travelwithjamesdean.ca

Chicago, Illinois

The city has become a vibrant arts scene, numerous cultural attractions, excellent shopping, and interesting architecture. Sports teams include the Chicago Bears American football, the Chicago White Sox and Cubs for baseball, and the Chicago Bulls basketball team.
An interesting night out is at the famous Second City - where improv comedy giants, launched their careers, including Bill Murray, Tina Fey, Chris Farley, John Belushi, Joan Rivers and Stephen Colbert, to name just a few.
Chicago River Architecture Cruises are a favourite, as well as the Gangster tours.!!!

Home to the Greatest Collection of Impressionist Art Outside of Paris.!!

The Art Institute of Chicago is one of the most impressive collections that I have seen outside of Europe.!! (Consistently rated among the world’s top museums by TripAdvisor travellers) Many of my favourite works by Monet, Renoir, Seurat, and Van Gogh are very well displayed in this airy art museum. It is also home to some American classics that everyone knows - Edward Hopper’s “Nighthawks” with the famous nighttime scene at the diner, and Grant Wood’s “American Gothic”, of the cranky looking farm couple.!!
In addition to displaying its permanent collection, the Art Institute mounts about 40 special exhibitions per year and features daily lectures, gallery tours, and special performances.Well worth the visit while in Chicago.

Lakefront and River Architecture Tour for Great Views of the City Skyline

One of the more interesting stops, was the Chicago Riverwalk, with it’s wooden benches and spacious concrete steps and seating rising up to street level, it has become a destination for the downtown lunchtime crowd with the many food and drink options.
This waterfront walkway, public art, and biking trails are enjoyable, but the fascinating thing about this area (according to the guides) is the connection with Al Capone - the American Prohibition-era gangster who dominated organised crime in Chicago and who helped make this underground area the most renowned part of the city for pollution and crime in the 1920s. (There are numerous Gangsters and Ghosts Tours available for the full stories).

Art Installation Affectionately Known as”The Bean”

Designed by internationally acclaimed artist, known for his large scale works, Anish Kapoor created Cloud Gate with its reflective surface inspired by liquid mercury. (Made of 168 steel plates of stainless steel, fitted together and welded for the seamless finish). The highly reflective surfaces highlight the sky above the park, and the curved underside is an entrance to the park that visitors can walk under.
Immediately a hit with both Chicagoans and visitors, it makes it difficult to get a photo op without a lot of other people around - but, that does not stop the parade of newly married couples that want to have The Bean as part of their wedding day photography.!! Located in the lakefront Millennium Park.

Fascinating Display Built Into the Walls of Chicago Tribune Tower

The Chicago Tribune Tower is home to some 150 historically significant items from other buildings, structures and landmarks around the world. These remnants include artifacts from all 50 states, the Great Wall of China, the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Taj Mahal and other famous structures throughout the world.
Legend has it that the tradition began in 1914 when Col. Robert R. McCormick, the Chicago Tribune’s longtime editor and publisher, was covering WWI. Touring a medieval cathedral in Ypres, France, that had been damaged by German shelling, he grabbed a piece for himself - and since that time it is thought that he instructed his staff to continue with the collection.Although it is documented that some stones were “gifted” the Tribune, a great many of the relics seem to have come into the possession of the Tribune from questionable sources or simply listed as coming from news correspondents in the field...
For some time, a moon rock that was installed in a ceremony including Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, was in a front window of the building - but in 2011, the rock on loan from NASA, was returned...Although any articles I can find, refer to a new one coming in a Lucite encasement - but I do not know if it has been completed yet.??

Oak Park is a Stately Suburb of Chicago for a Quiet Stay

Just outside of Chicago is the suburban charm of the Village of Oak Park - just about 10 miles (16 km) west of downtown - but it seems a world away from the buzz of the city life. (Oak Park is easily and quickly accessible with Chicago Transit Authority via the Green Line and Blue Line “L” train lines)
The village boasts many Frank Lloyd Wright-designed homes and also is the birthplace of American author Ernest Hemingway. Arguably one of THE most important architects of American history - Frank Lloyd Wright settled in Oak Park in the late 1880s, but his designs are so revolutionary that they still have a modern feel today. The Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio - a historic house and studio has been restored by the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust and tours include his studio, drafting room, octagonal library, and Wright’s office. Well worth a visit.!
For such a small suburban area, Oak Park also offers visitors the world-famous Brookfield Zoo, Cernan Earth & Space Center, Wonder Works Children’s Museum and the Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Museum - as well as some really great neighbourhood restaurants.!!