Wrigley Building

Every big city has skyscrapers, but somehow Chicago shows them off better than most. I have no idea whether it's their density, their average height, their architectural diversity, or that they rise from an utterly flat landscape. Whatever the reason, the next few posts will be focused on buildings. Mainly pictures, since it takes more time and energy to actually write about them, let alone to do the appropriate homework.

The Wrigley Building was built in the early 1920s. It, along with the Tribune Building, mark Michigan Avenue, just north of the bridge over the Chicago River. The looming Trump Tower (next post) is a bit of a distraction, but it also provides a nice counterpoint to the older, more ornate buildings.

Chicago River

The Chicago River winds through the canyons of downtown Chicago, with the city's spectacular skyscrapers rising practically from the water's edge. We took advantage of the wonderful day to take one of the architecture-inspired boat tours. The most highly acclaimed one - run by the Chicago Architecture Foundation - wasn't quite open for the season, but a similar offering by Shoreline Sightseeing was still a lot of fun.

I took an awful lot of photos of skyscrapers of different vintages, all rising into a bright blue sky. But I think I'll save some of those for a different post.

As interesting and appropriate as the architecture tour was, I would have enjoyed a river tour built more around the early history of the city. Before there was a city, there were spits and marshes at the mouth of the Chicago River. Before it was replumbed, the Chicago River flowed into Lake Michigan, as opposed to flowing west towards the Mississippi. Before there were skyscrapers, there were feedlots and slaughter houses. I read Cronon's history of Chicago a couple of years ago and would have loved to hear more about the city's origins, since I've already forgotten most of what I read.

Millennium Park

From the big silver coffee bean, we headed past the big lawn and pavilion and across Columbus Drive on the BP Bridge to Maggie Daley Park (not sure if it's technically part of Millennium Park or not).

A beautiful early spring day brought out the crowds - I guess it helped that it may have been spring break for the kids, too. The skating ribbon and ice rink were closed for the season, but the playground was in full tilt - absolutely packed.

Cloud Gate

I was captivated by "The Bean" when we visited Chicago in 2010 and I still love it. Something about its simplicity, its scale, and the way the curves juxtapose the straight lines of the buildings along Michigan Avenue. And of course, it's sort of like a giant selfie magnet, which we gave into along with everyone else. I actually visited twice, once early in the morning, and again, with Michele, after our breakfast at Wildberry Pancakes. What a perfect day for it.

Here's my post from five years ago:
Millennium Park: July 2010

Chicago

We had three days in Chicago. We'd gotten a pretty good deal on a nice corner room on a low floor at the Loews, just south of the river, from which we could see the NBC Tower and a number of other landmarks, including the Trump Tower (which probably deserves its own post).

I'll follow with a whole bunch of entries - including a lot of pictures of tall buildings.

We had dinner with M's old SF State friend Don Mon at Tanta, at the Purple Pig off Michigan, and at the Eleven City Diner on South Wabash, which we had discovered five years ago. We had breakfasts at Wildberry across from Millennium Park, Yolk, and Tempo Cafe. We were never hungry.

Wind Point

I would have enjoyed spending more time checking out bluffs and beaches and shoreline parks between Milwaukee and Chicago, but we just didn't have time. So we set our navigation to Wind Point and worked our way south through the suburbs towards Racine.

Wind Point sticks out into Lake Michigan, adding interest to what sometimes strikes me as a sort of uninteresting coastline. I guess because it sticks out into the lake, boats were always running into it so they built a very nice lighthouse at the tip. There was a brisk wind, waves, and plenty of sunshine, but there was also a rental car to return in downtown Chicago and a dinner reservation with a friend at six, so we hightailed it back to the Interstate for the drive into the big city.

Milwaukee

We left Madison late Monday morning and headed east toward Milwaukee, where we got sandwiches at Glorioso's Italian Market, which we then ate down at McKinley Park on the lake. Where I could check out the beach.

Monona Terrace

Our weekend in Madison included a brief walk through the Monona Terrace Convention Center. I'd like to come back on a nicer day when there's a little more activity. And when I have more time to explore the building and the nearby shoreline.

Conceived by Frank Lloyd Wright just before the breakout of World War II, the project apparently kept getting put aside for one reason or another for almost 60 years. It was finally built and completed in 1997! -- a relatively new building, but still based on Wright's original concept.

Monona Terrace History

Downtown Madison and the state capitol are built on a narrow isthmus between Lake Mendota on the north and Lake Monona on the south.

Verona

We did an Epic drive-by way back last June when we visited Madison (Verona: June 2015), but this time D spent a couple of hours showing us the grounds and the buildings.  Wow - probably feels like Redmond when Microsoft moved to town. Epic moved out to Verona a number of years go and has been building ever since. There were construction cranes all over the north end of the site, building what looked like a modern version of Hogwarts.

Did I mention that this place is epic! The architectural style is pretty eclectic. All sorts of different styles and themes. There's an enormous amount of whimsical art on display. There were dragons and cowboys and slides. I suppose it's all a reflection of a desire to amuse the demographics of the young techs who flock here, the personalities of the people who run the place, and the burgeoning demand for medical records software!

Madison

We swung through Madison last June, right after graduation, so we could all get a sense of the place and so D could check out some apartment options. But we didn't stay long. D drove back and set up camp in September, but this was our first chance to visit him in his new habitat. We spent the weekend exploring a little of Madison - some with D, some without. And he gave us a great tour of the Epic Campus on Saturday (next post).

We saw a little of the University, checked out several restaurants - and coffee shops, and even played mini-golf across from D's apartment (we played inside, since it was raining, but on a nicer day we would have had the option of an outside course, too). 

I realize it's been a long time since the last post - from Whidbey way back at Thanksgiving. Since then we celebrated the holiday, spent a weekend in Vancouver, and did a bunch of other stuff - but apparently none of it warranted a post. Or maybe the routine stuff at work and around the house has just taken precedence.