Chicago: "City of Big Shoulders"

Departed Washington Dulles the day before Halloween and met up with Tom & Paula Stout in Chicago for a nice Italian dinner at the Rosebud Restaurant in the Theater District. We stayed downtown at the Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel near the Navy Pier and Millennium Park. In Norway, we had seen a number of Radisson Blu hotels but there are only three in the US...Chicago, Minneapolis, and the newest in Philadelphia. The Chicago Blu Aqua is centrally located to allow short walks to most shopping & sightseeing. This hotel is adjacent to a CVS drugstore, a very good Mexican restaurant (Mezcalina) and a GREAT grocery market--Mariano's!

Award-winning design of the Radisson Blu Aqua

Note Blu Aqua hotel in upper left third of display

Mariano's Market and Mezcalina restaurant

We joined the Stouts for Geek Day at The Chicago Field Museum of Natural History. The Field Museum can easily occupy a LONG day (load the CFM app!) with acres of exhibits encompassing anything that can walk, fly, swim, slither or crawl on our planet.

There is also the great CFM gift shop (worthwhile!) as well as several special exhibits, including one detailing the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. This "Columbian Exposition" was attended by 27 million people during its six month run--featuring the first Ferris Wheel, the "hoochy-koochy" dance and the first commercial appearance of alternating current electricity.

Sue, the T. rex!

Among the many exhibits, the CFM is home to a 42 foot long T. Rex skeleton named "Sue", actual stone tablets from inside Egyptian pyramids, great 3D IMAX movies, and an intriguing longitudinal exhibit on evolution. There are Earth Science exhibits, as well as gems and jade.

The next day, we visited the Driehaus Museum on the corner of Erie & Wabash. Construction of this old mansion took four years and cost $450,000 ($80+ million today to construct) and was reportedly the most elaborate and expensive private residence in Chicago at the time of its completion in 1883.

Driehaus Museum staircase

Tiffany glass-scapes

Constructed with real Nautilus shells

The interiors are decorated with marble, onyx, carved exotic and domestic woods, glazed tiles, and stained glass. On display are original furnishings from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including a number of works by Louis Comfort Tiffany.

Although the mansion has been restored, the Driehaus Museum broadly interprets the prevailing design, architecture, and decorating tastes of Gilded Age America. The Driehaus Collection is one of the significant collections in the country of works by Louis Comfort Tiffany, numbering over 1500 objects.

Here are some views from our hotel.......

Buildings adjacent to Millennium Park

Navy Pier

Frank & Diane Cottone thoughtfully organized our Chicago evening activities to impart the essence of the city in which they live & love. One evening, 22 of us limo'd through a progressive dinner at 3 different locations...ending the evening with drinks at a jazz club. One mid-evening stop was Millenium Park to visit the art work Cloud Gate (better known as the "Bean") to see reflections of the city at night in its highly-polished surface.

Our PMA group dinner

"Bean" reflecting Chicago at night

The Back Room jazz club

The "Bean" is universally loved by both citizens and visitors to Chicago. It has been the subject of "billions and billions" of photos like these.....

The next morning, I decided to take an early walk around Millennium Park to see what the Bean looked like by herself...solo without the crowds...a study in contrasts!!!

The tiny photographer dead center looking up!

Further exploration of Millennium Park revealed other visual delights....

LED matrix from photo above!

On this occasion of my birthday, Frank & Diane Cottone took us to a traditional Chicago Italian restaurant that oozed with character....with the deceptively bland name: "Italian Village". In business since the Roaring 20's, Italian Village was founded by Alfredo & Ada Capitanini in 1927. White tablecloths, all-male wait staff and booths that are like little caves...makes one imagine the countless secrets that have been spoken in this very discreet atmosphere over the past 86 years. One dinner highlight was an Italian wine (Jassarte 2006) composed of 27(!!!!!) different varietal grapes...which shatters my personal all-time varietal blend total by more than 20!

Mafia boys in the booth cave!

After dinner, we walked to the Oriental Theater to see the Broadway play, "Wicked". Then, it was a windy walk back to the hotel to recharge for a full day at the Chicago Art Institute--the CAI in Millennium Park.

The CAI contains impressive art collections (load the CAI app!) of every medium and from every epoch in art history. Of particular interest were the early Asian and Greek collections.

Artist drawing in the CAI

Next stop was the Old Chicago Public Library, which now houses the Chicago Cultural Center. Influenced by the 1893 World's Fair: Columbian Exposition, this building was constructed in the Beaux Arts style between 1893 and 1897. The massive exterior includes colonnades supporting heavy cornices, while the interior houses a magnificent collection of mosaics and glasswork.

After one last walk through the downtown and our time in Chicago was coming to an end. This visit to Chicago included many great memories with friends in the "City of Big Shoulders" (Carl Sandburg, 1914).

CTA "El" on typical side street

Cottone quiz: where is this?

 

Posted by TBW Travel Today!