Shopping - Chicago 2005 - page 226

Jewelers' Row
It's not quite as impressive as the Big Apple's diamond district, but
Chicago's own “Jewelers' Row” is certainly worth a detour for rock
hunters. Half a dozen high-rises along the Wabash Avenue El tracks in the
heart of the Loop service the wholesale trade, but the one at 5 S. Wabash
Ave. opens its doors to customers off the street. There's a mall-like retail
space on the ground floor, crammed with tiny booths manned by smooth-
talking reps hawking their wares, and you can grab a map here for a self-
guided tour of the rest of the building's tenants. It's quite an experience
because many are closet-size cubbyholes with hunched-over geezers who
look as if they've been eyeballing solitaire and marquise cuts since the
Roosevelt administration—Teddy, that is.

Fun Fact

the Chicago Art Dealers Association ( & 312/649-0065 ) that is available free at
the city's three visitor information centers.
Below is a sampling of recommended galleries around the city.
Alan Koppel Gallery Open since 1995, this expansive gallery showcases
modern and contemporary works of art, as well as French and Italian furniture
from the '20s through the '50s (in a separate area). Koppel also specializes in
20th-century photography, so if you're hankering for something by Diane
Arbus, Man Ray, or Walker Evans, this is the place to look. 210 W. Chicago Ave.
& 312/640-0730. Subway/El: Brown or Red line to Chicago.
Aldo Castillo Gallery Aldo Castillo left his native Nicaragua in 1976,
shortly after the Sandinistas began their revolution against the Somoza regime.
He arrived in Chicago in 1985 and, 8 years later, appalled at the lack of atten-
tion given to Latin American art, opened his eponymous gallery in Lakeview,
moving to his present River North location in 1993. Castillo continues to pro-
mote a range of work by emerging artists and established masters from Latin
America, Spain, and Portugal. 233 W. Huron St. & 312/337-2536. Subway/El: Brown or
Red line to Chicago.
Ann Nathan Gallery Ann Nathan, who started out as a collector, shows
exciting (and sometimes outrageous) pieces in clay, wood, and metal—along
with paintings, photographs, and “functional art” (pieces that blur the line
between furniture and sculpture). Nathan's space in the center of the River
North district is one of the most beautiful in the city. 212 W. Superior St. & 312/
664-6622. Subway/El: Brown or Red line to Chicago.
Carl Hammer Gallery A former schoolteacher and one of the most vener-
ated dealers in Chicago, Carl Hammer touts his wares as “contemporary art and
selected historical masterworks by American and European self-taught artists”—
but it's the “self-taught” part that warrants emphasis. Hammer helped pioneer
the field known as “outsider art,” which has since become a white-hot com-
modity in the international art world. 740 N. Wells St. & 312/266-8512. Subway/
El: Brown or Red line to Chicago.
Donald Young Gallery Internationally renowned on the contemporary art
scene since the late 1970s, when he teamed with ex-partner and ex-wife Rhona
Hoffman (listed below), Young returned to Chicago to much applause in 1999