Chicago Off the Beaten Path Tips by Hopkid

Chicago is one of the best cities in the U.S. for historic and interesting architecture. In the Loop/Downtown area one can pretty much do a self-guided tour by looking at building exteriors and selecting certain ones to explore further by entering. We did just that while conducting our own public art walking tour in the Loop and ended up attracted by the beautiful facade of the Marquette Building. Named for a 17th century French explorer, Jacques Marquette, the building was designed by Holabird and Roche and ws completed in 1895. We were mainly attracted by the bronze revolving doors and the metal relief above them depicting early American exploration.

The lobby is equally impressive with bronze heads of Native Americans, explorers, and animals on the first and second floors, visible from the ground floorthrough the open interior lobby courtyard. Around the second floor landing are brilliant Tiffany mosaics that show additional scenes of early exploration of North America. There's a security guard in the lobby who can answer questions and will provide a pamphlet describing the history of the building upon request.

Located at 140 S. Dearborn Street

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Website: http://www.ci.chi.il.us/Landmarks/M/Marquette.html

Spanish painter and sculptor, Joan Miro, was commissioned to create this interesting and creative sculpture which kind of reminds me of WWII cartoon/graffitti character, Kilroy, with a fork sticking out of his head. The City of Chicago Public Art website describes it thus

"Miró imbued this sculpture with the mystical presence of an earth deity, both cosmic and worldly. Shapes and forms found in this composition evoke celestial imagery and common objects. The bell-shaped base draws the viewer’s gaze downward, symbolizing Miró’s association of the female form with the earth. The sphere at center represents the moon while the shape of the face is derived from that of a ceramic hook. The fork projecting from the top of the head is symbolic of a star, with individual tines representing rays of light."

So I guess I was partly right!

The Miro is located at 69 W. Washington Street, directly across the street from Daley Plaza and next door to the Chicago Temple.

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Website: http://egov.cityofchicago.org/city/webportal/portalContentItemAction.do?BV_SessionID=@@@@1043189177.1203476412@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccfadedghhmdjecefecell

Marc Chagall is one of our favorite artists mainly for his whimsical and colorful paintings and lithographs. I think we would have eventually discovered who Chagall was but we did happen to first hear of him when we purchased our first home on Chagall Avenue in Irvine, California. Installed in 1974, The Four Seasons is fantastic for its size (14' high x 10' wide x 70' long) and the fact that is a mosaic. From afar it looks like a large collection of Chagall figures such as horses, dancers, angels, and the usual suspects one might recognize from Chagall's paintings. The fantastic colors are also present here. It's an awe-inspiring experience to take your time walking around it and deciding what stories Chagall is trying to tell in the many scenes.

It basically portrays scenes of Chicago and was originally created in France on full-scale panels and then installed here although Chagall made modifications throughout the installation process. It is a beautiful piece of art.

Located at the Bank One Plaza at the northwest corner of Dearborn and Monroe Streets

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Website: http://egov.cityofchicago.org/city/webportal/portalContentItemAction.do?BV_SessionID=@@@@1043189177.1203476412@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccfadedghhmdjecefecell

This controversial sculpture was a gift from Picasso to the City of Chicago. Installed in 1967, it was originally received with skepticism and derision. But over time is has become an icon of the city if not completely understood or even really appreciated. According to the City of Chicago's Public Art site, the sculpture "is acknowledged as a monumental achievement in Cubism, the artistic style pioneered and explored by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso and his French contemporary, Georges Braque, between 1907 and 1911. “The Picasso” is an exemplary work of Cubism in its use of multiple perspectives, combining frontal and profile views in a single vantage point. "

Definitely worth a look if you happen to be in Daley Plaza where you can also imagine Jake and Elwood driving their beat up Dodge cop car through the plaza and to the entrance to the offices of Cook County to the left of the plaza as you are looking at the Picasso. ;-)

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Website: http://egov.cityofchicago.org/city/webportal/portalContentItemAction.do?BV_SessionID=@@@@1043189177.1203476412@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccfadedghhmdjecefecell

Commissioned by the U.S. General Services Administration through its Art-in-Architecture program and installed in 1974, is an abstract iron sculpture that has been painted red. The most stunning part of the sculpture, to this humble observer, is the contrast of the red sculpture to that of the dark/black windows/facade of the many buildings that share its location in Federal Center Plaza. Also the rounded figure is another contrast to the perpendicular linearity of the building facades. It's fun to walk right up to it and imagine climbing on it, which is actually not at all easy to do.

Located at Federal Center Plaza at the corner of Dearbonr and Adams Streets

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