I toured in Chicago one day. My friend Irfan was very kind to drive to me to downtown Chicago with his nice Benz car (I really like the seat heater on his car) and show me along the Lake Michigan. There are large parks along the waterfront. Some people were jagging there along the lake. The city and the nature mix perfectly. I don’t like the wind from the lake though.
Sears
The first stop is the Sears Tower. I read about this tower in an architecture book when I was in primary school. I totally agree that Chicago is architecturally the most important city in the United States. The Sears Tower looks so powerful. I can easily draw the diagram of the tower. Here it is: (x denotes the building itself and o represents the absence of the column)
xxx xxo oxo ooo
xxx xxx xxx xxo
xxx oxx oxo ooo
The 9 columns were cut by two first, then the other two were cut. With the cross-shaped tower rising to very high, the remaining 3 columns were cut and leaving the last two extending to the sky.
© Jian Shuo Wang. Sears Tower from the Jasckon Street
© Jian Shuo Wang. The designer of the Sears tower with my friend Irfan’s reflection in the image.
Park
There is a nice park by the Chicago Institute of Art. The huge steel ball stands there as a big mirror, reflecting the skyline of the city in a way people can see easily.
© Jian Shuo Wang.
© Jian Shuo Wang.
The skyline of the image looks brighter and nicer in the reflection.
Chicago River
By the corner of Michigan Avenue and the Chicago River, there is two very interesting building (satelite image). It has the parking area built into the building. Astonishing design! Did anyone drive down from the top by accident? I guess people may put the shift to R when they mean to use D.
© Jian Shuo Wang.
Chicago River at Night
The bridge on the Chicago River looks even more beautiful at night.
© Jian Shuo Wang.
© Jian Shuo Wang.
Chirstmas Season
It is Christmas season. Celebration is everywhere. The street artists even changed their songs to Christmas related. The windows of the shopping malls of Michigan Ave. become the display board for the Christmas spirit. I took the following picture at a Christmas gift market at the exit of Washington Station of Chicago Subway Red Line. I am considering using this as my Christmas card of this year. “Hey, Man. Remember the Christmas card of my last year – the one Wendy took?”
BTW, I learnt the slogan to add “Man” in Chicago. When I said to a black artist who sings very well, he replied: “Thanks, man.”
© Jian Shuo Wang.
Metro
As I prepared, I visited the subway system in Chicago. It is using color to name the lines, just as London (some reader pointed out before).
© Jian Shuo Wang.
The single ride is 1.75 USD. It is expensive – just as Hong Kong. In Shanghai, the most expensive metro ticket you can buy is 6 RMB, which is about 0.75 USD. I don’t mean to complain – how nature and cheap the ticket is after one completed the shopping (or window shopping) long the Michigan Ave.!
The entrance of the Red Line is decorated with a real Red Line.
© Jian Shuo Wang.
The red line has a station named Chicago. So I understand how long the line is (because it may connects other cities), or how old the line is (because at that time, Chicago only refer to a small town?)
Public Radio is Really Public Radio
At the grand floor of the Chicago Tribune Tower (satelite image), there is a special room with two sides surrounded by glasses, so people can directly see what is going on inside. It is the studio for WDN 720 AM radio. The small speaker broadcasts the radio on real time while visitors can see the host inside and wave hands to say hi.
© Jian Shuo Wang.
In the above image, the host Ralph Russell is broadcasting the program On the Money. It gives listener a great sense of where the audio come from.
Spring Board
The most unique thing in this windy city is the spring display board. Did you noticed the two springs at the foot of the board? When the wind blows, it blends and restores to its original position. It may be the invention of this windy city.
© Jian Shuo Wang.
I realized how strong the wind in Chicago blows this time. It is freezing outside. The temperature is 30°F but the wheather forecasted “Feels like” 18°F.
Want More Pictures?
I have put all my pictures here.
Acknoledgement
I’d like to thank Irfan and Andy for their kind host. It is part of the great memories in Chicago. Irfan drove me all around and waited me at the Sears Tower at 8:00 PM in the cold to send me back. The breakfast Andy prepared for me is super. Thanks you very much!