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 Crossing Michigan Avenue Bridge by Jefie | Michigan Avenue tips and photos posted by real travelers and Chicago locals. • 141 Photos
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 | Chicago Michigan Avenue Reviews | 1 - 10 of 101 |  |
Michigan Avenue is truly "The Magnificent Mile" in Chicago. It stretches from the Wrigley Building and goes north to Oak Street.
Tourists as well as residents flock here because of the exclusive boutiques, the best retail stores, terrific restaurants, nightlife, art galleries, magnificent architecture, Salons, cafes, and glorious gardens.
As a "vertical city", you'll find yourself constantly looking up at such buildings as Hancock building, Tribune Building, Wrigley Building, Old Water Tower and Pumping Station, and the London Guarantee Building. Also, since the Trump Tower is being constructed, we'll all soon be looking way up at this very tall building on the river.
Michigan Avenue has four large shopping centers, and each has between four and ten levels of shops, restaurants, and atriums.
Photographs:
1. Hancock Building where you can go to the observatory and see the entire city.
2. Water Tower Shopping Center.
3. One of my favorites: The Wrigley Building.
4. The lovely and historic Water Tower.
5. The under construction Trump Tower. Leave a Comment Directions: From Wrigley Building by the Chicago River north to Oak Street.
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North Michigan Avenue is one of the world's greatest streets, and has world-class shopping, food, hotels and entertainment right along the street or nearby.
Take a walk from Randolph St. and Grant Park, across the bridge, and all the way north to around the Drake Hotel to enjoy everything Michigan Ave. has to offer. Check out the architecture, do some shopping at Water Tower Place, visit the historic Water Tower, and check out the views from the observatory at the Hancock Center. It is a great place to be all year round. Leave a Comment
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I was just passing by with a friend one night and I noticed the tower. I was kind of interested about the building because it reminded me a bit of an European one from the medivial times. Here is what my friend told me about it:
The Water Tower is considered as one of the Chicago's historic landmarks. It was built way back at the end of 19th century. The great fire in 1871 which leveled nearly every building in the city except the Water Tower. So, the tower is considered to be the symbol of Chicago's rise from the ashes.
He also told me that there is a gallery inside the Water Tower showing pictures of Chicago taken by Chicago photographers. Unfortubatly, due to the late hour I could not visit the gallery. I hope I will do that some day. Leave a Comment Address: 806, N Michigan AvePhone: (312) 744-2400Directions: Crossing: Pearson Street
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Being from Canada's Maritime Provinces, I always like to see water! Consequently, I was very happy to find the Chicago River area around the Michigan Avenue Bridge. It was quite a visual treat as I walked only a few steps further south from the Tribune and Wrigley buildings (2nd photo). This Beaux Arts-style bridge was completed in 1920 and, along with with the sculptures on its impressive bridge house towers that control operation of the lift-bridge spans, it made for a grand entrance into the city's downtown area.
My 3rd photo shows a closer view of one of the bridge houses that allow river traffic to pass by opening the two pivoted 3750-ton steel and concrete bridge sections (one on each bank) upward as required. These buildings are also adorned with very impressive bas relief sculptures of events from Chicago's history, including the plaque in my 4th photo commemorating French explorers from Canada who made their way through the area in the 1680s on their way to the Mississippi River. Leave a Comment Directions: Over the Chicago River on Michigan Avenue
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Although Oscar Wilde called it a "monstrosity with pepper boxes stuck all over it" most Chicagoans and visitors seem to love the Water Tower. Located on Michigan Avenue in the midst of the Mag Mile shopping area, it was one of two public buildings to survive the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the other being the Pumping Station across the street, both of which are constructed with Joliet (Illinois) limestone designed in Gothic Revival style.
Although the Pumping Station still pumps water for the city, the Water Tower, built in 1869 to house a 138-foot standpipe to equalize the water pressure, became obsolete and the standpipe removed in 1911.
There's nothing much to see inside (unlike the pumping station which is interesting if you can get a glimpse). The one time I wandered in there was a small photo exhibit unrelated to the Water Tower. Leave a Comment Address: Michigan AvenueDirections: Michigan Avenue and Chicago Avenue, close to Water Tower Place and the Hancock
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As with the '35 East Wacker' building, I only later learned how quirky the present Intercontinental Chicago hotel building really was. On my very first excursion onto Chicago's streets my eyes were drawn upward to the roof of a building with a strange golden dome and what looked like an old stone chimney - I thought, maybe this is the famous 'Water Tower'! In the end, with not enough spare time, I wandered here and there over a period of a few days but never did make a special trip to see the building up-close.
According to Wikipedia: "The InterContinental Chicago hotel...currently occupies two Multi-story buildings. The historic tower, or "South Tower," is a 471 foot, 42 story building which was completed in 1929 originally as the home of the Medinah Athletic Club. The main tower, or "North Tower" is a 295 foot, 25 story addition, completed in 1961. Before the stock market crash of 1929, the United States was experiencing a building boom and one of these projects (the South Tower) was to be the future home of the Medinah Athletic Club in Chicago.
The...building was intended to combine elements of many architectural styles. At the eighth floor, its Indiana limestone facade was decorated by three large relief carvings in ancient Assyrian style. The exotic gold dome, which is Moorish in influence, originated as part of a decorative docking port for dirigibles - a notion conceived before the Hindenburg disaster in 1937 (in which 36 people died when the dirigible caught fire while docking in New Jersey). Years later, the building would lose several feet with the dismantling of an ornamental canopy on the small turret north of the dome. This chimney-like structure was originally intended to assist in the docking of these air ships, but it was never put into use. Inside the dome, a glass cupola and spiral iron staircase resembling the top of a lighthouse led down (for the airship passengers) to the hotel’s upper elevator landing.
In the tower beneath the great dome, the club featured a miniature golf course on the twenty-third floor, complete with water hazards and a wandering brook; also a shooting range, billiards hall, running track, gymnasium, archery range, bowling alley, two story boxing arena, and a junior Olympic size swimming pool - all this in addition to the ballrooms, meeting rooms, and 440 guest rooms which were available for the exclusive use of the club’s 3,500 members and their guests
Four years after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 the Shrine Organization filed for bankruptcy protection. In the following year they lost control of the building, and in the decades after, the building went through various incarnations, including as a hotel and a brief stint as residential apartments. In 1988, InterContinental Hotels and Resorts purchased the property outright and completed the first phase of extensive renovations prior to its re-opening in 1990."
The history of some of these buildings is amazing! Leave a Comment Address: 505 North Michigan Avenue, ChicagoDirections: A block or so north of the Tribune Tower on Michigan Avenue
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One of the most famous buildings in Chicago is the Wrigley Building. The 30-story building was completed in 1924 and is the headquarters for the Wrigley chewing gum company. It was modeled after the Sevilla Cathedral's Giralda Tower.
The building is over 450,000 square feet, and the outside is covered in over 250,000 terra cotta tiles, which are individually tracked with a complicated computer database.
The 2-story clocks, with 6 ft. long hour hands and 9 ft. long minute hands are the most prominent features on the building.
The Wrigley Building is impressive in the daytime, but is the crown jewel of Michigan Ave. at night, when it is illuminated with floodlights. Leave a Comment
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Take a look at this picture. Can you believe that I was actually once my school's official photographer. Needless to say, I wasn't paid for my services.
This picture is awful because I was in such a hurry to take it so not to many people would look at me as a camera-clickin' tourist new to the town.
The Water Tower is the one structure to survive the Chicago Fire. It is the oldest building downtown.
You can go inside where they have a small gallery featuring pictures from local artists. Leave a Comment Address: Michigan and Chicago Ave
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It may not look too magnificent from this picture, but I have walked down this street millions of times and still never get bored.
This is a shoppers paradise with more high class stores than potholes in the streets of Chicago.
Begin at the Water Tower on Michigan and Chicago Ave keep walking south and don't stop shopping until you end up at Adams St across the street from The Art Institute. There is a Nordstrom's, Marshall Fields, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nieman Markus and so many others. My favorite: Virgin Megastore on the corner at Ohio. Leave a Comment
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This is my favorite indoor mall on Michigan Avenue, One Chicago Place. The inside has a couple of glass elevators, and stores include Talbots, the Body Shop, Franklin Covey, Saks Fifth Avenue, and a good food court on the top level with a great view over Michigan Avenue (try the Greek food stall for some spanokapita!). Leave a Comment Address: North Michigan Avenue
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- Drake Hotel - Chicago
140 East Walton Place, Chicago, IL - Four Points By Sheraton Chicago Downtown Magnificent Mile
630 N Rush St (formerly Baymont Inn Chicago Downtown), Chicago, IL - The Willows Hotel
555 West Surf Ave, Chicago, IL - Econolodge South Chicago
17225 S Halsted St, Chicago, IL - Allerton Crowne Plaza Chicago
701 North Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL - Le Meridien Chicago
521 North Rush St. at Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL - La Quinta Inn & Suites Chicago North Shore Hotel
2000 Lakeside Drive, Chicago, IL - House Of Blues Hotel
333 N Dearborn St (formerly House of Blues Hotel), Chicago, IL - Residence Inn Chicago Downtown
201 E. Walton Place, Chicago, IL - Le Meridien Chicago (521 N. Rush Street at Michigan Ave )
521 North Rush St. at Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL - Holiday Inn Select Midway Arpt
6520 South Cicero Avenue, Chicago, IL - Hgi Chicago Dwnt Magnificent Ml
10 E Grand Avenue, Chicago, IL - City Suites Hotel
933 West Belmont Ave., Chicago, IL - Holiday Inn O'Hare Arpt
8201 W Higgins Rd (formerly Wyndham Garden Hotel Chicago - O'Hare), Chicago, IL - La Quinta Inn Hoffman
2280 Barrington Rd., Chicago, IL
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