Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
to the closely packed buildings in Hyde Park. Although many of the fine homes
here became dilapidated after the South Side's “white flight” of the 1950s and
1960s, a new generation of black and white middle-class homeowners has been
lovingly renovating these one-of-a-kind houses. Today, the blocks between 47th
and 51st streets (north-south) and Blackstone and Drexel boulevards (east-west)
make for a wonderful walking tour, with broad, shady streets full of newly
restored mansions.
6 More Museums
When you've had enough of the tourist hoards at the Field Museum and Shedd
Aquarium, escape to one of the city's smaller museums. You'll find a wide range
of collections—some preserve the stories and heritage of a particular immigrant
group, others highlight offbeat artwork—and we can pretty much guarantee
that you won't wait in an endless line to get in.
City Gallery
Along with the pumping station across the street, the Chicago
Water Tower is one of only a handful of buildings to survive the Great Chicago
Fire of 1871. It has long been a revered symbol of the city's resilience and forti-
tude, although today—more than 130 years after it first rose to a once-mighty
height of 154 feet—the Water Tower is dwarfed by the high-rise shopping cen-
ters and hotels of North Michigan Avenue. The Gothic-style limestone building
now has been reinvented as an art gallery. The spiffed-up interior is intimate and
sunny, and it's a refreshing pit stop of culture on your way to the Water Tower
shopping center or pumping-station tourist information center across the street.
Exhibits have included works by Chicago-based photographer Victor Skrebne-
ski. Allow a half-hour.
806 N. Michigan Ave. (between Chicago Ave. and Pearson St.).
&
312/742-0808.
Free admission. Mon-Sat
10am-6:30pm; Sun 10am-5pm. Bus: 3, 145, 146, 147, or 151.
Historic Pullman
Railway magnate George Pullman may have been a
fabulously wealthy industrialist, but he fancied himself more enlightened than
his 19th-century peers. So when it came time to build a new headquarters for
his Pullman Palace Car Company, he dreamed of something far more than the
standard factory surrounded by tenements. Instead, he built a model commu-
nity for his workers, a place where they could live in houses with indoor plumb-
ing and abundant natural light—amenities almost unheard of for industrial
workers in the 1880s. Pullman didn't do all this solely from the goodness of his
heart; he hoped that the town named after him would attract the most skilled
workers (who would be so happy that they wouldn't go on strike). As one of the
first “factory towns,” Pullman caused an international sensation and was seen as
a model for other companies to follow. The happy workers that Pullman envi-
sioned, however, did go on strike in 1894, frustrated by the company's control
of every aspect of their lives.
Today, the Pullman district makes a fascinating stop for anyone with a his-
torical or architectural bent. While many of the homes are private residences, a
number of public buildings still stand (including the lavish Hotel Florence, the
imposing Clock Tower, and the two-story colonnaded Market Hall). Although
a fire damaged some buildings in the late 1990s, Pullman has thankfully been
recognized as a unique historic site, and much-needed repairs are underway. You
can walk through on your own during opening hours (stop by the visitor center
for a map), or take a guided a tour at 12:30 or 1:30pm on the first Sunday of
the month from May through October ($4 adults, $3.50 seniors).
