Sketches from nature. Magnificent Mile Chicago Water Tower

Chicago- the third most populous city in the United States; largest metropolis Illinois, stretching along the shores of Lake Michigan. Chicago is often referred to as the "second city" or "city of the winds": "second city" refers to economic leadership (after New York), and he received the nickname "city of winds" due to fluctuations in the city government (and not because of strong winds as many people think)... The nickname given by politicians became so entrenched that it became the second name of Chicago. This city is full of audacity and vanity, it has something mesmerizing ... The powerful architecture of Chicago hides Mexican, Polish, Vietnamese and other ethnic residential areas that you can wander through. It is a city of blues, jazz and rock clubs open every night.

Video: Chicago

Basic moments

This is where things like gang, electric blue and, by all accounts, pizza were born. Journalist Henry Mencken called Chicago "the literary capital of the United States," and writers from Nelson Algren to Nobel laureate Saul Bellow have maintained that reputation. The Second City Players comedy troupe brought in actors such as Steve Martin, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, and spawned the evening comedy show Saturday Night Live on American television. (Saturday Night Live).

The nickname of Chicago as the "windy city" comes from the corsair manners of Chicago politicians (chattering bills), and from exorbitant praise for his Columbus World Exhibition of 1893. And although a piercing wind is blowing from the lake here, this is not why the city received such a nickname.

A pleasant surprise for many who come here for the first time will be a strip of sandy seaside 24 km long and parkland along the lake in this purely commercial city. Unlike other cities on the Great Lakes, Chicago most of the land near the lake has been set aside for parks and residential areas; there are no industrial enterprises here. Sunbathing, swimming or fishing is just a few blocks away.

The city, which gave the whole world an example of the construction of skyscrapers, began to do this against its will. In 1871, a fire devastated a predominantly wooden Chicago, which was barely 30 years old, leaving 100 thousand citizens homeless. I had to hastily rebuild, erecting fireproof houses with the prudent use of the area available for building. The architects who developed methods of constructing a building around a metal frame, so that it could rise to the intended height, maintaining the style and without losing sophistication, laid the foundation for the so-called Chicago School of Architecture.

It included Louis Sullivan, Daniel Burnham, and later Mies van der Rohe. Frank Lloyd Wright also worked in Chicago, but he is best known for building residential buildings.

According to the 2013 census, the population of Chicago is about 2.7 million, which by any measure indicates big city, however, it is much inferior to New York, which forces the "second city" not only to take a defensive posture, but also encourages action. The local architectural tradition itself inevitably led to the desire to erect something more grandiose than the New York Spitz, and finally, the Willis Tower became the tallest building in the world, until in 1996 it was surpassed by the twin towers of the Petronas oil company in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is one of the finest orchestras in the world and the Art Institute of Chicago is a world famous museum. But the townspeople themselves, not striving for the sophistication of the inhabitants of Manhattan, are distinguished by a benevolent and ironic attitude towards life, which makes them more accessible in communication.

It is difficult to get rid of the old image of a gangster city, but you will not find a monument to Al Capone here, and the influence of the mafia here is the same as in other wealthy cities in America. The monetary rulers here are immigrants from England, although the tone of public life is set by the descendants of the Irish, Poles, Germans, Italians, Negroes and Jews.

(Chicago Transit Authority, CTA) has established an excellent bus service, and the taxi ride is not too burdensome, but for once we advise you for a trip around the city, with the exception of a crowded center, to rent a car if you are going to stay here for more than one day. It's easy to navigate: the city center is called Loop ("a loop") because of the elevated railroad track that surrounds the downtown area south of the Chicago River. Other urban areas are indicated according to their location relative to the city center: North Side ("northern"), South Side ("Southern") and West Side ("west").

Story

At the end of the 17th century, the Potawatomi Indians gave the area the name Chekagou. (Checagou) which means "wild onion". There were once swamps in the vicinity. The turning point for the emergence of the city was the day of October 8, 1871, when (as the legend says) Mrs O'Leary's cow knocked over the kerosene lamp that started the Great Chicago Fire, which burned out the entire middle of the city and left 90,000 people homeless.

“Damn,” the town planners said. “Looks like we shouldn't have built everything out of wood. It burns. " And they rebuilt using steel, and created space for the implementation of bold ideas - they built new buildings, for example, the world's first skyscraper, which suddenly appeared in the sky in 1885.

Al Capone's gang ruled here in the 1920s, corrupting the political power. The local government paid the price: 30 members of the council were imprisoned in 1970.

For the past half century, the biggest name in Chicago has been Daly: Richard Daly was mayor of the city from 1955 to 1976, and his son Richard M. Daly was in the leadership position from 1989 to 2011.

Chicago landmarks

Top entertainment in Chicago can be found in or around the city center, although visits to more remote areas like Pilsen and Hyde Park won't leave you unhappy either.

The streets of the city are lined up and numbered. Madison street (Madison) and State Street (State St) in Chicago Loop (Loop)- this is the center, when you walk north, south, east or west from this place, each 800-unit increase in the street number corresponds to 1.61 km. For instance. after Chicago Avenue (Chicago Ave (800 N)) goes north avenue (North Ave (1600 N)) then fullerton avenue (Fuilerton Ave (2400 N))- having reached this point, you will be located 1 ", 83 km north of the center.

Michigan Avenue

Instead of a bustling city center, we advise you to start building your idea of ​​the city from its most beautiful street, although business-like, but more measured. Chicagoans call the tree-lined stretch of street north of the Loop and the river up to Oak Street the Magnificent Mile. (Magnificent Mile)... There are the largest high fashion stores, jewelry stores, department stores, art galleries and bookstores. The street has acquired unique look so when McDonald's, headquartered in Chicago, decided to open a branch here, local merchants insisted that the exterior of the building blend in with the surroundings.

Most notable is the huge, blued-colored 100-story John Hancock Center with its striking braced frame. In front of us is a real vertical street, soaring up 337.5 m. The first five floors are occupied by shops, then half a dozen floors are given for a parking lot, and then there are office and residential premises, where a supermarket and a swimming pool are provided for residents. The 94th floor observation deck overlooks the Michigan Lakeside, the Indiana steel mills behind Loop, the Wisconsin-facing shores and lowland West Side residential areas.

A block east of North Michigan Avenue lies the bustling Rush Street with summer cafes, nightclubs, restaurants and taverns that comes alive at dusk. Chicago Avenue and Michigan Avenue are home to an amazing white limestone water tower that has become a historic landmark. It was erected in 1869 to house a pump that pumped water from the lake, and is the only public building that survived the fire. Today there is a park around it.

Water tower area (Water Tower Place; 845 North Michigan) is a shopping center with waterfalls along the escalators that take visitors to shops and restaurants spread over seven floors of the building. Four blocks south is Ontario Street with rows of art galleries, where works of modern art are lavishly exhibited.

The Tribune Tower stands out for its pseudo-Gothic spitz and portico, between which 30 floors fit. Erected in 1925 for the local newspaper The Chicago Tribune, it was the scene of America's most famous architectural competition. Many leading architects (233 applications from 23 countries were received) presented their projects, and among the losers were Walter Gropius, the creator of the Bauhaus - a famous educational institution and architectural and artistic association in Germany, and the great Finnish architect Ero Saarinen. Having secretly convinced the world that modern buildings should now have a modern look, the tower appeared to be an unusual and even cute eccentricity.

We have a great variety of styles in front of the skyscrapers near the Chicago River, starting from the bridge on Michigan Avenue. The whitish yellow building with the clock tower to the north of the bridge is Wrigley, the renowned chewing gum manufacturer, especially beautiful at night under the spotlights.

The twin towers are located to the west along the river residential complex Marina City, reminiscent of huge cobs of corn.

Rounded reinforced concrete towers, where the living quarters on the upper floors are like slices of a pie, descend towards the river. They serve as a harbor for 500 boats of the local inhabitants or boats of entrepreneurs who use them to get to work from the suburbs of the northern coast of the lake. Contrasted with this is the multi-storey steel and glass panel building by Mies van der Rohe, owned by IBM.

Loop

Loop - an area along with the El elevated railway (elevated railroad), which girdles it along Wabash Avenue in the east, Ozernaya in the north, Rodnikova in the west and Van Buren in the south, symbolizes American efficiency. Lasalle Street, the heart of the financial and banking district, resembles a canyon like New York's Wall Street. The main downtown department stores are concentrated on State Street and Wabash Avenue. One of them, the Carson-Peary-Scott building, is a place of pilgrimage for architectural specialists, attracting them, like the first buyers in 1904, with Louis Sullivan's unusually openwork metal ornament above the entrance from Madison Street, as well as unprecedented for that time elongated along the windows. Unfortunately, the store closed in 2007.

The most notable feature of the Chicago business district is that in its many squares, plazas, there is a place not for sculptures of famous people, but for modern sculptures with mosaics. This design, called "areal art" (plaza art), began with a massive steel unnamed sculpture by Picasso (1967) front the municipal center Richard Joseph Daly (Washington and Dearborn streets), a city hall and courthouse complex named after the late mayor. Like a high-rise courthouse, the 15-meter sculpture by Picasso is made of weather-resistant steel that takes on a rusty color. For those who are trying to understand whether a woman or a horse is in front of them, Picasso himself has already answered that this, they say, is akin to trying to understand what the bird is singing about. And yet this statue attracts admirers of the artist and townspeople to the square, who love to refresh themselves here with sandwiches.

Among other notable examples of "areal art" one can single out Chagall's "Seasons" - a mosaic 21.5 m long on the First people's square (First National Plaza; Monroe and Dearborn streets); bright red, 16 m high abstract sculpture "Flamingo" (Flamingo Stabile; Adams and Dearborn streets) Alexander Calder, decorating the Federal Center designed by Mies van der Rohe, which some consider the best complex government buildings in the country; and perhaps the most challenging Batcolumn sculpture (at the Lupa border outside the Social Security Administration; 600 West Madison Street) pop art representative Claes Oldenburg, 30.5 m high, assembled from 1608 welded steel elements.

The Willis Tower rises on the edge of the Loupe (Wacker Drive and Adams Street), 110 floors soaring up to 443 m, which allowed it at one time to become the most tall building the world. Today the building consists of nine towers of the architectural agency COM (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill - SOM), resembling square cigarettes gathered together, looking out of the "pack" at different lengths. The steel frame is covered with blackened aluminum, and the 16,000 windows are bronze painted. On the 103rd floor there is observation deck... After visiting Hancock Tower during the day, come to the Willis Tower site at night to admire its views.

Most of the restaurants and cafes in the Loop area are designed to accommodate crowds of office workers at lunchtime.

Chinatown

The charm of Chinatown Chicago can be truly felt as you walk from bakery to bakery, inhaling the aroma of nut tarts and macaroons, shopping for Hello Kitty little things. Wentworth Avenue (Wentworth Ave), south of Sermak Road (Cermak Rd), - the trading heart of old Chinatown; Chinatown Square (Chinatown Sq), along Archer Avenue (Archer Ave), south of Semark, is a newer commercial area. It can be easily reached in 10 minutes from Loop by train. Take the CTA Red Line to the Cermak-Chinatown stop.

Lake Shore Drive

Driving along this road gives you the opportunity to admire the surroundings. On the South Side, from Jackson Park, pass the sailboats docked in Chicago Harbor at Grant Park, past the seaside of Oak Street, and arrive at Lincoln Park on the North Side and the boats at Belmont Harbor. Heading south, the road leads you to the place of the greatest concentration of buildings of the current millennium, located in the Millennium Park.

The Royal Fountain consists of two glass-brick towers enclosing a shallow granite basin. The faces of thousands of Chicagoans change on video screens behind glass blocks; almost every 5 minutes the lips on the screen fold into a tube and "release" a stream of water beating from the tower.

Jay Pritzker Pavilion, a summer concert venue for performance classical music, designed by architect Frank Gehry. The pavilion is fenced with corrugated stainless steel sheets that resemble huge ribbons curling from the stage. Gehry was also responsible for the construction of the undulating pedestrian bridge British Petroleum stainless steel.

But the most beloved building (and the newest symbol of the city) on Millennium Square - a twisted, three-story building high sculpture "Cloud Gate" ("Cloud Gate")... Anish Kapoor's curved, mirrored surface is a cross between a work of art and a crooked mirror from the Laughter Room, and has been fondly nicknamed "the bean." (the bean).

Lincoln Park is worth visiting separately for its menagerie. There is an amazing monkey house, but what attracts most of all is the idea of ​​introducing domestic animals and birds, such as pigs, cows, goats, ducks and chickens, to the city kids, instead of tropical exoticism, which they saw exclusively roasted and are familiar only with cats, dogs and sparrows. Likewise, the Lincoln Park greenhouse, besides a fine selection of orchids and striking African and South American trees, delights the eye with the unpretentious beauty of marshmallow, hyacinths, snapdragons and daisies in Grandma's Garden.

Museums in Chicago

Museum town in Grant Park (1300 South Lake Shore Drive) brings together three remarkable exhibitions. Shedd's Marine Aquarium (Shedd Aquarium; tel .: 312-939-24-38; www.sheddaquarium.org) is one of the largest in the world. It contains 7,500 species of fish, including a magnificent collection of 350 Caribbean coral reef dwellers.

If you are lucky, you will see scuba divers feeding large fish. Field Museum of Natural History (tel .: 312-922-94-10; www.fieldmuseum.org) also allows visitors to "play" with some of its exhibits, although at first you will be frightened by the huge, restive elephants beating in the main hall.

Museum of Science and Industry (South Lake Shore Drive and 57th Street; Tel: 773-684-14-14; www.msichicago.org)- the most visited in the city, as you do not just stand and watch, but walk among the exhibits and do something. Descend into a coal mine, walk through a huge model of a human heart, visit a captured German submarine during the Second World War, press buttons and pull levers labeled "Do not touch."

Electronic tickets and discount cards

Major attractions including the Art Institute, Shedd Aquarium (Shedd Aquarium) and Willis Tower, allow you to purchase tickets online. The advantage is that, firstly, you are guaranteed entry, and secondly, you do not stand in line. Disadvantage - you have to pay for the service, the fee can range from $ 1.50 to $ 4 per ticket (sometimes for the whole order), and at times the online queue is no shorter than the live one. Our suggestion: consider buying online tickets in the summer and for some large exhibitions, otherwise this is not necessary.

Chicago offers several discount cards that will also allow you to bypass the lively Go Chicago Card queues (www.gochicagocard.com)... Allows you to visit attractions and attractions an unlimited number of times for a fixed fee; convenient if you visit these places one, two, three, five or seven days in a row.

CityPass (www.citypass.com) Gives access to the city's five major magnets, including the Shedd Aquarium and Willis Tower, for nine days; this is the best option if you prefer a leisurely pace of sightseeing.

Leisure

Among the 552 parks in Chicago are public golf courses, ice rinks, swimming pools and more. The events are free or very inexpensive, and the equipment you need can almost always be rented. Chicago Park District conducts various shows; golf information (Tel: 312-245-0909; www.cpdgolf.com) need to be looked at separately.

A bike

Cycling along the 29.77 km path along the lakeside area is a great way to see the city. Bicycles are rented by two companies. The cost is about $ 10 per hour or $ 35 per day (helmet and lock included)... Both companies offer two to four hour guided tours (from $ 35 to $ 60, including bicycles) with a walk in the lakeside area, drinking beer, eating pizza and sightseeing Obama (highly recommended!)... Active Transportation Alliance (www.activetrans.org) provides a list of cycling events taking place in the city.

Cycling Chicago (Bike Chicago) (Tel: 888-245-3929; www.bikechicago.com; 239 E Randolph St; 6.30-20.00 Mon-Fri, 8.00 Sat and Sun, closed Saturday and Sun November to March) Quite a separate organization, it has its branches in different places. The main one is in Millennium Park, another one is on the naval pier. Bobby's Cycling (Bobby 's Bike Hike) (Tel: 312-915-0995; www.bobbysbikehike.com; 465 N McClurg Ct; 8.30-19.00 June to August, closed December to February) Energetic and successful company. The office is located on Ogden Slip (River East Docks).

Water sports

Dive, build sandcastles or sunbathe on any of the 30+ beaches in Chicago. Lifeguards patrol the shore during the summer season. Step into the Chicago Park District (www.chicagoparkdistrict.com) for guidance before diving. North Avenue Beach (North Avenue Beach) and Oak Street Beaches (Oak Street Beach) located close to the center. Gather all your will and focus, as the water remains chillingly cold even in July.

Ice skating

McCormick Ice Rink (McCormick Tribune Ice Rink) (Tel: 312-742-5222; www.milienniumpark.org; 55 N Michigan Ave (Michigan Avenue); skate rental $ 10; late November to February) at Millennium Park lights up when the outside temperature starts to drop.

Festivals and events

In Chicago, there are some events every day, but the biggest ones are in the summer. This is what happens in the city center on weekends, unless otherwise noted. Explore chicago (www.explorechicago.org/specialeverts) can give you exact dates and other details.

St Patrick's Day Parade

www.chicagostpatsparade.com; mid-March. Local plumbers union dyes the waters of the Chicago River green (acid color) followed by a big parade.

Blues Festival

www.chicagobluesfestival.us; every year in June. This is the largest free blues festival in the world - three days of music that made Chicago famous.

Taste of Chicago

www.tasteofchicago.us; end of June-beginning of July. 10-day binge in Grant Park with bands and lots of food.

Summer Dance (SummerDance)

www.chicagosummerdance.org; 601S Michigan Ave (Michigan Avenue); 18.00 Thu-Sat, 16.00 Sun, from early July to mid-September. Bands play rumba, samba and other world famous melodies, and fun dance lessons are held to this music. All this takes place in the Garden "Spirit of Music" (Spirit of Music Garden) in Grant Park.

Pitchfork Music Festival

www.pitchforkmusicfestival.com; day pass $ 45; mid-July. Indie bands strum in Union Park (Union Park) in three days.

Lollapalooza

www.lollapalooza.com; day pass about $ 100; early August. Up to 130 bands are scattered across eight stages in Grant Park for a three-day mega-concert.

Jazz Festival

www.chicagojazzfestival.us; beginning of September. National jazz players with big names play here on Labor Day.

Accommodation

Hotels in Chicago are not cheap. The best way save - use special offers like Priceline or Hotwire (look for "River North" or "Mag Mile")... On weekends and on days when the city is flooded with convention members (which often pass here), your chances are fading, so plan ahead to avoid any unpleasant surprises. The prices below are normal for the middle of the week in summer, i.e. hot, season. The tax goes another 15.4%.

B&B hotels are an excellent choice for the middle class dandy. Contact Chicago Bed & Breakfast Association (www.chicago-bed-breakfast.com; numbers $ 125-250) which represents 18 hotels. Many hotels have a minimum stay of two to three days. Renting rooms for vacation in local apartments too a good option... Contact Vacation Rental By Owner (www.vrbo.com) or Craigslist (www.chicago.craigslist.org).

Hotels in the Loop area are convenient for visiting Grant Park, museums and the business district, but the area freezes at night. Lodging in the Middle North or Gold Coast is most popular for its proximity to restaurants, shopping and entertainment. Rooms at Lincoln Park, Lake View and Wicker Park are seductive as they are often cheaper than downtown rooms while staying close enough to the turbulent nightlife cities.

Wi-Fi is free unless otherwise noted. You will pay dearly for parking in Chicago, roughly $ 45 a night in the city center and $ 22 in outlying areas.

For many years, the Epicureans wrote of Chicago as a "meat backwater." Then something funny happened: the city received a ton of James Byrd awards and was named home by gourmet magazines like Saveur. best restaurants country. Even the noisiest restaurants are beautiful here: the chefs are dreamers and great inventors, but at the same time they are true to traditions. The prices are fair. You can also sample the excellent ethnic restaurants, especially if you leave the center and visit one of the districts such as Pilsen or Uptown.

During the long winters, Chicagoans rely heavily on the warmth of the bars. Bars usually close by 2.00, but some of them remain open until 4.00 or 5.00. In summer, many bars open beer gardens.

Chicago Transportation

To / from airport

Chicago Midway Airport, 17.70 km southwest of Loops, connected via the CTA Orange Line ($2,25) ... Other options include shuttle buses (per person $ 24) and taxi (from $ 30 to $ 40).

O'Hara International Airport 27.36 km northwest of Loop. The cheapest and often fastest way to get to O'Hara is by taking the STA Blue Line ($2,25) Mansueto Library

Bicycles

There are 193.12 km of bike paths in Chicago. Receive free card in the city transport department (www.chicagobikes.org)... Bike racks (parking lots) lots of; the largest with showers is McDonalds Cycle Center (www.chicagobikestation.com; 239 E Randolph St (Randolph Street)) in the park "Millennium". If you don’t click on the lock, you’ll lose. For information on renting bicycles.

Cars and motorcycles

Be warned: parking on streets and in garages is expensive. If you must leave your car somewhere, try the East Monroe Garage (www.millenniumgarages.com; Columbus Dr btwn Randolph & Monroe Sts (Calambas Drive between Randolph and Monroe Streets; on day 1.4)... The traffic on the roads of Chicago during rush hour is just awful.

Public transportation

Chicago Board of Transportation (Chicago Transit Authority) (CTA; www.transitchicago.com) operates city buses and overground / underground trains (this train system is known as EI)... CTA buses run everywhere from early morning until late at night. Two of the eight color-coded trains - Red Line (Red line) and Blue Line (Blue line) driving up international airport O "Hara, - they work 24 hours a day. Other lilies work from about 5.00 to midnight every day. During the day you do not have to wait for the train more than 15 minutes. Free cards are available at the station.

(called "transit card") or pay the exact amount without change (in this case the fare is $ 2.25)... When traveling by train, you must use the transit card, which is sold in vending machines on railway stations... One day pass (one- / three-day pass $ 5.75 / 14) guarantees you great savings, but they can only be bought at airports and various pharmacies and currency exchange offices.

Metra commuter trains (www.metrarail.com) has 12 routes serving suburban areas with departures from four terminals located in the loop around Loops: La Salle Street station (La Salle St Station), Millennium station (Millennium Station), station Union (Union Station) and the Richard W. Ogilvy Transportation Center (and Richard At the Ogilvie Transportation Center, a few blocks north of Union Station)... Some trains run daily, some only run on weekdays during peak hours. Fares on the Metra range from $ 2.25 to $ 8.50. A full weekend pass costs $ 7.

PACE (www.pacebus.com) runs the system commuter buses combined with public transport.

Taxi

There are many taxis in Loop, driving north to Andersonville and northwest to Wicker Park / Bucktown. The minimum fare is $ 2.25, plus $ 1.80 per mile and $ 1 for each additional passenger; 15% tip expected. If you leave the city, you will pay one and a half times higher than the established city tariff. Recommended Companies: Flash Cab (Tel .: 773-561-1444) Yellow cab (Tel .: 312-829-4222).

The way back and forth

Air traffic

Chicago Midway Airport (Chicago Midway Airport) (MDW; www.flychicago.com) Small airport mainly used by local carriers such as Southwest (Southwest); sometimes flights from here are cheaper than from O'Hara airport.

International airport "O" Hara " (O "Hare International Airport) (ORD; www.flychicago.com) Most major airport in Chicago and one of the busiest in the world. United Airlines headquarters and transportation hub for American. Most non-US airlines. as well as international flights use Terminal 5 (except Lufthansa and flights from Canada).

Buses

Greyhound (Greyhound) (Tel: 312-408-5800; www.greyhound.com; 630 W Harrison St) The main station is located two blocks southwest of the Blue Line Clinton STA stop. Buses run frequently to Cleveland (7 o'clock) Detroit (7 o'clock) and Minneapolis (9 hours) as well as small towns throughout the United States.

Megabass (Megabus) (www.megabus.com/us; southeast cnr Canal St & Jackson Blvd (southeast corner of Canal Street and Jackson Blvd)). Only travels in big cities Midwest. The price is often lower, the quality of service and the frequency is better than the Greyhound on these routes. Bus stop located next to Union station (Union Station).

Trains

Old Chicago Union Station (Union Station) (225 S Canal St)- transport hub for regional and interstate buses of the Amtrak company (Amtrak) (Tel: 800-872-7245; www.amtrak.com).

Some routes:

• Detroit (5 hours, three trains daily)
• Milwaukee (1 hour, seven trains daily)
• Minneapolis / Saint Paul (8 hours, one train daily)
• New York (20 hours, one train daily)
• San Francisco (emeryville) (53 hours, ONE train daily)
• Saint Louis (5 hours, five trains daily)

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Top 10 Chicago Attractions

1. Sears Tower (Willis Tower)

The tallest skyscraper in Chicago was built in 1970, its height is 450 meters, and if you take into account the antennas on the roof, then all 527 meters. The skyscraper has 110 floors. Sears Tower until recently was the most high skyscraper in USA. Unfortunately, it can be noted that the observation deck is not the best in the city, it is glazed, and the glasses are not washed every day. The Sears Tower is one of the main attractions of Chicago; more than 1.5 million people visit it annually.

2. Magnificent Mile

The Magnificent Mile is the part of Michigan Avenue that runs from Oak Street to the Chicago River, and is considered one of the finest shopping streets in the world.The street was named after the area's developer, Arthur Rubleff, in the 1940s. The Magnificent Mile is home to some of Chicago's most popular shopping malls, boutiques and restaurants. Most guided tours of Chicago depart from this street.

3. Harold Washington Library

Harold Washington Library- this book collection is one of the largest libraries in the world. The library was built relatively recently, in 1991 for a unique architectural project, the building of the library resembles an ancient castle.

4. Flamingo

The Flamingo Sculpture is another must-see for a tour guide in Chicago. The Flamingo is a unique piece of Chicago street art, the sculpture depicting a pink flamingo bizarrely curved close to the ground. The townspeople call this monument "Taxpayer April 14" - the last day for paying taxes in the United States. The sculpture was created in 1974 by one of the most popular avant-garde sculptors of the 20th century, Calder Alexander. The flamingo is at Federal Plaza.

5. Auditorium (Auditorium Theater)

The auditorium, as the building was named, is a very complex structure crowned with a 17-storey tower. The concert hall has 4,232 seats, which is 1,200 more than the Metropolitan Opera. The names of Bach, Beethoven and Vivaldi are inscribed on the columns near the stage, Maria Callas and Montserrat Caballe sang here, pop stars from Celine Dion to Madonna performed here.

6. John Hancock Observatory

The skyscraper John Hancock Center is the tallest building in Chicago, the main attraction of this skyscraper, of course, Hancock Observatory with observation platform, revealing to your gaze all the beauty of Chicago from the height of the 96th floor! The skyscraper was built for five years, copying the Eiffel Tower in Paris and opened in 1970.

7. Buckingham Fountain

Buckingham Fountain in Grand Park - copies one of the fountains of Versailles and is one of the largest in the world. The fountain consists of three levels of pools, with a total height of 7 meters, along the perimeter there are four pairs of bronze seahorses, each of which symbolizes the states standing on the shores of Lake Michigan. Please note that the fountain is closed in winter, and in summer it is open from 8 am to 11 pm.

8. Chicago Water Tower

The Chicago Water Tower - Built in 1869, it is a symbol of Chicago and one of the few surviving structures in the great fire that engulfed Chicago in the late 18th century. The 47-meter tower is located in the very center of the city.

9. Museum of Natural History

Museum natural history owes its existence to the World's Fair, which took place in Chicago in 1893. Originally built to showcase exhibits at the fair, the museum quickly evolved into a collection of natural history artifacts and exhibitions.The collection was moved to its current location at Grant Park in 1921 and is part of the Campus Museum.Exhibits from the taxidermy collection of large animals such as African elephants, an extensive collection of Native American artifacts,The 12-meter Tyrannosaurus skeleton is the most popular exhibit of millions of museum specimens.

The Magnificent Mile is one of the most famous shopping streets in the world, located on the Michigan Avenue section north of the Chicago River. There are many shops on the Magnificent Mile, shopping centers, restaurants, hotels and Chicago attractions. The street is surrounded by huge skyscrapers and remarkable buildings.

The areas around the Magnificent Mile are considered some of the most expensive and prestigious in Chicago. The wide sidewalks are always crowded. Luxury shops, boutiques and restaurants are geared primarily towards the wealthy as well as tourists. All well-known retail brands are present on the Magnificent Mile.

The oldest building along the Magnificent Mile is the Chicago Water Tower. The tower was built in 1869. The pumping station and tower looks a little out of place among the many high-rise buildings. It is a highlight in the heart of downtown Chicago and a popular tourist attraction. The Water Tower is one of the few structures that survived from Chicago after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The building symbolizes the resilience of Chicago. They tried to demolish the water tower several times: in 1906, 1918 and 1948, but each time the defenders were able to defend the symbol of Chicago.

Interesting buildings located on the Magnificent Mile (year of construction, height in meters):

• Wrigley Building (1924)
• Tribune Tower (1925, 141 m)
• Water Tower Place (1975, 262 m)
• Olympia Center (1986, 221 m)
• Chicago Place (185 m)
• One Magnificent Mile (205 m)
• 900 North Michigan (1989, 265 m)
• John Hancock Center (1970, 344 m)
• Park Tower (2000, 257 m)
• Drake Hotel (1920)
• Allerton Hotel (1924, 110 m)
• Palmolive Building (1929, formerly Playboy Building)

October 25th, 2013

The Chicago Water Tower is considered almost the only building in Chicago that survived the great fire of 1871. This, of course, is not entirely true: this is the only surviving public building and one of the few that have survived to this day. One way or another, the Chicago Water Tower has become a symbol of old Chicago and the city's reconstruction after a fire.

The Chicago Water Tower was built in 1869 in the fashionable "European medieval castles in the American view ".

Once the tower, reaching 47 meters in height, was the tallest building in the area.

Chicago Water Tower in 1886.

Today, against the background of modern skyscrapers, it looks quite small.

Photo taken by Dori ( [email protected])

The water tower is part of the complex, which also includes a pumping station.

Pumping station.

This station was built to provide the city clean water... Prior to that, water came from the coastal waters of Lake Michigan, which were polluted by the Chicago River that flows into it (into this river, sewage from numerous Chicago factories and plants was discharged).

Chicago River. 1905 g.


Source: Archives of the Library of Congress.

Water was to be supplied to the pumping station from special reservoirs located in the lake at a distance from the coast.

View of Chicago from Lake Michigan.

This idea was not particularly successful - the tanks themselves quickly became contaminated. The problem was solved only by turning the course of the Chicago River back (yes, long before Brezhnev, the idea of ​​turning the rivers not only existed, but was even successfully implemented!).