Alright Chicagoans! I am coming to your city at the end of september to party and see the sights. I am bringing along my fave forumers with me, Dallas Texan and CityGod5. Our main objective is to party, but since I have never been to this city, nor seen a skyscraper close up, I really want to take it all in.

So what should I do? Where should I go? I want to see the razzle dazzle of the city, and I want to see the grit. Please let me know, I dont want to miss a thing. I think we are planning on having dinner on the 96th floor of the Hancock building (yikes!).

And if any of you forumers want to join in on the party, let me know!! I am very excited about this trip!!!!!

Ummm... too many things to name. I'll get back to you

If it's a weekday (although it will soon be more lively on weekends as the boom lives on..) start on Congress and State and just keep walking north up State Street, catching the sites and sounds of downtown. Take a right on Randolph and proceed to Michigan Avenue. There, take a tour of the great Millennium Park, then walk north on Michigan Avenue till you get to the Hancock. You can either go up the Hancock then or proceed left to State Street and head back south, going back to Randolph or Lake. I would then proceed west again and wander around the loop--so much great architecture. Make sure you get a look down the LaSalle Street canyon to the Board of Trade. Then keep going until you get to Wacker (the north-south running portion). The Sears Tower is on Wacker, and there is a whole new generation of Skyscrapers completed or underway on Wacker, although they are all office space and you may not find that part of the loop all too exciting.

Having done that, I would spend most of my time on or east of state street and either near Millennium Park or north of the Chicago river, where there is a lot more stuff going on (for now...)

Personally, though, although downtown has good restaurants and some decent bars, the best stuff for me is in the neighborhoods. Lots of good restaurants on west Randolph Street, and the West loop is starting to develop a nightlife (go under the 'L on Lake street and you'll see a couple really cool nightclubs). But before truly advising people to spend their whole vacations in and around the loop, I will need to give Chicago another decade or so of demographic readjustment. I am almost scared to see how rapidly the restaurant/shopping/nightlife is going to change in the loop, near west, and near south sides!

Anyway, if you want to REALLY have a blast in Chicago, don't try to drive everywhere. Park your car and forget about it. I'm a huge proponent of transit, the 'L, etc but if you are just visiting there is no point in being confused. I would cab it to Lincoln Park/Lakeview/Bucktown/Wicker Park neighborhoods. Especially take a stroll up and down Clark St, Lincoln Ave, Halsted, Milwaukee Avenue, just "check out" the whole area. You'll run into lots of cool stuff. If you have a bit of extra time, take a cab (or the red line) to Cermak road on the near south side and stroll around Chinatown. There is the traditional one and then the new addition with nice Zodiac statues and a plaza and new shops, restauraunts in a (unfortunately) strip-mall layout. Either way, I heard that new center has a burgeoning nightclub.

What I gave you is just a basic layout. You should talk to more individuals as you're in the city to tell you exactly where the 'hot' spots are

Thanks so much for the tips! I will most likely be taking transit to most places, or walking, I hope my hotel is downtown. And I am so excited to see a canyon, I have never seen one!

Have fun, Jada/others :)

BTW, that tour I decribed is for people who want to get a "basic understanding" of Chicago. (Chicago 101)

For people who really want to FEEL the city in it's entirety (Chicago 301), I would recommend additional trips to Pullman, Hyde Park/Kenwood, Beverly, Uptown, Old Town, Rogers Park, Edgewater, an extended tour of Bucktown/Wicker Park, Albany Park, Irving Park, Printers Row, Streeterville, Armitage st, Devon St, Bridgeport, Pilsen, and to also ride the 'L especially the blue, red, and brown lines. Also, don't forget the great park boulevard system. Special mention must also be made for trips to Evanston and Oak Park via 'L. This advanced tour, however, would take several weeks to months to fully complete.. :)

Holler!

Matter of fact CG5, Apple Holler!

Leave me out? Where's the akahol? Dinner at JHC? Whoa? Big Ballers here huh? Whoa?
They have a bar at the top of JHC, free of admission too. Last time they didn't even check ID's. Shit they didn't check jack shit. ColDay, Paradox 21 and I went to the top, took some photos and left without paying a penny. Free Ice Cream in Evanston!

You want grit. Holler at me. Or just take the Green Line EL to anyone of its ending branches. You can finally see the MAC DONALDS OF THE FUTURE in person, and...........are you ready for this.........THE ROCK AND ROLL MACDONALDS!!

bad news Goons-machine, no mo' rock n' roll mcdonald's! :lol:

Goon, lets have a drink at the top of the JHC!!!! And I got that free ice cream in evanston card. Damn this will be so much fun!

i wanna come.. u missed me by like 2 months

Oh, those drinks have JHC price tags on them too. Maybe I can holler at Oprah to throw a party at her place. Oprah! Nobody's ever gone on the EL tour. The EL tour!

Buy (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0974013129/qid=1093563942/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/002-2044030-9283223?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) the Not for Tourists (http://www.notfortourists.com/) 2004 handbook of Chicago. This thing is like a bible for the city, and 100% un-touristy (hence the title :)). It is LOADED with stuff on EVERY neighborhood in town... AND they don't mince words about a place/event. It's the best 16 bucks you will spend.

As for a proudly proclaimed 'tourist' - I enjoyed Chicago by just simply walking through Grant Park, Downtown (the loop), north along Michigan Ave, south through the Prairie Ave district. Of course I can imagine I missed out on a variety of things, though I also visited Oak Park & Hyde Park in addition to some of the museums. But honestly, I would find it nearly impossible to not spend a single day in Chicago and not come back with a great impression.

But my visit was only a few days - hopefully you'll have a longer time to explore more of the city.

After all your sightseeing and souvenier shopping you can join Steely Dan and I at the Billy Goat underneath Michigan Avenue where we'll be enjoying ice cold Old Style beer like the trolls that we are. . . perhaps Marshall and Dan K. will grace our presence as well. . . anyhow a "true grit" tour of Chicago is never complete without a stop at the Billy Goat for some hard drinking. . .

Soldier Field! Soldier Field!

http://images.auctionworks.com/hi/56/55554/soldierfield.jpg

People make remarks about the outside of Soldier Field, but 50 years from now it will be marveled at. Right now, Soldier Field is the most state of the art stadium in North America. When technological achievements have been made for 50 straight years...only then will the general public be ready for it's outward appearance.

Has not anyone ever heard of the saying, "Don't judge a book by it's cover." Because you don't know what lies inside. And in this case, once one experiences what Soldier Field has to offer...it's mind blowing.

luc, i couldn't agree with you more about soldier field. if you accept the fact that the colonades were going to be kept (and thank goodness they were), you have to realize that any "faux grecian" addition would look tacked on and would pale the original portion of the stadium. Not so for the radically different "space age" addition. The contrast is exciting and it does what good architecture should do....that is, bring on discussion.

people need to realize: nobody in their right mind would build a statium like this from scratch, but how interesting it was to preserve the orignal exterior but build a completely new type of structure inside. i like to think that soldier field looks to the past and to the future.

meanwhile, i for one have a hard time with arguments that the new stadium brutalized the museum campus and the lakefront; not with McC Pl sprawling to the south, complete with the Stevenson's overpasses to LSD.

Here's one thing nobody has been able to argue about: the stunning interior of the stadium.

We live in an unusal city....two relatively symmetrical baseball parks and one unsymmetrical football stadium. Did we get it right or did everyone else?

Well, I am not a football fan, so I probably wont visit soldier field.

But I might take Tom in Chicago up for drinks with Steely Dan. Tom, I met you a few years ago at the Vancouver/Seattle meet. I am Dylan Leblancs sister.

I'd love to meet up with everyone. I am pip at ssp and have met many of the SSP forumers but none of the SSC people.

Tom, I met you a few years ago at the Vancouver/Seattle meet. I am Dylan Leblancs sister.

Yeah. . . I remember. . . well sort of since Rainier, Grant and I burned one that day so my memory is a bit hazy. . .

I am pip at ssp and have met many of the SSP forumers but none of the SSC people.

What's with the dual identities!?! I'm too old to keep track of all these aliases. . .

OK, I will chime in... Perhaps this is the opportunity to do a Chicago gathering....
Jada, Just know that you are quite welcome in Chicago, and I am sure you'll get a much better picture than the average visitor.

I am pip at ssp and have met many of the SSP forumers but none of the SSC people.

What's with the dual identities!?! I'm too old to keep track of all these aliases. . .
pip was already taken here or I couldn't use it or something. I forgot to mention in my original post I would also enjoy meeting jada too.

You need to ride the EL to places unthought of. Explore the off key side, the zany side, the part of town we refer to as........WILD CHICAGO!

duh duh duh duh

duh duh

Okay you probably don't understand that, but any Chicago member raised of PBS will get it. Wait I just said raised off PBS. Oh well, raised off PBS. Like anything else is good on network TV.

A Hyde Park trip is required, no ifs ands or buts. C'mon, it's really purdy down here.

And a gathering sounds good, but alas I am not drinking age (despite McSorley's in NYC not carding me at all).

One of the absolutely unbelievable joys of what you can do in our fair city is to see twice as many lousy baseball teams as you can in a typical city. These two have gone almost a century without winning a World Series and close to half a century without winning a pennant. unfortunately one of our lousy baseball teams has no tickets available, as they can sell out an even empty ballpark if it has ivy on it, and nobody in town has heard of the other team, so they won't be able to give you directions to their park.

of course, i must admit, i don't know why i'm complaining. we still have the bears, bulls, and blackhawks.

A Hyde Park trip is required, no ifs ands or buts. C'mon, it's really purdy down here.

And a gathering sounds good, but alas I am not drinking age (despite McSorley's in NYC not carding me at all).

In HUGE agreement! Hyde Park is rarely mentioned because it's not a north side neighborhood, but it is absolutely breathtaking (does anything beat promontary point?)! And don't forget, Barack Obama (the next U.S. Senator) lives there.

I lived in Hyde Park during the brief time that I lived in Chicago and I truly think it will be the central stabilizing force behind the redevelopment of Chicago's far south side..

Thanks you guys for all the cool ideas! I have decided that I will be in town from october 9th-11th. And the big meetup will be on saturday the 10th. if you cant meetup that day, thats okay I'll meet you guys any day. I expect to be hung over on sunday however.

There is a big thread about this at the SSP skybar, and if you are interested, you can see all the people who have said they will attend this meet. We've even got a guy from england coming out! As well as a ton of mid-westerners.

oct 10th! awexome. Only if I don't have a paper due... wait, ME doing WORK on SATURDAY??? :rofl:

Sounds like a party.

FRIGGIN MARBLE SLAB ICE CREAM!!

Okay, so the new plan is that I will be in Chicago from october 15th-18th. The big forum meetup is on the 16th. Goonsta is bringing the icecream. Steely is bringing the beer. Sounds like a party to me.

At some point you have to find a place that specializes in tours of Chicago's 1880s--1930s buildings. A trip to Chicago with Burnham, Root, Sullivan and Adler isn't really a trip to Chicago.

Steely is bringing the beer.

jada, on this forum i go by "sharptent" ;).

Well then you'd better bring the beer, Mr.Tent.

scrunk that, the Jagermeister, scrunk that, the Everclear, aw fuck it, the paint thinner

Matter of fact, does anyone know even a good place to get wasted (that sells more than beer)

Yay.

Did someone say Jägermeister???

Jagermeister

!!!!!!!

(mmm... licorice-tasting alcohol)

Awww - october??? I'll be in Chicago next week - too bad I'll miss the party.
(Mostly a forum lurker - and mostly over on ssp, but was checking the Chicago forum for ideas on things to do/places to go...)

My days are filled with meetings etc, but my evenings will be spent checking out buildings. (Although I do have one meeting on the roof of the Park Twr - cool pics here I come).

CrispyDragon

PS Tom in Chicago - were you at the CTBUH conference in Chicago about Taipei 101? If so, then I think I have your business card on my desk :)

S Tom in Chicago - were you at the CTBUH conference in Chicago about Taipei 101? If so, then I think I have your business card on my desk

Yeah. . . I was there along with my partners-in-crime Dan and Marshall. . . refresh my memory as to who you might be :)

Yeah. . . I was there along with my partners-in-crime Dan and Marshall. . . refresh my memory as to who you might be :)

Ah okay, I have Marshall's card too. I was not there in person, but my associate met you and passed along both your cards. I've given Marshall some building heights, details etc. in the past.

I'm reluctant to give up my anonymity on the forum...so I won't post where I work :( (sorry)

CrispyD

You guys are asking what to do in Chicago? Chicago, besides being one of the greatest places to party on the planet, is WORLD CLASS (with a capital W!) in fine and multicultural arts. The World Music Festival (one of many, many city-sponsered venues that go on all year round all around Chicago) is going on this week. Here is a list of the various entertainment/performances:

Today
11 a.m. -- Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington: Song of the Lakes (WLUW-FM 88.7);
12:30 p.m. -- Chicago Cultural Center, Joe Vasconcellos, from Chile, combines jazz, Afro-Caribbean and Latin elements. Broadcast over WNUR-FM (89.3). Free.
12:30 p.m. -- Borders, 830 N. Michigan: Abdelli. Free.
12:30 p.m. -- Borders, 150 N. State: Genticonum. Free.
6 p.m. -- Millennium Park, Michigan and Washington: Chicago Immigrant Orchestra, Chicago Children's Choir. Free.
7 p.m. -- Chicago Cultural Center: Scottish singer Mary Jane Campbell, eccentric dance-music trio Genticonum. Free.
7:30 p.m. -- Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago: Rafael de Utrera & Company. $12. From Utrera, Spain, he is one of flamenco's rising stars, who has performed with legends such as Tomatillo, Paco de Lucia, Joaquin Cortes and Cristina Hoyos, who invited the young singer to tour with her company in the late '90s.
9 p.m. -- HotHouse, 31 E. Balbo: Kepa Junkera, Joe Vasconcellos, Nelson Sosa. $12. A native of Spain's Basque region, Kepa Junkera plays the diatonic accordion, specializing in the folk/jazz/rock idioms. His latest disc, titled "K," just won a Latin Grammy for best folk album.
9 p.m. -- The Vic Theatre, 3400 N. Sheffield: Chicago Turkish Festival with legendary darbuka player Balik Ayhan and the traditional Algerian music of Abdelli. $15.
10 p.m. -- Sonotheque, 1444 W. Chicago: "African Hi-Fi" with DJ Ron Trent, Miles Cleret and Mbira Masters of Zimbabwe: Cosmas Magaya and Ambuya Beauler Dyoko. $12.


Saturday
1 p.m. -- Garfield Park, 300 N. Central Park: Farafina Kan; 3 p.m.: Cosmas Magaya and Ambuya Beauler Dyoko. Free.
1 p.m. -- Borders, 4718 N. Broadway: Rafael de Utrera & Company. Free.
1 p.m. -- South Shore Cultural Center, 7059 S. South Shore: Roswell Rudd's MALIcool with Malian griot and kora player Mamadou Diabate. Free.
6 p.m. -- Humboldt Park Boathouse, 1301 N. Sacramento: Farafina Kan featuring Mamady Keita; Grupo Okakan. Free.
7:30 p.m. -- Museum of Contemporary Art: Roswell Rudd's MALIcool with Malian griot and kora player Mamadou Diabate, Mbira Masters of Zimbabwe: Cosmas Magaya and Ambuya Beauler Dyoko. $12.
7:30 p.m. -- Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544 N. Lincoln: James Brewster, known in the Caribbean as the King of Scratch Music, heads up Jamesie and the All Stars; Kwame Bedidko. $12.
9:30 p.m. -- HotHouse: Susan McKeown, Kiran Ahluwalia. $12.
10 p.m. -- Schubas, 3159 N. Southport: Rafael de Utrera & Company. $10.
10 p.m. -- Martyrs', 3855 N. Lincoln: the Polish folk sextet the Warsaw Village Band and T-Rroma. $10.
10 p.m. -- Hilton Towers, Kitty O'Shea's, 720 S. Michigan: International Ceili/Ceillidh, Llan de Cubel and special guests. $10.


Sunday
10 a.m. -- Rhythm, 1108 W. Randolph: Mamady Keita Djembe workshop. $12.
1 p.m. -- Eli's Cheesecake Festival, 6701 W. Forest Preserve Dr.: Mamadou Diabate Ensemble. Free.
2 p.m. -- Borders, 830 N. Michigan: Warsaw Village Band. Free.
2 p.m. -- Clarke House, 18th and Indiana: Farafina Kan; 3:30 p.m.: Rhythm Revolution's Community Drum Circle. Free.
2 p.m. -- Rogers Park World Music Fest, Ashland and Howard: Jamesie and the All Stars, Kiran Ahluwalia. Free.
3 p.m. -- Chicago Cultural Center: Brij Bhushan Kabra incorporates western guitar into classical Indian music, Kadar Khan is an award-winning tabla player. Free.
3 p.m. -- Humboldt Park Boathouse: Kepa Junkera. Free.
4 p.m. -- Borders, 4718 N. Broadway: dZihan & Kamien. Free.
6 p.m. -- South Shore Cultural Center: Mamadou Diabate Ensemble, Samite. Free.
6:30 p.m. -- Borders, 6103 N. Lincoln: Kiran Ahluwalia. Free.
7 p.m. -- Old Town School of Folk Music: Scandinavian artist Mari Boine mixes traditional Sami vocals with jazz, rock and electronica. $12.
8 p.m. -- HotHouse: Chicago Meets Brazil. $12.
8 p.m. -- Abbey Pub, 3420 W. Grace: Warsaw Village Band, Phonix. $10.
10 p.m. -- Sonotheque: DJ Rikshaw, dZihan & Kamien. $12.


Monday
11 a.m. -- Chicago Cultural Center: Brij Bhushan Kabra , Samite (WLUW-FM 88.7); 12:30 p.m.: Phonix, Jamesie (WNUR-FM 89.3). Free.
Noon -- Instituto Cervantes, John Hancock Center, 875 N. Michigan: Kepa Junkera. Free.
6:30 p.m. -- Millennium Park: Chicago's Tortoise uses distinctive rhythms and melodies to create a dynamic unique jazz-rock sound, dZihan & Kamien present an East European dance groove. Free.
7 p.m. -- Chicago Cultural Center: Ugandan singer Samite also plays the flute and other traditional instruments. Free.
8 p.m. -- HotHouse: Abdelli. $12.
8 p.m. -- Marytrs': Kieran O'Hare and Liz Knowles; Phonix. Free.
8 p.m. -- Abbey Pub: Margot Leverett and the Klezmer Mountain Boys blend Appalachian and Southern fiddle tunes with pre-war Russian and Eastern European klezmer melodies, Chicago's Devil in a Woodpile are grounded in old-time mountain music and bluegrass. $8.


Tuesday
11 a.m. -- Chicago Cultural Center: Ruben Rodriguez y Su Conjunto, Claudia Perez Brown (WLUW-FM 88.7); 12:30 p.m.: Ilija Ampevski, Esma Redzepova (WNUR-FM 89.3). Free.
Noon -- Daley Center, 50 W. Washington: Margot Leverett and the Klezmer Mountain Boys. Free.
12:30 p.m. -- Borders, 830 N. Michigan: Katie Viqueira & Deep Tango. Free. Originally from Buenos Aires, the singer relocated to Boston in 1997; her style melds traditional Argentinian forms such as tango with pop and jazz elements.
12:30 p.m. -- Borders, 150 N. State: Eva Ayllon. Free. On her first extensive U.S. tour, the Peruvian singer specializes in musica criolla, which mixes indigenous, African and Spanish genres.
7:30 p.m. -- Park West, 322 W. Armitage: Two popular artists from the Balkans. The traditional brass music of Bobon Markovic & the Serbian Orkestar and the "Queen of Gypsy Music" Esma Redzapova with Ansambi Teodosievski. $15.
7:30 p.m. -- Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport: Mariza, a rising star of fado, often called Portuguese blues; the Marta Topferova Trio fuses Czech folk music and Latin American music. $15.
8 p.m. -- Schubas: Katie Viqueira & Deep Tango, Ruben Rodriguez y Su Conjunto. $12.
8 p.m. -- HotHouse: Eva Ayllon, Laura Fuentes and Joe Vasconcellos. $12.
9 p.m. -- Martyrs': Kila, Margot Leverett and the Klezmer Mountain Boys. $10.
9 p.m. -- Sonotheque: Rumba: An Explosion of Latin Rhythm with Carlos Flores. $5.


Wednesday
11 a.m. -- Chicago Cultural Center: Foday Musa Suso (WLUW-FM 88.7); 12:30 p.m.: Marta Topferova Trio, Mauricio Diaz "El Hueso" (WNUR-FM 89.3). Free.
12:30 p.m. -- Borders, 830 N. Michigan: Boban Markovic & the Serbian Orkestar. Free.
7 p.m. -- Chicago Cultural Center: Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman's Musical Odyssey in Rhythm Fantasies mixes South Asian classical rhythms on percussion and violin. Free.
7:30 p.m. -- Athenaeum Theatre: Chicago's Fulcrum Point New Music Project teams up with Senegal legend Foday Musa Suso. $15.
7:30 p.m. -- Park West: Eva Ayllon, Katie Viqueira & Deep Tango, Mexican singer-songwriter Mauricio Diaz "El Hueso." $15.
7:30 p.m. -- Museum of Contemporary Art: gypsy music with Esma Redzepova and Ansambi Teodosievski, native Kyrgyzstan music from Jan Yrgagy. $12.
8 p.m. -- Martyrs': Banda Manzanera, based in Chicago, plays traditional Mexican, brass-heavy music known as banda; Boban Markovic & the Serbian Orkestar. $12.
8:30 p.m. -- Old Town School of Folk Music: Claudia Perez Brown Project, Marta Topferova Trio. $5.



Thursday
11 a.m. -- Chicago Cultural Center: Srikant Venkatraman (WLUW-FM 88.7); 12:30 p.m.: Jan Yrgagy (WNUR-FM 89.3). Free.
12:30 p.m. -- Borders, 150 N. State: Mauricio Diaz "El Hueso": hailing from the state of Puebla, the singer-songwriter-guitarist specializes in traditional Mexican folk genres. Free.
6 p.m. -- Chicago Cultural Center: Umayalpuram K. Silvaraman's Musical Odyssey in Rhythm Fantasies featuring Srikant Venkatraman, Ilija Ampevski Macedonian Ensemble, Betti Xiang & Yang Wei with Friends, Jan Yrgagy, Maurico Diaz "El Hueso," Paulinho Garcia
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^ that's why I want to live in Chicago. No place outside of NYC offers this depth of experience

alright everybody, its official.. we are having the big international chicago meet at noon at millenium park on october 16th. we will be meeting at the big jellybean sculpture. Bring your cameras! And lets have some fun at this giant meet, I want it to be the biggest skyscraper meet ever!

what happened?