A Day of Architecture and and Evening of Jazz ~ September 22, 2016

We rode the 151 bus frequently as we navigated throughout the city.  

Thursday morning after breakfast, we wandered the half block to the bus stop and used our bus passes like we'd been riding the Chicago Transit System all our lives.  Of course, we got off the bus too soon, and ended up walking about a mile to get to the Navy Pier.  But it was a great morning for a walk with the sun peeking out from behind the clouds and neither one of us minded the extra walk.

 We finally made our way to the Navy Pier where any number of companies were offering the "Architectural Boat Tour."  We signed on with Shoreline Sightseeing and were lucky enough to have a really knowledgeable young man, Ben, to tell us all about the various buildings and architectural features as we cruised down the river.

Of course I had to capture this building.
One day I stopped in to use the bathroom there.

These corncob-like buildings were designed by Bertrand Goldberg associates and were completed in 1964.   The two 65 story buildings are known as Marina City and contained 896 apartments (now condos), an office building (now a hotel) and a theater (now the House of Blues).  There is actually a marina at river level. Marina City achieved landmark status in 2015.

This massive building, built by Graham Anderson Probst & White, was originally built for Marshall Field & Company.  The building has four million square feet of space, the largest in the world when competed in 1931.  It fills two city blocks, and has a beautiful art deco interior (which we did not see).  

The Reliance Building (Burnham and Root Architects) was designed by John Root and Charles Atwood and is considered the first steel and glass skyscraper.  It is also considered to be the forefather of the modern 20th century skyscraper. It has a skeletal steel frame construction that bears the weight of the building, giving it a delicate feeling and allowing the walls to be constructed with large windows that let natural light into the offices inside

The Carbide and Carbon Building, built in 1929, is one of Chicago's best examples of Art Deco architecture. The facade is made of polished black granite, black marble, dark green terra-cotta and gold leaf. Originally an office building, this beautiful structure is now a Hard Rock Hotel.














The Wrigley building was designed by the architectural firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst & White.  The 425-foot south tower was completed in April 1921 and the north tower in May 1924. The two towers are of differing heights, with the south tower rising to 30 stories and the north tower to 21 stories. On the south tower is a clock with faces pointing in all directions. 

I loved the bridges!
There are eighteen moveable bridges in a 2 mile span.
The most famous is the DuSable Bridge at North Michigan Ave.

One of my favorite shots of this trip!

Other buildings we passed along the way.  This one (above) captures our extraordinary guide, Ben.  The seventy minutes we spent with Ben just flew by!  On our next trip to Chicago I hope to be able to do a self-guided walking tour to see more of these buildings up close.

We had lunch on the Navy Pier, which is a 3,300 foot long pier on Lake Michigan.  It was built by  Charles Sumner Frost, a nationally-known architect, who based his design on Daniel Burham's "Master Plan of Chicago."  It was initially called Municipal Pier, but was renamed in 1927 to honor the naval veterans of World War I.  Today, there are more than 50 acres of parks, gardens, shops, restaurants, family attractions and exhibition facilities.

That evening we took the Red Line to the Green Mill, a famous jazz club that is said to be the oldest club in the country.  It has a rather interesting past, and everyone we met told us to be sure to sit in Al Capone's booth!  Al Capone's favorite booth is located directly west of the short end of the bar. Capone and his men would sit here because it afforded clear views of both the front and back entrances to the establishment. It was originally named Pop Morse's Roadhouse when it opened in 1907 and was renamed the Green Mill Gardens shortly afterward.  The manager couldn't tell us why it was called the Green Mill, but Wikipedia claims that it is "a nod to the famous Moulin Rouge (Red Mill) in Paris."

It's very dark inside, but I was able to capture this shot of the neon sign behind the stage.