Getting there ...
Woanyu and I took a one-day "business" trip to Chicago. We had a
red-eye flight arriving in Chicago at 5:30AM in the morning, and took the Metro
into the city. Luckily the winter has left Chicago, and we got the only
sunny day in a week window. I brought a new fisheye lens (8-15mm) this
time and I was excited to try it out.
- Chicago Downtown
The Washington station of the Blue Line is right in the center of
Chicago Loop
- Millennium Park
The 24.5 acre (10 ha) Millennium Park is a
magnificent modern park with state of the art facilities, unique public
artwork and beautiful gardens. Plans were to open the park in 2000,
hence its name, but problems with the original contractor - who missed
several deadlines and went well over budget - delayed the project. The park
finally opened in July 2004. It was worth the wait though as Millennium Park
is one of Chicago's most spectacular sights.
- Willis Tower/Skydeck
At the time the Sears tower was constructed in
1974, it was the world's tallest building, eclipsing New York's
twin-towered World Trade Center by 25 meters (83 ft). It would keep the
title of tallest building in the world until the Petronas twin towers in
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia were constructed in 1997 (debatable whether the
height of the antennas should be included). The tower was named
after Sears, Roebuck and Co., an American chain of Department Stores which
was headquartered here. Sears sold the building in 1993 after moving to the
suburbs. The building's name was left unchanged until July 16, 2009, when it
was renamed Willis Tower.
The Tower's observation deck - known as the
skydeck - is one of Chicago's most popular attractions. At 1,353 ft or 412
m, it's Chicago's Ledges on the Willis Tower highest observatory. The
most spectacular attraction at the skydeck is 'the ledge', a glass balcony
extending 4.3 ft where you can look straight down.
- Chicago Temple
 |
The largest church building in the world, Chicago's
Temple church houses the oldest United Methodist congregation (a
protestant church) in the city. It was founded by Methodist
circuit riders in 1831, six years before the City of Chicago was
incorporated. Construction on the 568-foot-tall temple (173m) Main
Entrance was completed in 1923 and, until 1930, the First United
Methodist Church or "City Temple" was the tallest building in the
city.
We were in the church between two Sunday morning services,
so we were free to look around in the sanctuary, where a bell
concert rehearsal was taken place. We enjoyed a quiet moment,
and a sacred music treat. |
- Michigan Avenue -- Magnificent Mile
The Magnificent Mile, the
northern part of Michigan Avenue between the Chicago River and Lake Shore
Drive, is Chicago's version of the Champs-Elysées: a grand wide boulevard
with exclusive shops, museums, restaurants and ritzy hotels.
Unfortunately, we were too tired to walk to far so we only walked one block
to a Metro station to catch the train to our next destination.
- Southport, Lakeview
The main purpose of this trip is to check out this area. We had a
nice lunch at a local restaurant "Deleece".
- Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Cubs since
1916. Between 1921 and 1970, it was also the home of the Chicago Bears of
the National Football League. The current capacity is 41,009, making Wrigley
Field the 10th-smallest actively used ballpark. It is the oldest National
League ballpark and the second oldest active major league ballpark
(after Fenway Park in Boston on April 20, 1912), and the only
remaining Federal League park.
It was the baseball season opening week.
We bought the cheapest tickets and had a good time for 3 innings in this
historic ballpark.
Going Home ...
We headed back to O'Hare Airport on the Blue Line train in the late
afternoon. After a full day of extensive walk, both us had sore legs and
feet. With a fast food dinner in the aipport food court, we took a
long break and a long wait since our flight was delayed for almost an hour....
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(all fisheye)]
