[flar]

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[Tewder]

Wow! Stunning photos and stunning city. Chicago's got it going on, baby!

 

[TrickyRicky]

Thanks for posting. Takes me back 6 years to last time when I was in Chicago. I remember being in many of the exact same places you were in those photos. I remember loving the ramshackleness of those bleachers on private buildings overlooking Rigley stadium.

 

[Long Island Mike]

Flar: This looks to be a most interesting picture tour of Chicago...I recognize many places and buildings that you photographed...

You visited both the Sears (I can't get used to Willis) Tower and John Hancock Center observatories...those views are unforgettable in my opinion...

I am going to start with your last picture-looking north towards Downtown crossing the Dan Ryan Expressway...at about 6200 South...the CTA Englewood L
structure-goes to 63/Ashland-is curving above while the CTA Dan Ryan rapid transit line to 95/State runs in the center mall of the Expressway...
This picture I believe was taken from an Amtrak train running to or from the east which use that former Conrail line to access Chicago Union Station...

I will mention more pictures when I have time...LI MIKE

 

[gristle]

Awesome photospread flar. Thanks for taking the time to post it.

You visited both the Sears (I can't get used to Willis)

I'm so with you there. I just can't bring myself to call it Willis Tower. I remember when the Sears Tower was going up, and because of that it will always be the Sears Tower to me.

 

[flar]

Chicago is really an amazing city. It's huge, it's vibrant, it has great architecture, great food, tons of things to do. Without a doubt world class and I highly recommend a visit to anyone on this site.


LI Mike: Wow, you nailed it! I took the Amtrak from Port Huron, MI to Chicago. Only $26, you can't beat that.

I never made it up into the Sears Tower. I was standing right outside it one morning, but the observation deck doesn't open till 9am and the sun was too high by then. Photos would have been washed out. I was satisfied going up in the Hancock.

 

[junctionist]

Those were beautiful photos of the way Chicago typically seems to portrayed: a city of skyscrapers with a downtown that only consists of a large and magnificent financial district.

 

[flar]

Those were beautiful photos of the way Chicago typically seems to portrayed: a city of skyscrapers with a downtown that only consists of a large and magnificent financial district.

Perhaps that's what my photos portray, but it would be extremely unfair to portray downtown Chicago as merely a financial district. There are endless things to do down there. There is attention to detail everywhere, the public spaces are well designed and inviting and that is the case throughout the massive downtown area. The whole area is walkable and the traffic seems under control. There are great parks and trails, the entire lakefront is parks and beaches and the river is lined with walkways and paths. There are beautiful monuments and sculptures everywhere. Millennium Park in particular, is probably the best designed park I've ever seen. Even when I was there on a Wednesday morning, there was an orchestra playing. There is an abundance of shopping and dining, both extreme high end and daily needs. There's the Magnificent Mile, there's Navy Pier. There are museums far better than anything in Canada. The streets are filled with people pretty much 24/7. I didn't see a single instance of abandonment or decay, never felt unsafe, and there are urban neighbourhoods with incredible architecture and commercial strips radiating out for as far as you can walk. The transit system is excellent--I travelled by subway, L train and bus. I honestly didn't find anything to criticize with my stay, everything was top notch.

 

[junctionist]

Perhaps that's what my photos portray, but it would be extremely unfair to portray downtown Chicago as merely a financial district. There are endless things to do down there. There is attention to detail everywhere, the public spaces are well designed and inviting and that is the case throughout the massive downtown area. The whole area is walkable and the traffic seems under control. There are great parks and trails, the entire lakefront is parks and beaches and the river is lined with walkways and paths. There are beautiful monuments and sculptures everywhere. Millennium Park in particular, is probably the best designed park I've ever seen. Even when I was there on a Wednesday morning, there was an orchestra playing. There is an abundance of shopping and dining, both extreme high end and daily needs. There's the Magnificent Mile, there's Navy Pier. There are museums far better than anything in Canada. The streets are filled with people pretty much 24/7. I didn't see a single instance of abandonment or decay, never felt unsafe, and there are urban neighbourhoods with incredible architecture and commercial strips radiating out for as far as you can walk. The transit system is excellent--I travelled by subway, L train and bus. I honestly didn't find anything to criticize with my stay, everything was top notch.

Chicago definitely has good diversity of cityscapes, and it's clear that at the base of those skyscrapers there are different uses happening. I know that the city's public spaces are beautiful, too. I guess Chicago's skyscraper heritage is so rich that most people tend to focus on it. It's not a bad thing, but for those who haven't spent much time there, the impression they could get is that its great areas are those only built at a monumental scale at its core.

 

[lead82]

I've been to Chicago myself a couple of years ago. I can agree that the downtown core is fantastic. The buildings are gorgeous. The parks and public spaces are large, open, green, and well maintained. I didn't venture into many museums but their waterfront areas have nice places to walk around. Navy Pier is pretty cool. I wish Toronto make Harbourfront centre bigger, as I feel it is a similar type venue.

While the downtown is great, venturing out into some of the surrounding neighbourhoods becomes somewhat patchy. Some areas are nice, then there could be a block or two of some sketchy parts. Some of the people walking there make me feel somewhat unsafe. Especially where the crowds died down. One thing I did notice downtown is that there aren't that many streets with too much animation outside of Michigan avenue. There are some restaurants here and there but generally not to the same density that we have it in Toronto along Yonge or Queen or King streets.

As for the waterfront, the Chicago one is certainly more developed with beautiful parks, beaches and Navy Pier. However, I think Torontos has a better potential given what is planned on Queens Quay east. While we wont have as wide and open spaces in the central area, having a neighbourhood on the waterfront will make it that much more lively. Chicago also seems somewhat separated from the water in the central area as there are nice paths and grassy areas, Navy Pier, but otherwise just a few residential towers and not much to do except just stroll around.

Overall I liked Chicago, its our older and wiser sister town. Toronto could learn many things from Chicago, like how to build beautiful public spaces and how to design buildings that are modern, yet unique.

 

[flar]

built at a monumental scale at its core.

That's a good way to describe it. I usually try for a neighbourhood tour when I visit a city, but I just couldn't get past the immensity of Chicago's skyscrapers and did most of my photography downtown.

 

[sodapop]

wow amazing photos! chicago is really stunning

 

[pman]

Great photos of a handsome city. Chicago's public realm looks so much better designed and maintained than Toronto's, at least in the core. How do they manage to do it differently from Toronto?

 

[Tewder]

^Not to be facetious but most places do, truly. I'm sure there's a case for inquiry here but Toronto just doesn't seem to be able to get these things done yet.

 

[taal]

^Not to be facetious but most places do, truly. I'm sure there's a case for inquiry here but Toronto just doesn't seem to be able to get these things done yet.

Yep, completely agreed ... it's not just Chicago ... though they do a great job there.


Though, again from recent visists I do agree with the comments a couple posts above, for all the negatives, I haven't found many cities that reach the level of vibrancy and diversity we have (no, not people wise .......) - though the architecture was amazing and it was quite busy throughout I reached a conclusion that I'd still rather live here, yet visit other cities If that makes any sense.

I'm not sure where / how Toronto get's it's vibrancy given the deplorable state of our public realm (really, it's true, compated to most other cities) yet we tend to be more animated then most ..... my conclusion here is simply that most people just don't care unfortunetly or fortunetly ...

Having said all this I have huge hope / expaction for east / bayfront and the rest of the waterfront ... anyone that checks out the built form around corus quay / the new parks will be blown away, as it's something that you'd expect in Chicago, and even then it would be quite something for them to have built it. Let's just hope this continues ... but of course this isn't downtown so ...

Great photos btw ! I agree with the comments above that most people tend to focus on the above ground pictures for Chicago (unlike Toronto really) and it's a shame too !