- Share This Post
- submit
- 2
-
Sparkle (0)
This is the second in a four-week series to help BlogHer '09 attendees explore Chicago. Please also visit Walking Tour One.
My favorite way to explore a city is on foot. I think it has something to do with the experience of using all five of my senses in a way that driving (or boat-riding) tours just can’t match. (Not to mention that walking is good for Earth, good for you and good for your wallet. Well, potentially good for you and your wallet. I suppose that depends on your discipline when in such close proximity to Garrett Popcorn Shops. Plus, this tour takes you right down the Magnificent Mile - home to hundreds of shops and boutiques.) So if you’ve planned a little extra time before or after BlogHer ’09, and were hoping to see a little bit of the city (believe me: there’s plenty to see), then I’ve got a juicy tidbit for you: Chicago walking tours.
BlogHer community member Cynthia Clampitt created three tours, and we couldn’t wait to share them with you. Each week leading up to the conference (July 2, 9, 16 and 22) we’ll publish them in this space for you. So whether you’re looking to get to know the Windy City better or just want to exercise (with a view), you can find it here.
Walking Tour Two: Michigan Avenue North of the Chicago River
(approximately one mile)
This tour picks up from the Michigan Avenue Bridge and Wacker Drive. Walking Tour One leads directly into this tour. If you're starting fresh from Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers, cross the Columbus Drive bridge south to Wacker Drive, then head west to Michigan Avenue.
On the north side of the Chicago River, two of the city’s most glorious buildings are before you: the Tribune Tower (1922–25) and the Wrigley Building (1920). The gleaming white Wrigley Building, headquarters of the famous chewing gum manufacturer, was patterned after Seville Cathedral’s Giralda Tower in Spain. However, the white terra cotta façade is graced with French Renaissance decorations. It is one of the most famous office buildings in America. At night, spotlights illuminate the façade, brightening this entire stretch of Michigan Avenue.
Directly across the street is the splendid Tribune Tower, the result of an international competition to design “the most beautiful office building in the world.” A magnificently gothic confection, the building is topped by a tower with flying buttresses derived from the design of the French cathedral of Rouen. But don’t admire this tower from afar, because the base of the building deserves your attention. It is studded with more than 120 stones from famous places and structures in all 50 states and dozens of foreign countries, including pieces of the Parthenon, Taj Mahal, Great Wall of China, the Berlin Wall, Ellsinore Castle (Hamlet’s home), Bunker Hill, the Alamo, and even a moon rock. Then wander inside, to read the worthwhile inscriptions, see the relief map of North America made of shredded dollar bills, and enjoy other details of this gorgeous building.
(If you have time, and the weather is fine, you can head down the steps beside the Wrigley building and catch a Wendella Boat Tour—up the river, then out through the lock onto the lake, accompanied by an interesting narrative of Chicago’s history.)
From the Tribune Tower, continue north on the east side of the street. You are walking up what is called “The Magnificent Mile,” a stretch of Michigan Avenue that offers one of the most dazzling concentrations of retail opportunities in the world, from Burberry to Nike, Tiffany to Sony, Ralph Lauren to Elizabeth Arden, Neiman Marcus to Banana Republic, Crate & Barrel to Hammacher Schlemmer, and hundreds more. Nike Town is a remarkable place, with high tech gadgets, fish tanks behind the shoes, indoor basketball court (for trying out your shoes), vacuum tubes delivering merchandise. It’s hard to imagine that one product line could sustain an entire store, but it does. The store holds lots of interesting displays of specially designed Nikes, from those made for Michael Jordon, to those created for Batman, to pairs created for performing elephants and a goose with an amputated foot. It’s silly, but it’s entertaining.
At 701 N. Michigan Avenue, you’ll come to the historic Allerton Hotel (1922–24). This Italian Renaissance-style hotel, with its famous Tip Top Tap, was created to cater to young professionals and contributed to the conversion of Michigan Avenue into a
