As the cultural hub of the Midwest, its museums and architecture exerted a gravitational pull over 300
miles of corn fields several times a year. We went Christmas shopping there every winter, gawping in delight at Marshall Fields' windows and eating lunch in the Walnut Room just like the natives. My mother took her AP History of Art classes on a museum blitz every February; by the age of 13 I could probably give a guided tour of the Art Institute's highlights as well as most adults. Summer offered a lake and beaches reminiscent of the the seaside, but much closer. And, of course, there was university. Four years as an undergraduate in suburban Evanston, a year in grad school studying at the downtown campus and covering the arts and legal beats in the loop. With that background, I was confident I knew Chicago.
miles of corn fields several times a year. We went Christmas shopping there every winter, gawping in delight at Marshall Fields' windows and eating lunch in the Walnut Room just like the natives. My mother took her AP History of Art classes on a museum blitz every February; by the age of 13 I could probably give a guided tour of the Art Institute's highlights as well as most adults. Summer offered a lake and beaches reminiscent of the the seaside, but much closer. And, of course, there was university. Four years as an undergraduate in suburban Evanston, a year in grad school studying at the downtown campus and covering the arts and legal beats in the loop. With that background, I was confident I knew Chicago.
How wrong I was.
This is not the city of my youth. Sure, all the major landmarks are still there. But they're a lot cleaner. And the urban space around them has changed. It's brighter, tidier, better maintained. There are new parks, major new pieces of public art, new extensions on the museums and whole new areas of town. Clusters of beautiful skyscrapers, designed with Chicago's usual attention to innovative architecture, stand in districts that were industrial wasteland in my day. I've always told Europeans this was a better city to visit than the usual coastal suspects, and today it's even more true. There's a prosperous, modern buzz that sits comfortably alongside the history and culture.
Our home for four nights was The University Club. Magnificently located on Michigan Avenue at Monroe, overlooking the Art Institute (new wing opened, 2009) and Millennium Park (opened 2004), it's decidedly not new (opened 1909). A 12-story gothic-styled tower, it's characteristic of the mix of brash new money and respect for tradition that characterised the town in those days. Built as a private club for university graduates (far rarer then than now), the building combined modern technology and comforts with the mullioned windows, gothic arches, heraldry, stained glass, massive fireplaces and ornate woodwork that whispered of Oxford, Cambridge, tradition and sophistication. It was a trend-setter for a style that would stay popular for decades: the Tribune Tower up Michigan Avenue and Deering Library at Northwestern are direct descendants.
There's a great hall worthy of a medieval palace, with stunning views over the lakefront and a particularly nice clock with Northwestern's seal as its face. An equally traditional library with the same view is a floor below. There are bars, other restaurants, a pool in the basement and helpful staff on the front desk. The highlight for us was the seasonal restaurant on the roof balcony, where we dined on beautifully presented, sophisticated food on two balmy nights, overlooking the lights of the city and the crowds in the park below. There were also several floors of hotel rooms, where we could book space thanks to a reciprocal agreement with our club in London. A wonderful experience, far less expensive than an equivalent hotel. I now understand the magic of reciprocals and will be starting with our partner list when researching lodging for all future urban breaks.
Our plan was for three concentrated days of sightseeing, sandwiched between fairly relaxed arrival and departure days. We bought Go Chicago cards to take the stress out of this process. At first, US$123 per person for three days seemed expensive. But my head was still in the '80s. Admission prices to Chicago attractions are steep, and if you see two or three things a day you're likely to come out ahead. In addition, the card allows you to jump several queues and pop into places you might not prioritise if you were doing considering attractions on price alone. (We never, for example, would have paid $29 to go into Shedd Aquarium under our own steam, but being able to duck in at will was great.)
The card covers most of the centrally-located highlights. The Gray Line bus tour ($30 without the card), good for hopping on and off for two days, left from in front of the Club and covered major sights along the coast from Soldiers' Field (with its new, modernistic stands inserted into the original architectural frame) on the south to Navy Pier (completely renovated since my day) on the north. Given the stunning weather, riding around on the top of an open double decker bus was a delight, but the information imparted by the guides was variable. We encountered one who was good, another who was so awful ... and inaccurate ... we had to get off the bus rather than listen to him. Far better was the architecture tour by boat up the Chicago River ($35), with a guide who was both amusing and professorial in his expertise.
We went to the observation deck of the John Hancock building ($28), which is a stunning view but you don't get much else for your money, so good to have it included. But mostly, we used the card for the museums, which have admissions prices that reminded us of just how blessed we are in London. In addition to the aquarium, there's the Art Institute charging $23, the Field Museum at $25 and Science and Industry at $27. Interestingly, most of these museums now seem to market and price themselves like entertainment venues, branding different parts as "experiences" and charging on a sliding scale depending on how much you want to experience. But of that, more to come in my museum entry.
We also spent a fair amount of time on leisurely dining, hanging about the club and sleeping in. All that a holiday should be. Next ... a closer look at the dining.
There's a great hall worthy of a medieval palace, with stunning views over the lakefront and a particularly nice clock with Northwestern's seal as its face. An equally traditional library with the same view is a floor below. There are bars, other restaurants, a pool in the basement and helpful staff on the front desk. The highlight for us was the seasonal restaurant on the roof balcony, where we dined on beautifully presented, sophisticated food on two balmy nights, overlooking the lights of the city and the crowds in the park below. There were also several floors of hotel rooms, where we could book space thanks to a reciprocal agreement with our club in London. A wonderful experience, far less expensive than an equivalent hotel. I now understand the magic of reciprocals and will be starting with our partner list when researching lodging for all future urban breaks.Our plan was for three concentrated days of sightseeing, sandwiched between fairly relaxed arrival and departure days. We bought Go Chicago cards to take the stress out of this process. At first, US$123 per person for three days seemed expensive. But my head was still in the '80s. Admission prices to Chicago attractions are steep, and if you see two or three things a day you're likely to come out ahead. In addition, the card allows you to jump several queues and pop into places you might not prioritise if you were doing considering attractions on price alone. (We never, for example, would have paid $29 to go into Shedd Aquarium under our own steam, but being able to duck in at will was great.)
The card covers most of the centrally-located highlights. The Gray Line bus tour ($30 without the card), good for hopping on and off for two days, left from in front of the Club and covered major sights along the coast from Soldiers' Field (with its new, modernistic stands inserted into the original architectural frame) on the south to Navy Pier (completely renovated since my day) on the north. Given the stunning weather, riding around on the top of an open double decker bus was a delight, but the information imparted by the guides was variable. We encountered one who was good, another who was so awful ... and inaccurate ... we had to get off the bus rather than listen to him. Far better was the architecture tour by boat up the Chicago River ($35), with a guide who was both amusing and professorial in his expertise.
We went to the observation deck of the John Hancock building ($28), which is a stunning view but you don't get much else for your money, so good to have it included. But mostly, we used the card for the museums, which have admissions prices that reminded us of just how blessed we are in London. In addition to the aquarium, there's the Art Institute charging $23, the Field Museum at $25 and Science and Industry at $27. Interestingly, most of these museums now seem to market and price themselves like entertainment venues, branding different parts as "experiences" and charging on a sliding scale depending on how much you want to experience. But of that, more to come in my museum entry.
We also spent a fair amount of time on leisurely dining, hanging about the club and sleeping in. All that a holiday should be. Next ... a closer look at the dining.
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