Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
220
Moments
A Great View
After a visit to the Lincoln Park Zoo or the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, take
a quick stroll on Fullerton Avenue to the bridge that runs over the lagoon (just
before you get to Lake Shore Dr.). Standing on the south side of Fullerton Ave-
nue, you'll have a great view of the Chicago skyline and Lincoln Park—an excel-
lent backdrop for family souvenir photos. This path can get very crowded on
summer weekends, so I suggest trying this photo op during the week.
Pond from a little dock in fr ont of Café B rauer, on the nor thwest side of lo vely South
Pond ($12 per half-hour for four-person paddle boats; $16 per half-hour for swan boats,
which seat two and ar e shaped like—you guessed it—a giant white swan). You can also
rent boats fr om the boathouse on N orth Pond. Boat r entals are available May through
September.
Families with small children won't want to miss the
Farm-in-the-Zoo
(p. 197), on the
southern end of S outh Pond. Five barns house co ws, chickens, horses, goats, and other
livestock. Kids can get a farmhand's-eye view of butter churning, milking, and other farm
activities throughout the day.
The
statue of the standing Abraham Lincoln
(just north of the North Ave. and State
St. intersection) in the par k that bears his name is one of two in Chicago b y Augustus
Saint-Gaudens (
The Seated Lincoln
is in G rant Park). Saint-Gaudens also did the B ates
Fountain near the conservatory. The statue marks the southern boundary of the park.
A one-time Chicago dining institution near the z oo,
Café Brauer
(www.cafebrauer.
com; p. 143) is a stunning facility. Operating a cafe and ice-cream parlor on the ground
floor, and a ballr oom called the G reat Hall on the second floor that 's flanked b y two
curving loggias, the Brauer restores some of the elegant atmosphere that characterized the
park around 1900, when this landmark building was erected. (If you visit on a weekend,
chances are good that cater ers will be setting up for a w edding in the G reat Hall, but
they'll usually let you in to sneak a peek.) Architect Dwight Perkins, who created this gem
of a building, was one of the leaders of Chicago 's Prairie School architecture movement,
and Brauer is undeniably his masterwork. Best of all, though, is the picture-postcard view
from the adjacent bridge spanning the pond of the John Hancock Center and neighbor-
ing skyscrapers beyond Lincoln Park's treetops.
If you're looking for an ev ening's entertainment, check out the
Theater on the Lake,
Fullerton Avenue, for open-air theater with a relaxed setting. For information, call
&
312/
742-7994.
Bounded by Lake Shor e Dr. from Nor th Ave. to Br yn Mawr Ave.
&
312/742-7726.
The park 's visitor
center is in the Lincoln Park Cultural Center, 2045 N. Lincoln Park W. Park daily dawn-dusk. Visitor center
year-round Mon-Thurs 9am-9pm; Fri 11am-7pm; Sat 8am-4pm; Sun 11am-5pm. Bus: 22, 145, 146, 147,
151, or 156.
8
MILLENNIUM PARK
At the north end of Grant Park along Michigan Avenue is the city's newest urban show-
piece. The architectural highlight of the park is the Frank Gehry-designed Pritzker Music
Pavilion, home of the fr ee summer music concer ts performed by the G rant Park Sym-
phony Orchestra. Another popular attraction is the huge elliptical sculptur e by British
