friday afternoon, we went to the shedd aquarium. what's so special about the aquarium? well it was actually quite a feat to build in chicago because it is inland, miles from any ocean. plans for the aquarium began in the 1920's, when john g. shedd, retired president of marshall field & company, was inspired by daniel burnham's charge "make no little plans" to build the world's largest aquarium. more than 1 million gallons of seawater was shipped by rail from key west to fill the galleries making the shedd the first inland aquarium with a permanent saltwater collection. when the shedd opened on may 30, 1930 it housed the greatest variety of marine life under one roof and brought a much needed boost to chicago society following the stock market crash of 1929. the director of the shedd during the 1933 world's fair wanted to bring in unique species to attract all the fair visitors to the aquarium. he brought in granddad, an australian lungfish in 1933 and granddad is still alive today; he is claimed to be the oldest fish in any aquarium in the world. my favorite animals were the seahorses, sea dragons, and penguins.
saturday we met up for brunch at my neighborhood favorite, 3rd coast cafe. its got great food, great price, neighborhood feel. after brunch, we made our way the lincoln park zoo for some free fun in chicago. the zoo is close to my place and i've visited often (it's free, it's close, it's animals...what's not to love?). i like the monkey and lion houses. after our built in rest time/baby nap time, we made our way northwest to jefferson park and the copernicus center for the 2008 taste of polonia: a gathering of poles in chicago, beer, sausage, pierogis, potato pancakes, and polka.
after being sufficiently full, it was back to downtown and a visit to the sears tower. now, i always take people to the john hancock signature lounge because it's free and you can get a cocktail while you are enjoying the view. but i do have to say i enjoyed the sears tower. you get to watch a short film about the building of the tower and the skydeck (observatory) has walls of information on chicago history. and absolutely amazing views of the north, south, east, and west chicago. and i recommend going for the sunset. it was breathtaking.
* the sears tower itself is a magnificent structure which i shall have to devote a separate entry to.
sunday morning we met up at the adler planetarium on museum campus. museum campus is literally a collection of museums along chicago's lakefront: the field museum, the adler planetarium, the shedd aquarium and nearby is the art institute of chicago. it's a tourist friendly town. unfortunately for me, i had stayed up late (4am) the night before hanging out with other atliens in town, so i was out cold under the star dome as soon as the lights were out. had i been awake, i might have reminisced my grade school days when every year we took a field trip to the montgomery planetarium. i've never been one interested in science (chemistry and physics only and that's because there was math involved), so i didn't get my money's worth at the planetarium. it was however really neat to see all the little kids running around being interested in space and stars and science. i do recommend walking all the way down the road toward the planetarium, keeping your eye on it, and then when you get to the end turn around and see this:
*on a clear day
post-planetarium, we had chicago style dogs at because well, we'd never had before. what makes a chicago dog? well, it's an all-beef dog, steamed, in a poppyseed bun. top it with mustard, onion, relish, pickle spear, tomato slices, sport peppers. never ketchup (some stands don't even stock this condiment). vienna beef hotdogs, made here in chicago since before the 1893 world's fair, are the most common here. you can even go to the factory on n. damen avenue and get you one right off the line (...in the cafe actually).
we tried to make it to garrett's for popcorn, but the lines at both loop locations were out the door and around the block. i told you i wasn't lying. as a less tasty substitute, we walked the magnificent mile. we didn't make your usual stops at clothing stores, but instead visited american girl place where they sell miniature bureaus for the same price as a real one and sell "american girls" that were made in china...
monday was my friend's last day in town. she really wanted to see navy pier and get a christmas ornament to start her family's tradition of collecting those wherever they go. now navy pier is very touristy, but the ferris wheel, imax theatre, and the best freakin lemonade you've ever had is here. and there's history. the pier was built in 1916 as the 2nd of 2 piers, part of daniel burnham's plan of chicago. the 1st pier was never actually built (sorry daniel, no symmetry). the pier was supposed to serve many purposes necessary for public infrastructure: a cargo facility for lake freighters, warehouses, docking space for excursion steamers, and a social and entertainment gathering spot (it was nice a cool sticking out into the lake in pre-air conditioning days). during world war II, chicago leased the pier to the u.s. navy which in turn used the pier for training purposes. about 60,000 sailors and 15,000 pilots (including george h.w. bush) used this area for training. after the war, the pier went to the university of illinois which used the space for a undergraduate program for returning veterans. during the university days, the pier also hosted exhibitions and world attractions that drew a lot of visitors. but the university moved out in 1865 and the pier was abandoned, becoming an blemish to the city skyline until 1989. the metropolitan pier and exposition authority took over and began a $200M renovation completed in the 1990's. the pier includes restaurants, a beer garden, ballroom, concert stage, convention exhibition halls, shakespeare theater, imax theater, the chicago children's museum, the smith museum of stained glass, and a 150' ferris wheel. it is the #1 tourist attraction in the state of illinois and some hundreds of thousands visit it each summer. (they also set off fireworks every wednesday and saturday nights from memorial day to labor day. i can see them out my window at home!)the long week and weekend of being a tourist in my own town was actually a lot of fun. i love all the city has to offer for tourist and glad i have done all that so i can continue to explore.
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