tower which must have grown by 200 feet since last October.

Other must-sees included the truly spectacular Tiffany Dome inside the recently-acquired Macy’s Store, the opulent splendour of Union Station and the Chicago Cultural Center, Dearborn Station and Printers Row, Maxwell St market, China Town, Lincoln Park Zoo, the Adler Planetarium, the wonderful prototype skyscraper that is the Reliance Building, and the Carson Scott Pirie building.

Other “none-the-less tangible” highlights included the weather which was again very warm and dry and of course, the native Chicagoans who as in last October, were polite, friendly, and all-too-ready to assist two out-of-towners with information and directions.

Getting to Chicago was even cheaper this time round with a return fare of £389 courtesy of American Airlines, some £30 cheaper than last year’s fare with BA. The Boeing 777 had plenty of legroom and I had been fortunate enough to reserve window seats for both out- and in-bound journeys.

Quick Tips:

AIRFARE

I began looking for my travel ticket in January and at that time, all the major airlines such as United, AA, BA, Lufthansa and KLM were looking for at least £600 for a return flight. I often employ the services of Expedia to gauge the sort of price I think I ought to be paying but they were also at a similar level. I left it almost to the last moment in late April when the ticket prices fell dramatically, and when the Dollar was at a .94 rate to the Pound. I booked the ticket direct with AA as they were actually a few pounds cheaper than Expedia.

ACCOMMODATION

Once again, I opted to make the Write Inn at Oak Park my base for the stay. Upon e-mailing them, I was told they only had single rooms available for my dates which I thought might be a little cramped. But upon checking their website, their standard singles are at least what we would recognise as a double over here so I had no qualms about reserving the room.

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

We used the El almost exclusively during our stay; it’s cheap, safe (certainly during regular hours), reliable, and serves almost every point in the city that we wanted to see. We did hop on a couple of buses to take us out to Lincoln Park, using our 5-day pass which is valid for all El trains and CTA buses. One point I would make is that we were recommended to take either the Metra or a cab if travelling back to Oak Park much after 10pm. Some of the neighbourhoods between the Loop and Oak Park are less than salubrious but this was the only time when personal safety ever reared its head and we did heed the advice. Cabs are cheap enough anyway with a 15-minute ride out to Oak Park from the Loop costing around .

GENERAL

Boy, was it hot during our stay; we arrived at O’Hare to a blistering 92 degrees with what must have been 90% humidity - it was like walking into a wall from the air-conditioned comfort of the terminal. We drank lots of non-alcoholic drinks and tended to eat “a little often” to avoid discomfort. Shorts and T-shirts were order of the day along with good walking shoes or trainers.

Best Way To Get Around:

American Airlines offer four flights a day from Heathrow to Chicago – I booked the earliest of the day which departed LHR at 10.25 arriving O’Hare at 13.30 local time. The flight is of 8-hours duration but the Boeing 777’s used on this route offer plenty of room to move around and a good selection of movies, radio stations, and pre-recorded music to suit most tastes.

Once at O’Hare, I used the services of the Village/Blue Cab Co who specialise in airport runs for a reasonable fixed price of from O’Hare to Oak Park, a journey of 20 minutes. They will collect from Midway for a similar rate but only take fares back to Oak Park and no other city suburbs.

Again, as mentioned, the El proved to be the best and most cost effective way to get around with a 5-day pass costing somewhere around , this being valid for all CTA trains and buses but NOT the Metra. The El system consists of eight lines including the new Pink line, each represented by a colour, that serve almost everywhere within the greater Metropolitan areas. There are interchanges within the Loop where free transfers can be made to other lines within a 2-hour time limit for a flat fare of .75.

The journey from Oak Park to the Loop via the Green line takes 20 minutes with trains running regularly. The trains we used were generally clean and on time. The only delays that can occur are when the various lines converge upon the Loop where the Brown, Purple, Orange and Green lines use the same tracks resulting in occasional signal stops.

We also used the CTA buses on occasion where the El stops weren’t that conveniently located. Lincoln Park was accessed from Downtown using the # 151 service.

Although cabs are very inexpensive by UK standards, we only used them if in a rush or late at night. Most of the drivers rent them on a shift basis from the cab firms for around a shift; anything they make is theirs to keep and to-a-man, they all were complaining about the price of gas which was hitting a gallon in and around the city. They soon piped down when I told them it was close to a gallon in the UK!

I never made the time to see this black monolithic structure close up last October, so this would be one of my priorities this time around. The building is located in the heart of the Magnificent Mile at 875 N. Michigan Ave, surrounded by such sights as the Water Tower and Mall and it’s close neighbour, the intricately designed and swanky 900 N. Michigan Ave which at 871 feet is the city’s seventh tallest building.

The entrance to the lifts that whisk you to the observation platform is found below street level at the rear of a selection of stores selling souvenirs, t-shirts, jewellery, and suchlike. Noticeable straight away is how much quieter it is than the queue for the Sears Skydeck – there were no more than a dozen in the queue and no security checks. We paid our $9.95 and within 30 seconds, were hurtling up to the 94th floor.

The observation platform has recently undergone a major refurbishment and now features multi-lingual "soundscopes", a history wall detailing the city’s rise from small town to metropolis, and the "windows on Chicago" screens that let you explore some of the city’s other major sights at the push of a button.

The view here is staggering and for my money, better than the Sears for the John Hancock Building is more centrally located within its retinue of lesser skyscrapers and affords wonderful views of Navy Pier and Ohio St beach, the Magnificent Mile, Lake Michigan, and so much more.

This iconic building was completed in 1969 and, although pushed to third tallest in the city by the Sears Tower and the Aon Centre (by just 9 feet), is still nevertheless, one of the tallest buildings on the planet. It was designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and eventually topped out at 1127 feet, not including the huge antennae mounted on its roof. With its massive, external diagonal braces, it appears almost alien in design with a brooding presence for, unlike the Sears which sends just two of its nine "tubes" to its summit, the John Hancock maintains its massive girth all the way to its roof, other than a slight tapering effect that makes the top floors slightly narrower than those below.

We stayed here for maybe an hour, using the 360- degree panoramic views as a showcase for the city on this warm and clear day. It was easy to see jets landing at O’Hare and Midway airports, to see cargo ships far out on the lake that ordinarily would be way below our horizon, and of course, the frenetic activity down on the Mag Mile although we could hear nothing of the car horns and traffic from our lofty perch. It’s quite surreal really and an experience that you could easily enjoy for hours, spotting various landmarks, buildings, streets, and Expressways from this city in the sky.

Opening hours are 9am – 11pm www.hancockobservatory.com. Tel. (312)-751-3681.

This historic area of the South Loop is testament to two of the many industries upon which Chicago grew wealthy, namely printing and the railroads. Centred on S. Dearborn St, the “Row” squeezes in between W. Harrison St and W. Polk St; virtually all that remains now to give a hint as to its printing past are the huge factories and warehouses that have been converted into luxury apartments and the top-notch book stores that seem to grace every street corner.

Although the old buildings no longer hum and vibrate to the sound of the huge presses, many still display ornately designed exterior facades that drop just the slightest hint as to their illustrious past. One building that captures this essence perfectly is the Franklin Building at 720 S. Dearborn, with its wonderful terracotta murals designed by Oskar Gross. These in particular adorn the main entrance, depicting many aspects of the printing industry including the principal mural “The First Impression” which shows a medieval scene at the birth of the typographical industry.

The area is also famous for its annual book fair which traditionally takes place the first weekend in June. Booksellers congregate in S. Dearborn St under cover to buy and sell new, used and antiquarian volumes. The stalls occupy the 5-block area from Congress Parkway to W. Polk St.

Printers Row seems to exude an air of understated well-being with its swish cafes, brasseries, and restaurants that provide sustenance for the well-to-do young professionals who have now made this area of the city their home.

At the junction of Dearborn St and Polk is the beautifully designed Dearborn St Station with its brick-built clocktower and elegant pink granite head-house. The station opened for business on May 8th 1885 as Chicago grew to become the principal railroad hub of the entire country. It is the oldest of the six intercity stations that once served Downtown Chicago and was designed by Cyrus L. Eidlitz who favoured its Romanesque styling. The station was owned by the Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad Company who themselves were owned by the various companies that used the tracks.

The original building featured a steeply pitched roof which was destroyed when fire engulfed the station in 1922. The tracks and platforms were laid out behind the head-house and large rail yards occupied the space that is now Dearborn Park. Alas, in 1971, Amtrak elected to consolidate its operations to Union Station and Dearborn closed on 2nd May of that year. The tracks and engine shed were removed in 1976 but fortunately, common sense prevailed which allowed the lovely building to remain untouched.

Today, it has been converted to offices and shops but its opulent interior is still a reminder of the days when the railroads spent just as much on passenger comfort as they did on their rolling stock.

If there is one attraction in this city that you really must see, it is this wonderful zoo. Lincoln Park extends for six miles from North Ave but the zoo occupies an area one mile north from the park’s southern boundary. One major bonus is that entrance here is free; the other is the sheer number of exhibits and animals that are on view in such a relatively small area.

We took the # 151 bus which dropped us outside the main entrance. On this warm, sunny day, it was good to see so many families making the most of the lovely weather but the place wasn’t at all crowded, its wide main arteries affording easy access to the major exhibits. The zoo is the country’s oldest, having opened in 1868 after receiving a gift of two swans from New York’s Central Park. It occupies 35-acres lakeside setting affording great views back towards Downtown with the John Hancock Building looming ominously over the treetops.

The three major exhibits here are the Regenstein African Ape Centre, the Primate House and the Kovler Lion House. All the enclosures are spacious and the animals seemed content, considering the lack of "pacing" usually associated with the animals at some less spacious zoos. The lions were sunning themselves on a large boulder, providing excellent photo opportunities for those poised with their cameras waiting for that special shot. Other major enclosures include the rhino, hippo, giraffe, and Bactrian camels; aquatic entertainment is on hand in the form of penguins and sea-lions, both species seemingly born comedians who delighted all with their effortless marine acrobatics.

Having followed "Meerkat Manor" on UK TV, I was personally delighted to find the large Meerkat enclosure containing various family members including several youngsters who were engaged in play fighting, much to the amusement of the onlookers.

The zoo often puts on special exhibits and today was no exception with the large African display which features animals such as aardvarks, reptiles, and fish as well as various dwellings as would be occupied by the indigenous populations.

Highlight for me were the gorillas. How such powerful creatures can be so gentle is a wonder; to see a hugely-muscled silverback playing lovingly with a tiny baby was wonderful but I’m glad there was an inch of reinforced glass between us. In true monkey tradition, the chimpanzees kept everyone amused by peeing all over each other and looking no further than their noses to provide an easy snack. "Chaque a son gout" you could say...

There are ample restroom facilities within the zoo, all in spotless condition, food vendors, ice cream stalls and a large restaurant. The zoo also features a brasserie where we took lunch in the warm sunshine with a great view down the lagoon towards the Loop.

Entrance is at 2200 N. Cannon Drive

Opening times Nov – Mar 9am – 5pm, Apr – Oct 9am – 6pm, open till 7pm Sat summer only.

Tel. (312) 742-2000 website: www.lpzoo.com

Like many of the fabulously ornate and luxurious termini constructed by Brunel for his Great Western Railway in the UK, Chicago’s Union Station is without a doubt a treasure trove of architectural delight and completely dispels the oft-held myth that a main railway station is a grimy, smelly place that only serves to sell tickets and to provide a brief stop for trains en route to far-off places.

Union Station sits at 225 S. Canal St. and occupies an area of almost ten city blocks. Its history is as colorful as its architecture.

The station came about (in plan form) in 1874 when several railroad companies (the Pennsylvania Co, the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, the Chicago & Alton Railroad, the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, and the Michigan Central Railroad) agreed to build a “united” station to serve Chicago on land in the city owned by the aforementioned Pennsylvania Co who also owned the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railway Co. This land was situated on the west side of the Chicago River between Madison and Van Buren Streets. Competition was however rather fierce and the Chicago and North Western Railroad Co, who were not part of the liaison, decided to build another grand station which was called rather unsurprisingly, the Chicago & North Western Passenger Terminal, which opened for business in 1911.

Although they now had a choice, the other members elected to still use the “united” station which had been open for operations since 1881. In 1913, it was unanimously agreed by the members to completely rebuild the station on a site between Adams and Jackson Streets using the services of the noted architect Daniel Burnham. The building work was actually carried out by Graham, Anderson, Probst, and White with the station opening in May 1925. The construction period was seriously hampered by World War One and a series of devastating strikes which held up proceedings for months at a time.

When it was eventually completed, it was hailed as a great success, with it’s huge Beaux-Arts “Great Hall” sitting above the tracks which all ran beneath the surrounding streets and buildings. The Hall stands at 34m high with enormous wooden benches beneath to accommodate the waiting passengers. It is now the sole surviving “American Renaissance” railroad station in the US and is the main station now for all of Amtrak’s services through the city.

The station has featured in many films, the most famous of which is “The Untouchables”. The final shoot-out scene between The FBI officers (Andy Garcia, Kevin Costner) and the Al Capone gang was filmed on the grand staircase that links the street with the waiting room concourse. Readers will no doubt recall the slow motion scene of the baby-carriage as it topples back down the steps during the fierce gun battle.

I wouldn't normally recommend that a visitor goes to "see a station" but rest assured that Union Station here in Chicago will not disappoint the architecturally-minded.

This was another taste of local flavour that time hadn’t permitted back last Autumn so on yet another sizzling morning, we set off across town to experience this open-air cornucopia of sounds, smells and flavours from one of the city’s largest ethnic markets.

The original market did indeed occupy Maxwell St but the city authorities forced it to relocate to its present location on Canal St. back in 1994. The street is blocked off between W. Roosevelt Rd and W. 18th Street every Sunday from 7am onwards, allowing hundreds of vendors to set up stall selling a diverse array of goods such as tapes and CD’s, clothes and shoes, musical instruments, electrical goods, DVD’s and videos, firearms, military memorabilia, tools, housewares, automotive parts and spares, foodstuffs, and downright junk, judging by some of the stuff I saw on sale. Add to this a huge variety of food vendors selling everything from hot-dogs to quesadillas, and a selection of buskers providing Hispanic tunes on battered accordions, and it becomes easy to appreciate the experience here.

As a final addition to what was already a slightly less-than-peaceful Sunday morning, the railroad tracks to the east were busy with clanking goods wagons as they were shunted into order, there was a highly audible hum of traffic from the Dan Ryan Expressway, a couple of blocks to the west, and to cap it all, aircraft were roaring overhead on approach to Midway airport. Whatever happened to church bells and the gentle mooing of cows in the pasture?

The stalls stretch out over four blocks so we decided to stroll along at an easy pace and try to see all that was on offer. You would certainly see many similar goods on sale at any market in the UK but I was surprised to see the guns; one in particular caught my eye, a huge machine gun complete with tripod stand and reams of ammunition although it certainly looked like it could do with some oiling and maintenance. I tried to imagine what would happen if I’d bought it and attempted to get it back through UK customs... I think a spell “at Her Majesty’s Pleasure” would be on offer… Next door to him was another stall with a vast array of knives on display and no, they weren’t of the “kitchen” variety. Everything from Special Forces daggers to massive machetes were up for grabs, along with huge bladed knives that you could easily butcher a Brontosaurus with. The stall-owner also offered a sharpening service with a huge whetstone on the table on which he was fine tuning what looked remarkably like a Samurai sword. My God, if this were in the UK, most of these guys would have nothing left to sell if the local police happened to stroll by! The term “mass confiscation” springs to mind…

The smells from the various food sellers was mouth-watering and, having had no breakfast, was really making my stomach growl. We stopped and bought a snack, its Spanish name escapes me but it was essentially a tube of doughnut-type pastry filled with fruit preserve and jolly tasty it was too, all for the princely sum of $1.

The various stalls selling tapes and CD’s were all trying to outdo each other on the volume stakes, resulting in an awful mish-mash of hip-hop, rock, traditional and gangsta rap. They all however, appeared to be doing a roaring trade. As we strolled on, we came across a Hispanic chap, at least 75 years old, who was seated on a rickety stool, wailing to such a degree that although I couldn’t understand him, seemed to indicate that all was not well in his life, no doubt, a Spanish version of the Blues.

I have to say there were some pretty “shady” looking characters around and several took lingering glances at the trusty Nikon dangling from my neck so, deciding that discretion was the better part of valour, I placed it in it’s bag “just in case.”

Well, what can I say about Maxwell St Market? A true experience if ever there was one, and just the place to go if you need a second-hand steering column for a ‘79 Ford, a “new” sink for your kitchen, an electric hedge-trimmer that will probably blow the household fuses as soon as you plug it in, a pair of well-worn pyjamas that someone’s grandad probably died in, a razor sharp machete to murder your noisy neighbour with, or a replacement copy of “Saturday Night Fever” for your worn out video. If you want it, someone here will have it…

This wonderful attraction sits within the campus that also houses the Field Museum and the Shedd Aquarium at 1300 S. Lake Shore Drive. We’d taken the # 146 bus from Downtown which deposited us within 100 yards of the main entrance. The planetarium juts out into Lake Michigan and has recently undergone a substantial face lift which included the addition of more technologically advanced systems as well as an expansion due to ever-growing numbers of visitors.

There was a reasonably long queue to get in but the ticket kiosk seemed pretty capable and within a few minutes we’d paid our fee and in we went. The main exhibition area is quite staggering in its portrayal of space exploration, our solar system and the universe in general with many interactive models and static displays such as the Mars Rover vehicle and chunks of Moon rock as brought back by the various Apollo missions in the early 1970s. As someone who fervently followed America’s space program at this time, I was delighted to see the collection of personal memorabilia such as mission badges, baseball caps, and documents that were permanently donated to the planetarium by James Lovell, one of the astronauts who successfully brought Apollo 13 back to Earth after a catastrophic on-board explosion virtually destroyed the life support systems back in 1970.

Something that many folk fail to appreciate is the scale of the objects that make up our galaxy and this is addressed by way of several displays depicting our Earth compared to Jupiter, then the Sun, then some of the solar giants that inhabit the Milky Way galaxy. It is quite thought provoking and somewhat awe-inspiring to say the least and I found myself lingering at these exhibits for quite some time.

The planetarium also features regularly changing special exhibits and the one we had come to see was "The Ancient Egyptians", a wonderfully executed and highly accurate dark-room presentation of how the Egyptians mapped the sky, used it to plan their calendar for crop growing and the like, and in particular, how they noticed the movements of certain "stars" which they later attributed to the fact that the sun was centre of the solar system rather than the Earth.

The presentation involves the use of a hugely complex Zeiss projector which "throws" the night sky onto the inside of the blackened dome as you relax in the very comfortable reclined chairs whilst listening to the narrative.

Other popular exhibits include the "Shoot for the Moon" display that chronicles the story of lunar exploration and "Mission Moon" where youngsters can experience the dangers and exhilaration of actually walking on the Moon via interactive displays.

On site is a busy restaurant selling reasonably priced rolls and wraps as well as soft drinks and coffee, with a good view across the lake and also as far as the Downtown skyline.

There is a hugely varied range of entry fees according to the number of special shows you want to take in but the dearest ticket to see everything is around $28 which I thought to be good value, given the range and quality of the exhibits. This is a great half-day’s entertainment and one where it was plain to see that the adults were as spell-bound as the younger visitors

Tel. (312) 922-7827 www.adlerplanetarium.org.

Get here by bus services #146, 127 and 12 from Downtown, nearest El stop is at Roosevelt/Wabash on the Brown and Green lines.

A stroll down State St. in the Loop reveals many interesting and striking buildings, several of which were the forerunners of the glass and steel giants that now grace the Downtown area. The first on the list for today’s sightseeing is the Carson, Pirie & Scott Building at 1 S. State St. This remarkable structure was built in several phases, the first of which commenced in 1898. Further additions were made in 1902-1904, then in 1905-1906 when the 12-storey south extension was added, followed by another southern addition of 8-storeys in 1960-1961. The principal architect was Louis H. Sullivan with the extensions designed by D. H Burnham Co (1905) and Holabird & Root (1960).

The building was originally the home of the Schlesinger & Mayer department store and was revolutionary in its time for its modular construction. The first two storeys are decorated in cast iron giving the building an ethereal and almost whimsical appearance. These sections were attributed to George Grant Elmslie who was Sullivan’s head draughtsman after the departure of Frank Lloyd Wright. The basic structure is of steel, its strength allowing far more window areas and the accompanying additional light to the interior. The lack of huge masonry columns permitted larger displays of goods, made the store easier to navigate and allowed freedom of movement for it’s all-important customers.

The building was sold to Carson, Pirie & Scott in 1904 after the first round of architectural additions had been completed. They ran a successful business here until the 2006 Christmas season, after which C, P & S announced that it was to cease trading with the store closing for the last time in early 2007.

Next building of interest is the Reliance Building at 32 N. State St. The base was built in 1895 with the upper floors being added between 1894 –1895. This is generally regarded as the grandfather of all the steel and glass skyscrapers in the Loop today. It was designed by Burnham & Root and when it had been finished, at 202 feet tall, it was the highest building in the city. It has been said that the steelwork for the top ten floors was erected in just 15 days. The exterior is almost totally encased in glass, courtesy of this exceptionally strong and rigid steel frame. The “Chicago Window” was a feature of the building, this essentially consisting of a wide, flat front-facing fixed sheet of glass with two opening sash windows to either side. This emphasised the height and uniformity of the structure.

Strangely enough, the building was built for Carson, Pirie & Scott who only used the structure for a few years before relocating to the building described in the first part of this entry. More peculiar is the fact that the original building to occupy the site here was the 5-storey First National Bank of Chicago. Due to varying expiration of leases to office tenants, the FNB of C could not fully vacate the old building until after the intended commencement of work on the Reliance Building. The solution was simple – the remaining occupied three floors were jacked up on huge rams, permitting work to commence on the new structure with a temporary staircase being built to afford access to the remaining tenants.

The final building on the list, albeit not the last one worthy of a viewing, is the truly huge Macy’s department store at 111 N. State St. The building was originally built for the Marshall Field Company, with the initial structure being completed in 1892. Again, the principal design was by D. H. Burnham although its original size was nothing compared to today. As the business grew, Marshall Fields bought and extended into neighbouring buildings, both upwards and outwards until the building acquired its mammoth size that visitors are familiar with today, replete with its huge external columns and ornate verdigris-covered clocks at each external end of the store, high above the sidewalks. The interior is no less fascinating and impressive with Corinthian columns that lead the way to the huge atrium. The north side of the atrium is decorated with a spectacular Tiffany Dome. Tiffany didn’t build it himself but employed 50 artisans for eighteen months to realise his vision whilst he directed proceedings. The dimensions of the Dome are staggering; 6,000 square feet comprising an estimated 1.6 million pieces, the largest Tiffany Dome in the world. After asking one of the store’s employees “where to go for the best view”, he directed us to the fifth floor from where the splendour and sheer opulence of the Dome can be appreciated. I snapped away for maybe 10 minutes from every possible angle and no-one cared a bit. Truth-be-known, I bet more people come in to view the Dome than come in here to be relieved of their cash.

Although the name “Marshall Fields” graced the outside of the store until late 2006, differing companies had actually acquired the building prior to its sale to Macy’s, who were the first owners to actually change the name, much to the fury of many local Chicagoans.

There are other equally impressive structures on State St, not least of all the Washington Memorial Library but I decided to save it for my next trip to this wonderful haven of rich and historic architecture.