Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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The Pride of Prairie Avenue
Prairie Avenue, south of the Loop, was the city's first “Gold Coast,” and its most
famous address is
Glessner House,
a must-see for anyone interested in archi-
tectural hist ory. The only sur viving Chicago building desig ned b y Bost on
architect Henry Hobson Richardson, it represented a dramatic shift from tradi-
tional Victorian architecture when it was built in 1886 (and inspir ed a y oung
Frank Lloyd Wright).
The imposing g ranite ex terior g ives the home a f orbidding air . (R ailway
magnate George Pullman, who lived nearby, complained, “I do not know what
I have ever done to have that thing staring me in the fac e every time I go out
my door.”) But st ep inside and the home turns out t o be a w elcoming, cozy
retreat, filled with Arts and Crafts furniture and decorative arts.
Visits to Glessner House are by guided tour only. Tours are given Wednesday
to Sunday at 1, 2, and 3pm y ear-round (except major holidays). Tours are first-
come, first-ser ved, with no advanc e r eservations except for g roups of 10 or
more. I t's locat ed at 1800 S. P rairie A ve. (
&
312/326-1480;
w ww.glessner
house.org). Admission is $10 for adults, $9 for students and seniors, and $5 for
children 5 to 12. Bus: 1, 3, or 4 from Michigan Avenue at Jackson Boulevard (get
off at 18th St.).
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complete a circuit of the temple, are the great fireplace, the pulpit, the skylights, and the
clerestory (galler y) windo ws. S uffice it to say , U nity Temple—only one of Wright's
masterpieces—is counted among the 10 gr eatest American architectural achievements.
875 Lake St.
&
708/383-8873.
http://unit ytemple-utrf.org. S elf-guided t ours $8 adults; $6 seniors ,
children 6-12, and students with ID . Free guided t ours weekends at 1, 2, and 3pm. M on-Fri 10:30am-
4:30pm; Sat-Sun 1-4pm. Church events can alter the schedule; call in advance.
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ZOOS
Brookfield Zoo
All ages.
B rookfield is the Chicago ar ea's largest z oo. I n
contrast to the rather efficient Lincoln Park Zoo, Brookfield is spacious and spreads out
over 216 acres with 2,700 animal residents—camels, dolphins, giraffes, baboons, wolves,
tigers, green sea turtles, Siberian tigers, snow leopards, and more—living in naturalistic
environments that put them side b y side with other inhabitants of their r egions. These
creative indoor and outdoor settings—filled with activities to keep kids inter ested—are
what set Brookfield apart.
Start out at
Habitat Africa!
, a multiple-ecosystem exhibit that encompasses 30
acres—about the siz e of the entir e Lincoln P ark Z oo. Then wander thr ough some of the
buildings that allow you to see animals close up; my personal fav orites are
Tropic World
,
where you hang out at treetop level with monkeys, and
Australia House,
where fruit bats
flit around your head.
The Living Coast
explores the west coast of Chile and Peru,
and includes ev erything from a tank of plate-siz e moon jellies to a r ocky shore where
Humboldt penguins swim and nest as I nca terns and gray gulls fly fr eely overhead.
The
