Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
209
Walk This Way: Chicago's Underground Pedway
Rainy day? Snowy? S o windy y ou're afraid y our k ids will blo w away? Take a
break and cruise ar ound Chicago 's L oop thr ough the not-so -secret under-
ground
Pedway.
The city started building tunnels to connect subway stations
in the early 1950s , and t oday the under ground system of tunnels c overs 23
blocks that are fun for kids to explore. You'll find stores, restaurants, and other
businesses. Don't worry—if you ever get lost, just look for an exit and go up to
street level to get y our bearings (and y ou can pick up a map at the Chicago
Cultural Center).
A good spot to enter the Pedway is the State Street subway station, between
Randolph and Washington streets. On the str etch west of Stat e Street, you'll
find a new sstand selling snacks and fr esh fruits, a barbershop , a Starbucks , a
big g ift st ore, and a f ood c ourt. Beneath the Chicago C ultural C enter, y our
children can look through the window at a radio station that broadcasts books
for the blind . Farther along, at the A thletic Club, k ids can see a sev en-story
climbing wall and watch office workers working out at lunchtime. The eastern
section is the most elegant—it travels under several hotels and has a shopping
concourse.
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Continue north along Michigan Avenue. When you reach Chicago Avenue, just ahead
of you is the
Chicago Water Tower
(not to be confused with a mall of the same name,
located cater-cornered from the real tower). Michigan Avenue's best-known landmark is
dwarfed by high-rises today but still gleams like a fair y tale castle. Surrounded by lawns
and park benches, the tower is illuminated at night, and street musicians often play here.
Chicagoans are proud of their talisman, one of the few buildings to survive the Great Fire
of 1871. (And it ser ves a real purpose by covering an ugly, 138-ft.-high standpipe used
in connection with pumping water fr om Lake M ichigan.) The Gothic-style limestone
building now houses an art gallery and is a r efreshing cultural pit stop. Across the street
the pumping station has been transformed into a tourist information center .
To conclude y our walk up M ichigan Avenue, step acr oss the str eet to
Ghirardelli's
(located on DeWitt, half a block west of Michigan Ave.) and grab an ice-cream cone, or,
in chilly weather, a foamy mug of hot chocolate. f you walk 1 block north, you can enjoy
your ice cream in the shaded, ivy-covered courtyard of
Fourth Presbyterian Church,
at
Chestnut S treet and M ichigan Avenue—a tranquil spot just steps fr om the bustle of
Michigan Avenue.
2
THE LOOP
South M ichigan A venue is less congested than its nor therly branch, the M agnificent
Mile. Down here you can amble along and take in a couple of Chicago 's famous muse-
ums and two parks, including Millennium Park, which was completed in 2004, and has
become Chicago's second-largest tourist draw after N avy Pier. South Michigan Avenue
can be strolled in an hour or two, but if you stop to check out building lobbies and have
