Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
49
directional no-brainer? I f y ou ar e on the
Magnificent Mile, or in the Loop, look up.
The tallest building ar ound is that black
glass behemoth, the S ears Tower, and it 's
to the south. The orderly configuration of
Chicago's str eets and the ex cellent public
transportation system make this city more
accessible than most of the world 's other
large cities.
the building has been conv erted into a
theater, including a small cabar et space
for tourist-oriented sho ws and a larger
playhouse for the acclaimed Lookingglass
Theatre.
The
Illinois B ureau of Tourism
(
&
800/2CONNECT
[226-6632] or
TTY 800/406-6418; www .enjoyillinois.
com) can pr ovide general and specific
information 24 hours a day . Many of the
bureau's br ochures can be or dered online
or picked up at the Water Works Visitor
Center (see above).
INFORMATION BY TELEPHONE
The
Mayor's Office of Special Events
operates
a recorded hot line (
&
312/744-3370
or
TTY 312/744-2964; www .cityofchicago.
org), which lists curr ent special ev ents,
festivals, and parades occurring thr ough-
out the city.
PUBLICATIONS
Pick up a free copy of
Chicago Parent
magazine at any bookstore,
public librar y, par k district building, or
children's specialty shop. You will also find
copies in ne wspaper v ending bo xes on
Michigan A venue. Each issue includes a
daily calendar of ev ents and a museum
page that keeps r eaders abr east of ne w
openings of interest to kids. Each June, the
magazine publishes its annual
Going Places
guide. Call the magazine 's offices in O ak
Park at
&
708/386-5555
to order one.
Chicago's major daily ne wspapers ar e
the
Tribune
and the
Sun-Times.
Both have
cultural listings, including mo vies, the-
aters, and liv e music, not to mention
reviews of the latest r estaurants that ar e
sure to have appeared in the city since this
guidebook went to pr ess. The Friday edi-
tions of both papers contain special pull-
out sections with more detailed, up-to-date
information on special ev ents happening
over the w eekend. The
Tribune
also pub-
lishes
Red Eye,
a weekday tabloid aimed at
younger readers with a mix of “lite ” news
items, enter tainment ne ws, and quir ky
features.
VISITOR INFORMATION
The
Chicago Conv ention and Tourism
Bureau
r uns a toll-fr ee visitor hot line
(
&
877/CHICAGO
[244-2246] or TTY
866/710-0294; www .choosechicago.com)
and operates two visitor information cen-
ters staffed with people who can answ er
questions. Stop here to stock up on br o-
chures on area attractions, including mate-
rials on everything from museums and city
landmarks to lakefr ont biking maps and
even fishing spots. The main visitor center,
located in the Loop and conv enient to
many places that you'll likely be visiting, is
on the first floor of the
Chicago Cultural
Center,
78 E. Washington St. (at M ichi-
gan Ave.). The center has a phone that you
can use to make hotel r eservations, and
several couches and a cafe wher e you can
study maps and plan y our itinerar y. The
center is open M onday thr ough F riday
from 10am to 6pm, S aturday from 10am
to 5pm, and S unday from 11am to 5pm;
it's closed on holidays.
A second, smaller center is located in
the heart of the city's shopping district, in
the old pumping station at M ichigan and
Chicago av enues. R ecently r enamed the
Chicago Water Works Visitor Center,
its
entrance is on the P earson S treet side of
the building, across from the Water Tower
Place mall. It's open daily 7:30am to 7pm.
This location has the added draw of hous-
ing a location of Hot Tix, which sells both
half-price day-of-per formance and full-
price tickets to many theater pr oductions
around the city, as w ell as a gift shop and
a Chicago Flat Sammies restaurant. Part of
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