Chicago is a city that dresses to impress. Long recognized as having the finest collection of modern architecture in the country, Chicago boasts names such as Frank Lloyd Wright, Mies van der Rohe, I.M. Pei and Louis Sullivan as architects who made or cemented their reputations here. Other arts flourish here as well; the Art Institute has some of the most recognizable paintings in the world in its permanent collection, and the wind isn't the only thing wailing through the streets of this city; plaintive notes from pianos, saxophones, harmonicas and the like have been an integral part of Chicago ever since the blues and jazz migrated north from the Delta in the early 1900s. For people seeking a Chicago music experience, try spending part of a lazy afternoon flipping through the selections at Jazz Record Mart or Dusty Groove. Theatre, too, flourishes in this Midwestern mecca; companies such as the Goodman and Steppenwolf have consistently turned out cutting-edge productions and actors for decades.
Downtown / The Loop
Downtown is the center for government, finance, and commerce of Chicago and is encircled by The Loop, named for the elevated train tracks that loop around the central area. Tall skyscrapers such as the world's second-tallest building, the Sears Tower, and the Chicago Board of Trade are landmarks for this part of town.
Lake Michigan
It's true that the wind coming off Lake Michigan has been known to blast the streets of downtown Chicago with a brutal chill and the streets in the summer have been known to fry eggs, but that is no reason to avoid the many charms Chicago offers. Next to New York City, Chicago is the best place in the country to spend the holidays. The skating rink on State Ave., the towering Christmas tree in Daley Plaza, the Zoo Lights in Lincoln Park and the magnificent window displays at Carson Pirie Scott and Marshall Field's are bound to put a smile on the face of even the most hardened cynic. For those that prefer to vacation when the temperature is milder, the best months are between May and October, when the weather is more predictable and less extreme.
Metropolitan area
Chicago has many neighborhoods in the metropolitan area. Most of the hotels, restaurants, and tourist sights are located in the neighborhoods nearest downtown and along the shores of Lake Michigan.
Must-see attractions
include the Shedd Aquarium, Museum of Science and Industry, Lincoln Park and Lincoln Park Zoo, Grant Park, Field Museum, Navy Pier, Sears Tower and Wrigley Field. For shopping, there is the famous Magnificent Mile of Michigan Avenue; the shops of Oak Street; or the trendy, up-and-coming boutiques of Bucktown-Wicker Park at the intersection of North, Damen and Milwaukee Avenues.
Near South Side
Near South Side of Chicago including the South Loop, has many historic buildings and residential areas, at least four important museums, and the John G. Shedd Aquarium. Chinatown is located in this part of town.
North Side
The North Side of Chicago lies just north of the Chicago River. It encompasses several of the more upscale residential neighborhoods and shopping areas. Chicago's premiere shopping district, the Magnificent Mile, runs along North Michigan Avenue and is lined with exclusive shops as well as a few historic buildings that survived the Great Fire of 1871.
South Side
The South Side of Chicago is largely a residential area but is also home to the beautiful Washington Park, The University of Chicago, and several museums, including the South Side's main attraction - the Museum of Science and Industry.
alternative weekly presents its guide for the best the city has to offer, as well as events and arts calendar, local news and recommended things to do.
Share + Nov 19, 2009 8:56 pm US/Central Reporting Mike Parker 1 of 1 Mayor Daley had words of admiration for Oprah Winfrey on Thursday and suggested unfair criticism about her closure of Michigan Avenue may have expedited her departure from Chicago.
Collaboration and partnership between China and the United Sates are absolutely critical to a meaningful, substantive and programmatic climate solution, a U.S. environment expert has said.
A man has been charged with the attempted murder of an off-duty Chicago police officer after a shootout outside a daycare center where the officer was trying to pick up his daughter in March of 2008 in the Calumet Heights neighborhood on the Far South Side.
A 17-year-old boy was shot and killed this afternoon in the South Chicago neighborhood as he was walking back to his home after school, his mother said.
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Community activists Melvin Bailey, left, Kublai Toure, and Harold Davis, right, speak about the suicide ruling in the death of Chicago Public School Board President Michael Scott during a news conference at Holy Starlight M.B. Church in Chicago, Wednesday, Nov.
Chalk-up another major trade show leaving McCormick Place, the second one to announce it's doing so within a week saying it's too expensive to hold a show here.
Playboy will return to its Chicago roots when it joins top nightlife promoters Global Adrenaline for a New Year's Eve celebration at the historic Hilton Chicago.
Share + Nov 18, 2009 5:33 pm US/Central Chicago police say they have found no evidence that Chicago Board of Education President Michael Scott was the victim of a homicide.
An allegedly drunken motorist from Niles is in police custody at an Evanston hospital after reportedly stealing a station wagon and plowing into a tree so hard it uprooted and came to rest 12 feet away early Wednesday in Chicago, police said.
In the wake of an $18 million reduction in regional school district transportation handed down from Beacon Hill recently, the Tantasqua Regional School District is weighing two very heavy options in attempts to offset their share of that burden.
Mayor Daley is demanding yet another round of concessions from McCormick Place unions to cut trade show operating costs and stop an exodus that has cost Chicago two major shows in the last week.
Divers returned to the Chicago River and investigators scoured cell phone records Tuesday as police declined to call the death of the city's school board president a suicide a day after an autopsy concluded he shot himself in the head.
Too busy to make Thanksgiving dinner this year?...or just don't want to? Then go out! There are several upscale and middle of the road restaurants in the Chicagoland area offering luxurious dinners for a good deal this year! Some are even letting kids eat for free! Restaurants Include: Fulton's on the River 315 N. LaSalle Street 312.822.0100 Price: ...
Federal prosecutors in Miami want the maximum prison sentences for five men convicted of plotting to destroy Chicago's Sears Tower and bomb FBI offices.Prosecutors said in court papers filed Monday a federal judge should reject pleas for leniency.
The president of the Chicago Board of Education shot himself in the head along the Chicago River Monday morning, the medical examiner's office confirmed, according to MyFoxChicago.com. Police found what was believed to be the body of Michael Scott, 60, floating in the river hours later.
An international company that manufactures industrial products announced Thursday that it is relocating its headquarters in New York City to a single facility in Downers Grove in DuPage County.
