Sunny, wind getting up in afternoon
I awoke early and got up at 6.30. Breakfast was available in a large cafe-style eatery next to the main entrance: I chose eggs over easy and bacon with toast and a large orange juice. I sat beside the window to watch the world go by, and there was plenty of action. A demolition crew was hard at work on the remains of the building opposite, while just across the street there was the rattle of El trains coming through every couple of minutes. Towering over the whole neighbourhood was the mighty Sears Tower. I decided to head towards it with the aim of ascending for a literal overview of the city, particularly as from the TV weather forecast it seemed that this would be the best day of my time in Chicago.
I left the hotel at 8.30, and first took a couple of photographs of my immediate vicinity. Wanting a better shot of the Sears Tower, I then crossed the street and went around the block. As well as the demolition works immediately opposite the hotel, a new building was going up on the other side of the El tracks, while the the tracks themselves were not escaping as a new section of track was under construction in order to smooth out a couple of sharp corners. Amid the scaffolding poles around the block I had the view I wanted of the Sears Tower, and also of the magnificent Harold Washington Library Center across the street, a huge building (second only to the British Library) with an elegantly-sculpted copper roof adorned with academic-looking owls at each corner.
Next I went out in search of somewhere to purchase a visitor pass for unlimited travel on Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) services (El, metro and bus). Places that sell these are surprisingly few and far between. My guidebook informed me that the Cultural Center a little way up Michigan Avenue was one such place, but on arrival it turned out to be shut. The walk was not altogether unsuccessful as it took me past several interesting buildings -- it was already evident to me that the city has quite an architectural pride.
The business heart of downtown Chicago is the so-called ``Loop'', 35 blocks encircled by elevated railway tracks. To reach the Sears Tower I had went right across the Loop, interesting buildings at virtually every step. The tower was still not yet open to visitors, so I spent some time admiring it from ground level, in its immediate vicinity and from just across the Chicago River, which runs a block to the west.
Security was in place but not obtrusive, and while there was a queue to obtain tickets I had not long to wait. The size of the dedicated queueing area, buried below ground beside the foot of the tower, suggested that it got far busier and I had been wise to get there early. After watching a short film of aerial views of Chicago, it was time to get them for real, after a 66 second ride to the observation ``Skydeck'' on the 103rd floor of the tower.
The tower is effectively nine thin towers of square cross-section placed side-by-side. These rise to varying heights, and only two rise to the full 110 stories which made (and arguably still do make) the building the world's tallest. The record is now somewhat disputed, depending on how the height is measured (you might think it would be simple enough, but it isn't). Malaysia's twin Petronas Towers are 6m taller to the ``structural top'', which is the most commonly-accepted measure, but the Sears can claim to be taller in terms of the highest occupied floor and the height to the top of the roof. One of the towers of the World Trade Center in New York was the tallest if measured to the top of the antenna, while various masts and towers around the world can claim to be taller still but are not classed as ``buildings''. About the only thing not disputed is that at 443m (1454ft) the Sears Tower should be classed as Very Tall Indeed.
The views were fantastic. Because the tower is significantly taller than everything else in the city, and vastly taller than anything in its immediate vicinity, there are few obstructions and most places of significance in the city can be seen.
To the immediate east were the buildings of the Loop, and behind them the green expanses of Grant Park, leading to the shores of Lake Michigan. Further south lay Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears football team, and behind it the runway of Meigs Field airport, its lakeside runway covered in crosses to mark that it is no longer open (the Mayor had sent in bulldozers one evening to close it on rather dubious ``security'' grounds, much to the displeasure of the businessmen of the Loop). Just visible in the distance was the south shore of Lake Michigan and the state of Indiana.
To the south ran the Chicago river, crossed by many bridges, some of which were opened to allow the passage of a flotilla of small boats. In some cases this was causing long tailbacks on the roads. The areas alongside the river were industrial or else covered by one of the world's largest marshalling yards.
Westwards lay a vast expanse of low-rise buildings, the grid pattern of streets stretching far into the suburbs, while to the north lay the heart of the city. This was a veritable forest of skyscrapers, a mixture of architectural styles ranging from bland modern monoliths to highly ornate towers from the early twentieth century. My guide to the city singled out many buildings of architectural merit, and I spent some time trying to identify these.
By the time I was done admiring the views and reading the various panels describing the history of the city, the observation deck was quite busy. I, meanwhile, was hungry, and so after taking the lift down to the basement and purchasing a couple of postcards, I went out in search of lunch. I found a nearby Subway branch and purchased a ham & cheese baguette and a large soft drink.
Before going any further I had a little shopping to do, as I needed a US charger for my camera batteries. I had done my research back home and identified Ritz Cameras as the local equivalent of Jessop's, and moreover had the addresses of several of their outlets in the city. I found the nearest branch and purchased a suitable charge, complete with a second set of batteries. My next stop was at the central post office to obtain some stamps, which I eventually did after a considerable time spent queueing as the place seemed somewhat understaffed.
I spent a while walking around the streets admiring various historic buildings, before trying the Cultural Center again. It was open and I finally obtained my desired transport pass. I then continued north along Michigan Avenue, passing the bland expanse of the Illinois Center area to my right. The only building of note there is the AON (formerly BP-Amoco, formerly Standard Oil) Building, the city's second tallest. When built in 1973, this 346m (1136ft) tower was clad from head to toe in white marble imported from Italy (indeed from a quarry which once supplied Michelangelo), but to save money it was cut exceedingly thin. By the late eighties, the rigours of the Chicago climate had taken their toll and the cladding was falling off. The subsequent cost of replacing the marble with granite proved to be more than the original cost of construction.
A couple of blocks further north I reached the Chicago River. In this area the city's architects had done some of their finest work, with the elegant double-decked Michigan Avenue Bridge (like most, capable of opening); the Wrigley Building and Tribune Tower; the near-black terracotta-clad Carbide & Carbon Building; the twin ``corncob'' towers of Marina City, their lower floors occupied by huge spiralling parking garages while the upper stories are (no doubt very prestigious) apartments.
The Tribune Tower was worthy of further attention up close, it seems that no expense had been spared in its construction and the architects had gone for a level of decoration more akin to that of a Gothic cathedral. Indeed parts of it were from Gothic cathedrals: into its facade were set various items of stonework from famous buildings around the world (one hopes that these had been acquired during restoration works rather than through vandalism on the part of the tower's owners).
I continued northwards along the city's so-called ``Magnificent Mile'' to the Water Tower, an elegant Gothic-style structure dating from 1869. This is one of the oldest buildings remaining in the city, being one of the few to survive the disastrous 1871 fire (which according to popular legend was started by a Mrs O'Leary's cow kicking over a lantern). The associated pumping house next door contained a small information centre, in which I took a quick look, before continuing two blocks further north to the John Hancock Tower.
This is the city's third tallest building, and is of an unusual design, with diagonal cross-bracing running the entire height of its gently tapering exterior. Halfway up the spacing between stories changes, marking the demarcation between the lower office floors and upper residential areas. Around the back, a spiralling tower allows cars to ascend six floors and then cross a bridge into the building's interior.
I purchased a drink from a cafe and sat beside some fountains at the base of the tower to write some postcards while admiring the structure in front of me. I then decided that having come here I might as well take advantage of the clear conditions and make the ascent.
A brief video in the lift to the 94th floor explained that the building was the ``most recognisable in the world'', a statement I considered somewhat questionable -- I suspect most people wouldn't even include it in their top ten. The views were however most rewarding, offering an alternative bird's-eye impression of the city to that which I had had in the morning. The late afternoon sun was causing the skyscrapers to cast long shadows over Lake Michigan, while below Lakeshore Drive was crammed with the vehicles of the evening rush hour. A sightseeing helicopter was buzzing around the city, offering some wealthy visitor close-up views of the highlights.
The advertising boasted of the tower's ``Skywalk'', an opportunity to experience the altitude in the ``open air'' and hear the noises of the city below. This was something of an anticlimax -- while it was technically open-air, a black mesh shielded one from the outside world and made it impossible to take decent photographs. I couldn't help feeling that the fully open observation decks at the Empire State Building and Eiffel Tower were rather better, but apart from this, I felt that the ascent had been well worth it.
Once at ground level, I headed through a slightly grotty area in the direction of the nearest metro station, named Chicago (not such a daft name given it is on Chicago Avenue). In the Loop, I transferred above ground to the El for a better view, and headed back to the hotel.
I arrived there around 7.30, and had a rest for a while before heading out again for dinner. I dined at The Berghoff, a German-style restaurant on Adams Street which dates from 1898 and has a claim to fame in being the first place in Chicago to serve a legal drink after the end of Prohibition. Service was extremely quick but I found the food (some German dish whose name I forget) a little disappointing -- the speed at which it arrived suggested that it had been kept warm for some time rather than cooked to order.
Afterwards I talk a walk around the city by night, heading for the Sears Tower and then returning past a bizarre triangular tower which turned out to be a prison. Back at the hotel I found myself watching some programme on self-defence, including an explanation of what to do if someone throws you in a car boot (the answer seemed to be ``don't get thrown in the boot if you can avoid it''). I went to bed at 11.30.