Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
south takes you on an up-clos-and-personal view of Chicago's
financial center. See “Getting Around,” later in this chapter, for
more in riding the El. Also see the box “Sky Train: Chicago's El” for
more on the history of the trains.
•
Getting the Blues.
This most American of music forms is venerated
by Chicagoans, who keep the blues alive nightly in the city's clubs.
Chicago-style blues is what most people think of when you men-
tion live blues played in a nightclub setting. Catching a blues act
is a great way for grown-ups to spend a night out on the town
(see the box “If You Have a Sitter: The Music Scene” in chapter 10).
•
Discovering Wonders at Chicago's Museums.
Generations of
Chicagoans recall permanent exhibits at Chicago museums with
nostalgia. I remember Colleen Morre's Fairy Castle at the Museum
of Science and Industry—the most fantastic dollhouse you'll ever
see. My brother will never forget the Santa Fe Model Railway at
the same museum. Whatever you family's fancy, you can find an
exhibit about it somewhere among the Adler Planetarium &
Astronomy Museum, Field Museum of Natural History, Art Institute
of Chicago, Museum of Science and Industry, John G. Shedd Aquar-
ium, or Museum of Contemporary Art.
And don't miss out on Chicago's Museum Campus—a land-
scaped 57-acre area with terraced gardens and broad walkways
that's home to the Field Museum of Natural History, John G. Shedd
Aquarium, and the Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum. In my
humble opinion, the Museum Campus is the most impressive col-
lection of museums in the most beautiful setting anywhere in the
country.
For more on Chicago's museums, see chapter 6.
victim of urban renewal, but rem-
nants still survive on Taylor Street;
the same is true for a few old
delis and shops on Maxwell Street,
dating from the turn of the 20th
century when a large Jewish com-
munity lived in the area.
Bucktown/Wicker Park
Centered
near the confluence of North,
Damen, and Milwaukee avenues,
where the Art Deco Northwest
Tower is the tallest thing for miles,
this resurgent area is said to be
home to the third-largest concen-
tration of artists in the country.
Over the past century, the area has
hosted waves of German, Polish,
and, most recently, Spanish-speak-
ing immigrants (not to mention
writer Nelson Algren). In recent
years, it has morphed into a bastion
of hot new restaurants, alternative
culture, and loft-dwelling yuppies
surfing the gentrification wave
that's washing over this still-some-
what-gritty neighborhood.
The South Side
South Loop
The generically
rechristened South Loop area was
Chicago's original “Gold Coast” in
