Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Chicago's top cultural institutions and parks. Continue south, past Lake and
Randolph streets. On your left, you will see a clearing: This is the new
Millen-
nium Park,
located on the north end of Grant Park along Michigan Avenue.
Admire the dramatic new music pavilion designed by Frank Gehry, and check
out the large public art displays. At the corner of Michigan and Randolph is a
huge Beaux Arts-style building, called the
Chicago Cultural Center.
Built in
1897 as the city's public library, the Cultural Center is now your home base for
tourist information. Go in, pick up all the information you need, and while
you're at it, check out the building's stunning interior. Free tours guide visitors
up a sweeping staircase of white Italian marble to admire what is, for my money,
the most stunning interior in Chicago. At the top of the staircase is a majestic
Tiffany dome, believed to be the world's largest. You'll also discover mosaics of
Favrile glass, colored stone, and mother-of-pearl inlaid in white marble.
As you stroll south from the Cultural Center, you're seeing “Michigan Avenue
Cliff,” a particularly impressive great wall of buildings that stretches south to
Congress Parkway (location of the Auditorium Building). It's a visual treat for
architecture lovers and novices alike.
Abutting the park on the south, facing Adams Avenue, is the
Art Institute.
Save the tour for another time—for now, climb the steps and visit the stone
lions. Watch the other people who are sitting on the steps people-watching. If
you need a break, stop in the outdoor cafe. Parents can get a glass of wine while
the kids enjoy a lemonade.
Further south on the avenue is the
Fine Arts Building,
constructed in 1885
as a showroom for Studebaker carriages, and converted into an arts center in
1917. The building offers two theaters, offices, shops, and studios for musicians,
artists, and writers. Frank Lloyd Wright, sculptor Lorado Taft, and L. Frank
Baum, author of
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,
had offices here. Located
throughout the building are a number of interesting studios and musical-instru-
ment shops. Take a quick walk through the marble-and-wood lobby, which sug-
gests something monastic and cloisterlike, or visit the top floor to see the
spectacular murals (and to get there, you'll be fortunate to ride in an old-fash-
ioned elevator manned by a real, live operator!).
Last stop on our south Michigan Avenue tour is the
Auditorium Building.
This wonder of architecture was designed and built in 1889 by Louis Sullivan and
Dankmar Adler. At the time, it was the heaviest (110,000 tons) and most massive
modern building on earth, the most fireproof building ever constructed, and the
tallest building in Chicago. It was also the first large-scale building to be electri-
cally lighted, and its theater was the first in the country to install air-conditioning.
The lobby fronting Michigan Avenue has faux ornamental marble columns,
molded ceilings, mosaic floors, and Mexican onyx walls. If this inspires you and
Sorting Out the Post Office
While you're near the Loop, treat your kids to a look at the inner work-
ings of the
Chicago Main Post Office,
433 W. Harrison (
&
312/983-7550
),
and see for yourselves what happens to the letters you send. The 90-
minute tour includes the sorting process, a look at the latest automated
equipment, and an enormous stamp collection. The tour is suggested for
ages 10 and older and reservations are required; call the number above to
arrange a time. Admission is free.
Tips