Touring the great architecture of Chicago.

After coffee and bagels with Julie and Vivian, Claus and I head into downtown for the architectural boat tour offered by the Chicago Architecture Foundation. We board Chicago’s First Lady and set sail to see the densely packed landmarks.

The vantage point of the city from the river is unlike anything I’ve experienced. The multitude of buildings becomes an incredibly layered skyline, but still proximate and individually discernable. As we navigate the river, the buildings at times are perceived as background and at other times as objects. Each building can be inspected and admired individually, but as a collection they create an unparalleled tapestry.

The docent leading the tour has interesting information to share about the buildings and the city as well as some great anecdotes. Her tour is very refined and refreshingly informative.

[view from the mouth of the Chicago River]

[River City and Willis Tower]

[Aqua Tower]

[Marina City and Mies]

After disembarking the boat, Claus brings me to the famous Billy Goat Tavern on lower Michigan Avenue for a cheezborger. The dingy subterranean dinner was made famous by an early SNL skit with John Belushi. The mediocre cheezborger chased with a Schlitz draft in the windowless diner is a terrific experience.

[full bar on the left, cheezborger counter on the right]

The tour continues at the Illinois Institute of Technology to see the buildings by Mies van der Rohe. I’ve never been to the campus, but have admired the work in photos and drawings for many years. Seeing Crown Hall in person, one of the most renowned pieces of modern architecture in the world, is a very special experience to say the least.

[Crown Hall, built in 1956]

[interior of Crown Hall]

After checking out the other buildings Mies designed at IIT, we head over to see the University of Illinois at Chicago. I have three friends in LA who graduated from the school of architecture, so I thought it would be worth checking out. Claus and I make a lap around the northern part of the campus and check out the architecture building. The tapered Brutalist tower nearby catches our attention and we spend some time contemplating the unusual fenestration and the upwardly tapering form.

[University Hall designed by Walter Netsch]

We return to Claus’ place to reconvene with Julie and Vivian and to have Birgit and Bob (Claus’ mom and stepdad) and Bob’s son Nick over for dinner. It’s great to catch up with them and the barbecued rib dinner is fantastic.