Other sights in Chicago
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Nelson Algren House
You can’t go inside, but on the third floor of this apartment building writer Nelson Algren created some of his greatest works about life in the once down-and-out neighborhood. He won the 1950 National Book Award for his novel The Man with the Golden Arm, set on Division St near Milwaukee Ave (about a half-mile southeast). A Walk on the Wild Side contains the classic advice: ‘Never play cards with a man called Doc. Never eat at a place called Mom’s. Never sleep with a woman whose troubles are worse than your own.’ And his short Chicago: City on the Make summarizes 120 years of thorny local history and is the definitive read on the city’s character.
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Soldier Field
Built between 1922 and 1926 to pay homage to WWI soldiers, this oft-renovated edifice has been home to everything from civil-rights speeches by Martin Luther King Jr to Brazilian soccer games. It got its latest UFO-landing-upon-a-Greek-ruin look in a controversial 2003 makeover. Prior to that, the stadium’s architecture was so noteworthy it was named a National Historic Landmark. Unfortunately, the landmark lacked corporate skyboxes and giant bathrooms, so the city (the venue is owned by the park district) decided it was time for a change. The new look met almost unanimous derision when it was unveiled; critics quickly dubbed it ‘the Mistake on the Lake.’ The landmark fol…
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Money Museum
This small museum in the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago is fun for a quick browse. The best exhibits include a giant glass cube stuffed with one million $1 bills (demonstrating the size of so much money, which weighs 2000lb), and a counterfeit display differentiating real bills from fakes. Learn why we call $1000 a ‘grand,’ and snap a sweet photo standing next to the $20 million–stuffed briefcase. You’ll also get a free bag of shredded currency to take home. The museum is a school group favorite. At 1pm there’s a 45-minute guided tour. When you enter the building, look for the ‘visitors center’ sign (it doesn’t say ‘Money Museum’), and note you’ll have to go through a me…
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Prairie Avenue Historic District
By 1900 Chicago’s crème de la crème had had enough of the scum de la scum in the nearby neighborhoods. Potter Palmer led a procession of millionaires north to new mansions on the Gold Coast. The once-pristine neighborhood, which lined Prairie Ave for several blocks south of 16th St, fell into quick decline as one mansion after another gave way to warehouses and industry, hookers and gin. Thanks to the efforts of the Chicago Architecture Foundation, a few of the prime homes from the area have been carefully restored. Streets have been closed off, making the neighborhood a good place to stroll. A footbridge over the train tracks links the area to Burnham Park and the Museum…
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Chicago Spire
Remember the Chicago Spire, uberarchitect Santiago Calatrava’s new building that was set to become the nation’s tallest? At 2000ft, it would’ve dwarfed the Willis Tower. Excitement was high (pun!), and nicknames for the twisting design abounded – The Twizzler, The Drill Bit, The Vibrator among them. Developers broke ground in 2007, but construction came screeching to a halt in late 2008 when the economy went limp and funds dried up. Now there’s a dormant 76ft-deep, 110ft-wide hole in the ground at downtown’s pricey edge. The developers vow they’ll get the money and finish the Spire. If not, it might live up to its less savory nickname: ‘The Big Screw.’
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Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Cathedral
Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Cathedral looks like it was scooped straight out of the Russian countryside and deposited in the neighborhood. But famed Chicago architect Louis Sullivan actually designed the 1903 beauty and its octagonal dome, front bell tower, and stucco and wood-framed exterior. Czar Nicholas II helped fund the structure, which is now a city landmark. Cathedral staff give tours of the gilded interior every Saturday from 11am to 4pm.
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Meyers Ace Hardware Store
Jazz aficionados often seek out the unassuming Meyers Ace Hardware Store. Why? Because in the 1920s and ’30s the building was the Sunset Cafe, where all the greats gigged. Imagine Louis Armstrong blowing his trumpet over by the socket wrenches. Or Earl Hines hammering the piano, down in the plunger aisle. And that was just the house band. Benny Goodman, Jimmy Dorsey and Bix Beiderbecke all launched their careers at the Sunset.
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Original Playboy Mansion
The sexual revolution pretty much started in the basement ‘grotto’ of this 1899 mansion. Chicago magazine impresario Hugh Hefner bought it in 1959 and dubbed it the first Playboy Mansion, even hanging a brass plate over the door warning ‘If You Don’t Swing, Don’t Ring.’ Alas, Chicago became too square for Hef by the mid ’70s, so he packed up and built a new Playboy Mansion in LA, which is where he remains today, in his pajamas.
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Four Seasons
Russian-born artist Marc Chagall loved Chicago, and in 1974 he donated a grand mosaic called the Four Seasons to the city. Using thousands of bits of glass and stone, the artist portrayed six scenes of the city in hues reminiscent of the Mediterranean coast of France, where he kept his studio. Chagall continued to make further adjustments, such as updating the skyline, after the work arrived in Chicago.
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Muddy Waters’ House
At Muddy Waters’ house, impromptu jam sessions with pals like Howlin’ Wolf and Chuck Berry erupted in the front yard. Waters, of course, was Chicago’s main bluesman, so everyone who was anyone came to pay homage. Waters lived here for 20 years, until 1974, but today the building stands vacant in a lonely, tumbledown lot. It’s private property, so you can’t go inside. A sign commemorates the spot.
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Wrigley Field
Built in 1914 and named for the chewing-gum guy, Wrigley Field – aka The Friendly Confines – is the second-oldest baseball park in the major leagues. It’s filled with legendary traditions and curses, and has a team that suffers from the longest dry spell in US sports history. The hapless Cubbies haven’t won a championship since 1908, a sad record unmatched in pro football, hockey or basketball.
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Oak Street Beach
There aren’t many cities outside of Florida that offer such an abundance of sand and (miniaturized) surf this close to their major business districts. Oak St Beach makes for a wonderful respite and offers a lower-key experience than certain beaches further north, where you’re likely to get a volleyball spiked on your head if you’re not paying attention. The ‘beachstro’ provides nourishment.
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Riverwalk
Clasping the Chicago River’s south side along Wacker Dr, this mile-long promenade provides a peaceful spot to take a break from your hectic shopping or sightseeing schedule. Access it from the stairs at any bridge. Outdoor cafes dot the way, with a Vietnam veteran’s memorial (near N Wabash Ave), a small river history museum (at N Michigan Ave) and sightseeing boats sprinkled in.
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Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore
Lake Michigan’s prevailing winds created the 21 miles of beaches and sandbanks that comprise Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Behind the sands, large areas of woods and wetlands have become major wildlife habitats and the breeding grounds for an incredible variety of plant life. Everything from cacti to pine trees sprouts here.
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Flamingo
A few blocks south on Dearborn, Alexander Calder’s soaring red-pink sculpture Flamingo provides some much needed relief from the stark facades of the federal buildings around it. Calder dedicated the sculpture in October 1974 by riding into the Loop on a bandwagon pulled by 40 horses, accompanied by a circus parade.
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First Playboy Mansion
Hugh Hefner began wearing his all-day jammies here, when the rigors of magazine production and heavy partying prevented him from getting dressed. The building contains condos now, but a visit still allows you to boast, 'I've been to the Playboy mansion.'
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Obama’s House
Hefty security means you can’t get close to Obama’s house, but you can stand across the street on Hyde Park Blvd and try to glimpse over the barricades at the redbrick Georgian-style manor.
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Institute of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture
The Institute of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture fills the Humboldt Park’s old horse stables. If it’s open, stroll in and see what free exhibits are showing.
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West Beach
West Beach, nearest to Gary, features a number of nature hikes and trails. It’s also the only beach with an on-duty lifeguard.
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Hyde Park Hair Salon
You can visit Obama’s barber Zariff and the bulletproof-glass-encased presidential barber chair at the Hyde Park Hair Salon.
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Untitled
The Loop's triumvirate of puzzlement includes Pablo Picasso's Untitled, which everyone just calls 'the Picasso.
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Artpentry
Urban art, with items like vintage luggage fashioned into speakers. The gallery is usually only open during the art hop.
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Sun, the Moon and One Star
' Joan Miro's the Sun, the Moon and One Star, which everyone just calls 'Miro's Chicago'.
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Nuclear Energy Sculpture
The Nuclear Energy sculpture, by Henry Moore, marks the spot where it blew its stack.
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Auditorium Building
This earliest building of the Chicago School used thick bases to support the towering walls above.
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