sienamystic (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
sienamystic) wrote2008-05-25 09:20 pm
sienamystic) wrote2008-05-25 09:20 pm
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So, Chicago.
I flew out on Wednesday, and my trip out was smooth and easy. Landed in O'Hare and decided that since I'm super cheap, I didn't want to fork over the twenty-seven bucks to take the hotel shuttle or spend even more on a cab, so I took the subway in. It was a slow trip, but it brought me through a lot of Chicago's outlying neighborhoods, and it was cool to see the houses living nearly on top of the rail line, with their rows of barbeques and hammocks and deck chairs. I got in and made it to my hotel, which was swanky and cool but a trifle smug. I think it was because I looked a bit out of place in my jeans and t-shirt. I decided I wanted to go and see the Oak Park area first, since a previous professor indoctrinated me with a love of Frank Lloyd Wright. So I walked over to the El line, and hopped on board the right train. For what it's worth, I found the Chicago mass transist system really easy to negotiate. And for somebody raised on the weirdly swanky D.C. Metro, the whole thing feels a bit like you're about to hop on a roller coaster in some small amusement park. I think it's all the wood decking and the white metal awnings.
Anyway, I hoofed around Oak Park for most of the afternoon. I went to FLW's Unity Temple first, although I only went in to the lobby (I was a trifle short on cash).
Wright designed this building in 1905, after the original Universalist house of worship burned down. It doesn't exactly have the welcoming exterior that the congregation envisioned (Wright was at this point interested in turning a blank wall to the street and urban bustle) but the architect was doing some pioneering work with both the material he used for the building (concrete) and the way he manipulated space. Light streams in from clerestory windows decorated with simple stained glass.
Also in Oak Park is FLW's house and studio, which he used as sort of a labratory for his work. I particularly like the stork capitals on the front porch.
But Oak Park is so full of awesome houses. Here's a random one I snapped. And I had a really tasty calzone-like-thing-but-with-a-different-name-and-different-crust that was stuffed with sausage and cheese and had marinara sauce drizzled all over it. OMG SO GOOD.
I also stopped by Hemingway's birthplace, a pleasant but unassuming Victorian house.
The next day, after I finished up my morning's buisness, I wandered around in Millenium Park for a bit. Cloud Gate, Anish Kapoor's highly reflective "bean" is pretty frickin' awesome to walk around. The sky and the city are reflected in it and as you move the whole panorama changes.
The park has some lovely gardens around, and the flowers were gorgeous.
Oh, and I took a few photos in the Art Institute of Chicago, Here's a sculpture I liked a lot - a dignified Roman woman. (I have a few photos of a medieval Spanish altarpiece but they're really dark. I may try and tweak them and post them later.)
And I snapped a photo of a chair and desk that FLW designed for his Johnson Wax building. I adore them because they are just so awesomely designed. I have no idea if they'd be comfortable to use all day, but they just look so neat! Excuse the bad photo - it was taken in low light with a disposable camera.
I then headed off for Gino's East and ate really awesome deep-dish sausage pizza. In fact, sausage was probably the theme of my visit, because I ate a LOT of it. (Wow, that sounds dirtier than I thought it would.)
And then later that afternoon, I took an architectural boat tour. (I also nearly froze to death - had forgotten a jacket and the day was a lot cooler, and then the wind was fierce.)
I love the Marina City towers ("the corncobs") with a great and adoring love. They were built in 1959 and designed by Bertrand Goldberg. They're called a city within a city, since there are shops and other essentials included in the complex.
Other views from the river:
And finally, a shot from my hotel room, which had a fabulous view from the 38th floor. You can see Navy Pier, Lake Michigan, and the river.
I flew out on Wednesday, and my trip out was smooth and easy. Landed in O'Hare and decided that since I'm super cheap, I didn't want to fork over the twenty-seven bucks to take the hotel shuttle or spend even more on a cab, so I took the subway in. It was a slow trip, but it brought me through a lot of Chicago's outlying neighborhoods, and it was cool to see the houses living nearly on top of the rail line, with their rows of barbeques and hammocks and deck chairs. I got in and made it to my hotel, which was swanky and cool but a trifle smug. I think it was because I looked a bit out of place in my jeans and t-shirt. I decided I wanted to go and see the Oak Park area first, since a previous professor indoctrinated me with a love of Frank Lloyd Wright. So I walked over to the El line, and hopped on board the right train. For what it's worth, I found the Chicago mass transist system really easy to negotiate. And for somebody raised on the weirdly swanky D.C. Metro, the whole thing feels a bit like you're about to hop on a roller coaster in some small amusement park. I think it's all the wood decking and the white metal awnings.
Anyway, I hoofed around Oak Park for most of the afternoon. I went to FLW's Unity Temple first, although I only went in to the lobby (I was a trifle short on cash).
Wright designed this building in 1905, after the original Universalist house of worship burned down. It doesn't exactly have the welcoming exterior that the congregation envisioned (Wright was at this point interested in turning a blank wall to the street and urban bustle) but the architect was doing some pioneering work with both the material he used for the building (concrete) and the way he manipulated space. Light streams in from clerestory windows decorated with simple stained glass.
Also in Oak Park is FLW's house and studio, which he used as sort of a labratory for his work. I particularly like the stork capitals on the front porch.
But Oak Park is so full of awesome houses. Here's a random one I snapped. And I had a really tasty calzone-like-thing-but-with-a-different-name-and-different-crust that was stuffed with sausage and cheese and had marinara sauce drizzled all over it. OMG SO GOOD.
I also stopped by Hemingway's birthplace, a pleasant but unassuming Victorian house.
The next day, after I finished up my morning's buisness, I wandered around in Millenium Park for a bit. Cloud Gate, Anish Kapoor's highly reflective "bean" is pretty frickin' awesome to walk around. The sky and the city are reflected in it and as you move the whole panorama changes.
The park has some lovely gardens around, and the flowers were gorgeous.
Oh, and I took a few photos in the Art Institute of Chicago, Here's a sculpture I liked a lot - a dignified Roman woman. (I have a few photos of a medieval Spanish altarpiece but they're really dark. I may try and tweak them and post them later.)
And I snapped a photo of a chair and desk that FLW designed for his Johnson Wax building. I adore them because they are just so awesomely designed. I have no idea if they'd be comfortable to use all day, but they just look so neat! Excuse the bad photo - it was taken in low light with a disposable camera.
I then headed off for Gino's East and ate really awesome deep-dish sausage pizza. In fact, sausage was probably the theme of my visit, because I ate a LOT of it. (Wow, that sounds dirtier than I thought it would.)
And then later that afternoon, I took an architectural boat tour. (I also nearly froze to death - had forgotten a jacket and the day was a lot cooler, and then the wind was fierce.)
I love the Marina City towers ("the corncobs") with a great and adoring love. They were built in 1959 and designed by Bertrand Goldberg. They're called a city within a city, since there are shops and other essentials included in the complex.
Other views from the river:
And finally, a shot from my hotel room, which had a fabulous view from the 38th floor. You can see Navy Pier, Lake Michigan, and the river.
