Monday, May 26, 2014

Chicago: Great Day to be on the River

Our final day in Chicago started with a late breakfast at Tempo Café on East Chestnut...yum yum!  Next and final stop was our last tour with the Chicago Architecture Foundation.  We save our River Architecture Tour for our last and the weather was perfect.  

 
 

 
 

 

 
 

 


 

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Chicago: Must Sees and The Masters

Sunday started off with brunch at The Drake and then we made our way back to the Chicago Architecture Foundation for our Chicago Must See tour.  On the way, we stopped into the church on the corner from our hotel. 
 
Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago was dedicated in 1914 and with the exception of the Old Water Tower, is the oldest building on Michigan Avenue north of the Chicago River. It is a combination of English Gothic and French Gothic styles and quite lovely.
 


 


 
 
 
 
 
All along Michigan Avenue there are beautiful flower boxes and I couldn't resist a photo...definitely less hectic getting in the middle of Michigan Avenue for this pic than it was getting in the middle of the Champs-Élysées for the pic of the Arc de Triomphe!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Water Tower was built in 1867 and is one of the few building to survive the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Homage to While You Were Sleeping
 

The Quincy "L" Station was restored to its original look and is like stepping back in time.


This was used to keep the ticket agents honest.  Every time a customer
would purchase a ticket, the customer would pull cord before walking away.


Many of the places we passed on the Must See tour were places we had seen on our Art Deco tour so I would recommend taking one or the other but not both.  Personally enjoyed the Art Deco tour more for the history.
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
Marina City looks like something out of The Jetsons.  The first 19 floors are parking for the condos above...can't imagine trying to back in to the spots.  Steve McQueen drove off the top floor of the parking garage and right into the Chicago River in The Hunter's.













One of the newest buildings in Chicago...another Trump Tower.  No surprise there is controversy around the building...actually the sign.  The Mayor, Rahm Emanuel, thinks the sign is awful and takes away from the architecture design of the building.  The Donald, big shocker, thinks it is great for Chicago as he is "the hottest brand in the world".
 
No shocker the sun hits the building at just the right angle to make it sparkle!
 
 
 






Hard Rock Hotel 


Chicago Theatre Sign
                                                         
 Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower)

 John Hancock Tower
 
On our Friday tour, we learned that Mrs. Palmer (of the Palmer House) began collecting the works many young and up and coming artists the likes of Monet, Rodin and Renoir.  Some of their works she paid as much as $20 (current value) for...what a deal!  When she died, her collection was donated to The Art Institute of Chicago so this is where we headed after our Sunday tour.  We were disappointed we arrived with only an hour left in the day but on the plus side, it is only $10 the last hour.  There was just enough time to hit the Impressionists wing and see the Chagall Windows.
 
 
 
 
 
 


 
After three days of walking over 20 miles, we decided to treat ourselves to massages that evening.  It was the perfect end to a great weekend and just what we needed before our last day of touring Chicago and heading home.