Chicago, Illinois City Guide
Chicago, on Lake Michigan, offers attractions like Michigan Avenue, the Magnificent Mile, Wrigley Field, fine restaurants, & a great music scene.
Attractions
 Exhibitions at the Art Institute of Chicago are world renowned - namely with Impressionist paintings. Overlooking Lake Michigan, the bold Museum of Contemporary Art exhibits 21st century works. Gutsy Steppenwolf Theater productions and the city's scores of other theaters, including the Victory Gardens, the Goodman, the Court, and the Shakespeare Repertory, regularly showcase the talents of remarkable local actors, successors to the likes of John Malkovich and Gary Sinise.
The nation's first free municipal cultural center, the Chicago Cultural Center is one of the city's ten most popular attractions and is considered one of the most comprehensive arts showcases in the United States. Each year, the Chicago Cultural Center features more than 1,000 programs and exhibitions covering a wide range of the performing, visual and literary arts. Programming is aimed at increasing public awareness of the arts, and school tours and learning guides are provided to enhance the public's appreciation of the landmark building and enjoyment of its diverse programs and exhibitions.
The Center serves as the city's official reception venue where the Mayor has welcomed Presidents and royalty, diplomats and community leaders. This is the "People's Palace," where Chicago's diverse communities gather. This remarkable structure was completed in 1897 as the city's main library. Constructed to be "an enduring monument worthy of a great and public spirited city" -- in the words of the founding library board -- the "People's Palace" is a testament to the foresight of Chicago's turn of the (20th) century cultural leadership.
The Historic Water Tower has been the city's most cherished landmark for over a century. This structure was designed in 1867 by architect William W. Boyington. It stands today as a memorial to the victims of the Great Chicago Fire. The structure was erected in 1869 to house a 138-foot-tall standpipe, three feet in diameter. This standpipe served to equalize pressure and to minimize the pulsations of the water flowing in the mains. The tower was constructed of Joliet limestone blocks quarried in Illinois, a foresight which proved invaluable two years after the completion of construction when, on the morning of October 9, 1871, flames engulfed Chicago and leveled nearly every building except for the Water Tower. Today, the Historic Water Tower is the home of City Gallery, the city's official photography gallery and the Pumping Station serves as the Chicago Water Works, a Visitor Welcome Center where the public can not only gather literature about the city's myriad of attractions, but also observe the Chicago Water Works at work. As of June 2003, the Chicago Avenue Pumping Station became the home to the Lookingglass Theater. |
