I loved Chicago--it's one of my favorite cities in the US. It's a real working-class town, where progressives aren't afraid to be progressives, and with a real sense of its own radical history. As a history buff, I made the pilgrimage to a number of historical sites.
Chicago is also a diverse cultural melting pot--while riding on the bus, it was not unusual to hear conversations in four or five different languages, from Spanish to Russian to Korean.
And it has some of the best museums in the US.
Alas, as a Florida-ite, the only thing I didn't like was the weather. It was cloudy and drizzly the entire week, and the temperatures barely got into the low 70's. Brrr.
Lake Michigan.
Hyde Park area.
Hyde Park area.
Museum of Science and Industry
Chicago skyline. The dark building on the left, once known as the Sears Tower, was until recently the tallest building in the world. In 2009, it was leased by a British insurance company and renamed, but all the locals and tourists still call it "the Sears Tower".
Field Museum
Skyline from Lake Michigan.
Lake Michigan shore
Shedd Aquarium
Adler Planetarium
Buckingham Fountain. Some of us may remember this fountain from the opening credits of "Married. . . With Children".
The Hilton Hotel on Michigan Avenue, site of the 1968 Democratic convention riots. The whole world was watching.
Grant Park, across the street from the Hilton. The riot started when police tear-gassed protesters around this statue of General Logan. That's me in the photo.
Me at Navy Pier.
Cloud Gate, also known as "the silver bean".
Crown Fountain
Lincoln Park
Lincoln Park Zoo
Freighter on Lake Michigan
Chicago River
Commemorative statue at the spot of the Haymarket Riot.
The Biograph Theater, where Depression-era bank robber and "public enemy number one" John Dillinger was ambushed and killed by the FBI.
This empty lot is where the SMC Carriage Company once stood, the site of the St Valentines Day Massacre.