Do You Want to Understand Chicago?
by Chicagito
If you really want to understand Chicago, you really need to watch the superb PBS documentary film: "Chicago City of the Century." I talked with many friends over my 8 years in Chicago, and no one knows a better film of the city's history! If your thinking about living or working in Chicago, I strongly recommend this film to give you a framework for understanding the City. It explains how, and why the city developed. Chicago has always valued ambition over civility, separateness over integration, and power over people. If you want to understand your present, or to improve your future, it must begin in a study of your past.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/chicago/index.html
Ethnic neighborhoods: Italian
by dlandt
Italian neighborhoods didn't really survive the 90s, maybe not even the 80s. Nevertheless, there are some remnants and you can still shop in Italian stores, eat Italian food, buy Italian fashions and newspapers. The website : http://www.littleitalychicago.com/index.shtml will give you an idea where you can go a lot better than I can make travel tips. Basically, Italian things are clustered in three areas in Chicago, and I would also add in Edison Park as well. We have Little Italy, Heart of Italy, and North Harlem. I encourage you to explore a little and sample things. You might be interested to find that Italian baked goods really aren't as sweet as most others. Post Scriptum If you don't want to get too far from downtown, take a ride west down Grand Avenue, avbout ten or fifteen blocks from downtown, you'll find a good selection of Italian restaurants and stores. Festa Italia
Start your tour at the Water...
by Don_Bodie
Start your tour at the Water Tower. Whether you take the tour of the Water Tower Museum, which is wonderful, or simply relax on a bench in the shade and admire the architecture, the Water Tower is the place to start.
This spot is of immense importance to the history of Chicago, as it's the only building to survive the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The museum offers a great look at Chicago's past.
The Water Tower is a great place to start your tour, because it's right at the top of Downtown just above the area we call 'The Loop'. You can either walk south down Magnificent Mile (Michigan Avenue) and bask in the man-made splendor that is downtown, or you can stroll up to Lake Shore Drive and Lincoln Park. The Water Tower is also a perfect spot to catch a bus, cab, or train bound for all points north (Lake Shore Drive, Lincoln Park, Wrigley Field).
If it's your first time in Chi-town, there isn't a better place to launch your exploration than the Water Tower. On one of my numerous visits to Chicago as a child, I had the honor of meeting my favorite sportscaster, the late Harry Caray. He's a legend in Chicago Cubs baseball and WGN Radio/Television history, and I dearly miss the sound of his Cubs Win!!! Cubs Win!!! Hooooly Cow!!!
Wrigley Field!!!
by SuVaHa
Going to Wrigley Field is a must. There is really nothing that is as fun to do as that. Jeff and I went and saw Comiskey Park really quick and then we rode the 'L' to Wrigley. That is all we did but the day could not have been more fun. The Cubs won the game on the last strike! It was a really great game. Seeing Wrigley Field was something I have ALWAYS wanted to do. The ivy on the walls, the bleachers, the sign in front of the stadium!! It was SO exciting to see it all!!!!!! One of the Cubs players, Roosevelt Brown was on the Macon Braves a few years ago. He was always very nice and he had a great arm. He was an outfielder. He satrted the game in left for the Cubbies. I was very happy. He was batting about .157. He went 3-4, scored a run and got an RBI!! I know I brought him good luck:-)
The South Side: Hyde Park
by sambarnett
Hyde Park is Chicago’s intellectual capital, anchored by the University of Chicago. The popular Museum of Science and Industry is the big draw (and a surviving rememnant of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition), there are plenty of better things to do around here including Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpiece the Robie House and the amazing Fountain of Time statue on the southeast corner of Washington Park. The best way to reach Hyde Park is by Metra or South Shore train.
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Arctic Alarm-Snow Days
buying city pass
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