First off if you want an expert’s opinion on the architectural landscape of Chicago please reference Meghan McGrath’s Tour of Chicago on facebook. Read the captions they are super informative. (I will get the url on here in two shakes) Never have I met someone with more love for her city then this lovely lady. Most of these tips have come from her so please kiss her feet next time you see her.
Here are two tips that both start at the Chicago Cultural Center debatably one of the most beautiful buildings in the city (make sure you go inside to see the mosaics. Enter from the Washington St. entrance. It is the back entrance, but far more epic).
Tip #1: The Poetry Foundation Walking Tour.
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/gallery/walking-tours/chicago/index.html
This just sounds lovely to me. All you have to do is download the tour from the Poetry website at your leisure, walk right over to the Chicago Cultural Center and press play. Here is what the Poetry Foundation has to say about.
“if you’re in Chicago, let us take you on a guided tour: download the downtown portion, tour stops 1-6, hosted by NPR’s Scott Simon, into your MP3 player and take the walking tour beginning at the Chicago Cultural Center and ending at Harold Washington Library. You’ll hear poets Lisel Mueller, W.S. Di Piero, and Haki Madhubuti, and archival recordings of Gwendolyn Brooks, Vachel Lindsay, and Edgar Lee Masters, as you experience Chicago’s iconic architectural sights, including the Art Institute and the Fine Arts Building. You can also take a side trip to other neighborhoods and landmarks featured in stops 7-22: listen to poems by Quraysh Ali Lansana at the DuSable Museum, Srikanth Reddy at Danny’s Tavern, or Harriet Monroe at Graceland Cemetery.”Charming that is all I have to say.
Tip #2: Free Night at the Chicago Institute of Art
Ok now if you are facing the Cultural Center turn around and cross the street and you will find the Chicago Institute of Art. If you want to save some money, entry to the institute is free every Thursday night. While you are there make sure you check out Pablo Picasso’s The Guitarist. Picasso often reused his canvases and in some of his works you can see the original painting underneath. The Guitarist is one of them. If you look closely you can see the profile of a young man underneath the old guitarist bending over.
Hungry? Check out Wow-Bao http://www.wowbao.com It is causal and cheap and according to Meghan they have the most delicious dumplings in all of the Windy City. Recommendation= Thai Curry Chicken Bao and the Homemade Ginger Ale. There are three locations throughout the city. The Theater District location on State and Lake is the best one because it is open Monday-Sunday (the other locations have weird hours), has sitting, and is pretty centrally located to several Chicago gems.
