Shopping - Chicago 2005 - page 225

designers. The massive complex was built in 1930 by Marshall Field & Com-
pany, and bought in 1945 by Joseph P. Kennedy (JFK's dad); the Kennedy fam-
ily ran the Mart until the late 1990s. The only way for visitors to get a sense of
the whole massive complex is to take a public tour, usually offered Fridays at
1pm ($10 adults; & 312/527-7762 ).
Not all of the furniture trade in Chicago is confined to the Merchandise
Mart. In River North, you'll find Manifesto, 755 N. Wells St., at Chicago
Avenue ( & 312/664-0733 ), offering custom-designed furniture, as well as
imports from Italy and Austria, and Mig & Tig, 549 N. Wells St., at Ohio Street
( & 312/644-8277 ), a charming furniture and decorative-accessories shop. Saw-
bridge Studios, 153 W. Ohio St. ( & 312/828-0055 ), between LaSalle and
Wells streets, purveys exquisite handcrafted furniture, accessories, and gift items
from artisans across America in a handsome, lofted, gallery-type space with
exposed brick walls. Michael FitzSimmons Decorative Arts, 311 W. Superior
St. ( & 312/787-0496 ), is one of the top dealers anywhere for furniture and fur-
nishings dating to the Arts and Crafts period.
Creative types will find their imaginations running wild with homemade
projects at the three-level Paper Source, 232 W. Chicago Ave., at Franklin Street
( & 312/337-0798 ). Artists, designers, and other paper fetishists can choose
among reams of exotic and unusual paper, as well as journals, gift items, hand-
made wedding albums, and a roomful of fun rubber stamps.
ART GALLERY HOPPING
Since the 1960s, when the Chicago Imagists (painters Ed Paschke, Jim Nutt,
and Roger Brown among them) attracted international attention with their
shows at the Hyde Park Art Center, the city has been a fertile breeding ground
for emerging artists and innovative art dealers. The primary gallery district today
is concentrated in the River North neighborhood, where century-old, redbrick
warehouse buildings have been converted into lofty exhibition spaces. More
recently, a new generation of gallery owners has set up shop in the rapidly gen-
trifying West Loop neighborhood, where you'll tend to find more cutting-edge
work. The River North gallery district is an easy walk from many hotels; the
West Loop may seem a little farther afield, but it's only a short cab ride from
downtown (you can also take the bus, but I'd recommend a taxi at night).
The River North gallery season officially gets underway on the first Friday
after Labor Day in September. Besides fall, another great time to visit the dis-
trict is from mid-July to early September, when the Chicago Art Dealers Asso-
ciation presents Visions, an annual lineup of programs tailored to the public.
Early September also offers the annual Around the Coyote festival in Wicker
Park/Bucktown (call & 773/342-6777 for information), when scores of artists
open their studios to the public (the name refers to the now-departed Coyote
Gallery, which used to stand at the corner of Damen and North aves.).
The Chicago Reader, a free weekly newspaper available at many stores, taverns,
and cafes on the North Side, publishes a very comprehensive listing of current
gallery exhibitions, as does the Chicago Gallery News, a quarterly published by

Point Zero
If the quick change from north to south in the Loop confuses you, keep in
mind that in Chicago, point zero for the purpose of address numbering is
the intersection of State and Madison streets.

Tips