Millennium Park and "The Bean"
Went to Millennium Park first. The Park itself is beautiful, and "The Bean" (officially called "Cloud Gate") is awesome. It's a three-story, 110-ton reflective steel sculpture. People (like that funny-looking kid in the second picture) like to stare at themselves and take pictures of themselves staring at themselves in its surface... Surprisingly FUN! (Not just "fun.", but "FUN!")
"Take a picture of me, Meg! .... Meg? You there? Comon, take the picture."
"Ok, Gabriel..."
Staring straight up, directly under "The Bean"
We ran across Daedalus performing at the Jay Pritzker Pavillion, designed by Frank Gehry. Really great concert space.
Architecture Tour from the Chicago River
We took an early evening boat tour/crash-course in some of Chicago's notable architecture.
The building formerly known as the Sears Tower. For some reason that I didn't catch, they officially renamed it the Willis Tower in July ("Whut you talkin 'bout...") (Sorry. Bad joke.)
108 stories, 1,450 feet tall.
It makes me think of Jacobim Mugatu for some reason...
One thing I found interesting was the plentiful use of greenish / aqua-tinted glass along the riverfront. According to our guide, the choice was deliberate, intended to reflect and complement the Chicago River as much as possible.
(Chicago looooves its river, let me tell you. Verrrry proud. A marvel of modern civil engineering, the river was completely reversed in 1900 - made to flow toward the Mississippi rather than toward Lake Michigan, where it previously emptied. They (the Chicagoans) also dye it green on St. Patrick's Day. Wheeee...)
The elite gym that Obama used to work out in. That is all I remember about this building.
Designed by Mies van der Rohe, pioneer of modernism. Exemplifies the highly abstracted, minimalist aesthetic he would become known for.
The Aqua Tower, designed by Jeanne Gang of Studio Gang Architects. It is the largest project ever awarded to an American firm headed by a woman. The undulating ledges along the facade are supposed to look like waves. I believe the tower is still under construction...
One of the many bridges that span the Chicago River (There are 88 in total, I believe). The double-layering is an interesting feature of Chicago's design - something Daniel Burnham was really into when he and Edward Bennett wrote up "The Plan of Chicago."
This appeared around the corner just as Gabe and I were remarking how "American" the city of Chicago feels. I am not really sure where we were going with that, but hey... When a giant, 3D homage to "American Gothic," titled "God Bless America" appears in front of your face, I feel like you can say "This city feels very 'American'..." and just leave it at that.
From the top of Hancock Tower...
5 comments:
yeah man, chicago!!!!!
eat some deep dish!
That's a nice little tour! It's good that you guys have the time to actually stop along the way. Well thought out.
Awesome, enjoy Chicago! If you have time, I recommend renting bikes to zip along the edge of the lake. Fun times.
Wow I think staring up from under the Bean would leave me simultaneously elated and terrified.
I like the building's watery effect in that fifth picture... How it inflects light to make ripply the reflections displayed by it.
OOOHhh... You did the tour. I've always wanted to do that.
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