Chicago Off the Beaten Path Tips by shrimp56

The 'Suite Chicago' exhibition is over -- but you can see some of the entries in the travelogue. The furniture on the streets followed the cows on parade:) [an idea first realized in Zurich, Switzerland]

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Architecture & Public Art (outdoor): Look at the details!

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Updated by shrimp56

on Jun 29, 2003

Chicago Architecture & Public Art (outdoor)

The standard picture of the Chicago Board of Trade is taken looking south on LaSalle St. This is from a slightly different view:)

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Website: http://www.cbot.com/

Architecture & Public Art (outdoor): Be sure to look up !

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Written by shrimp56

on Jun 1, 2003

See "shopping" for another picture of the Carson-Pirie-Scott department store. This is a shot of the terra-cotta tiles used to decorate buildings once they figured out how to use a steel frame to bear the load. Chicago is known as the home of this late 19th century school of architecture:)

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Website: http://www.architecture.org/

Libraries: Gargoyles that read

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Written by shrimp56

on May 19, 2003

The Harold Washington Public Library on Congress Drive is a post-modern building that "quotes" from many historic buildings in Chicago.

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Oak Park/Frank Lloyd Wright: Frank Lloyd Wright Houses ...

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Written by shrimp56

on Feb 25, 2003

The suburb of Oak Park contains the most FLW "Prairie Style" houses in the Chicago area -- this is the Robie House in Hyde Park near the University of Chicago.

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Website: http://www.wrightplus.org/robiehouse/

Off The Beaten Path: Bridges to the past ...

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Updated by shrimp56

on Jun 29, 2003

Many of the bridges over the Chicago River have carvings or metal bas reliefs that commemorate historical events as well as Chicago's place as a center of commerce and industry. Most were done during the Great Depression as part of a widespread national program to provide work for artists.

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Off The Beaten Path: Chicago's shoreline ...

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Written by shrimp56

on Jun 4, 2003

The old limestone shore

The city is in the process of renewing the shoreline. There is a bit [a lot!] of controversy over the materials being used -- the old limestone steps are being replaced by an ugly concrete embankment. The Chicago "coast" parks extend protect much of the city's shoreline with Lake Michigan -- a miracle in these days of lakeshore as prime real estate!
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Here's the website address for the restoration project:
http://www.ci.chi.il.us/Environment/Shoreline/

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Off The Beaten Path: The Chicago Harbor House

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Written by shrimp56

on Jun 5, 2003

The house and lighthouse guard the entrance to the Chicago Harbor [named so because the Chicago River connects with the lake at this point on the shoreline]
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The lighthouse was first lit in 1893 and was automated in 1979. It still serves an important navigational function, using it's original lense.

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Website: http://chl.wes.army.mil/research/cprocesses/chicag

Architecture & Public Art (outdoor): "cast" free from load-bearing masonry

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Written by shrimp56

on Jun 7, 2003

Again the facade of the Carson Pirie Scott department store. The invention of an architecture using steel frames anchored in concrete piers freed the "skin" of the building for this kind of cast metal detail.

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Libraries: Plenty of culture for all !!

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Written by shrimp56

on Jun 7, 2003