Architectural Tour Around Chicago - Part Two

We continue with the architectural tour of Chicago by boat.....


This building with the funny octagonal shape on top started out being called Mather Tower. Then in was listed as the Lincoln Tower in the Michigan-Wacker Historic Roster, and now it is just called by it's address: 75 E. Wacker Drive. Some Chicagoans refer to it as the "inverted spyglass" due to its design. The 21 octagonal stories sit atop 20 stories of the rectangular building. It is Chicago's most slender high-rise, at 100 x 65 at the base, and the very top is only 9 feet across. The building was completely restored in 2002.

This curved building in the middle is pretty cool looking. It is 333 Wacker Drive. I love the reflections from the buildings across the river. This is an office building, and was featured in the movie, "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" as where Ferris Bueller's father worked. It is 489 feet tall and has 36 floors.

This is the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers that is shaped like a riverboat or paddle wheel boat. (It looks more like it at the other angle, but I wasn't fast enough with my camera!)

This is the old post office building. Nothing too significant here EXCEPT

When I zoomed in, I spotted the Chicago Blackhawks' flag, which put a smile on my face. Our hockey team won the Stanley Cup this year. So that building may be old, dilapidated, and most of the windows broken, but somebody sneaked in there and hung that flag! Go Blackhawks!

This is the Civic Opera Building, or Lyric Opera House. It is built to look like a large chair/throne. The story goes that a young woman tried to make it in New York, but they turned her down, saying her voice wasn't good enough. So her rich husband built his wife her OWN stage in Chicago - the Civic Opera Building. The back of the chair faces New York - snubbing THEM. The opera house has 3,563 seats, making it the second largest opera auditorium in North America.

source: Wikipedia

We passed a group of kayakers. Don't know if they belonged to a club, if they were taking an architectural tour via a kayak, or what!

This is River City. They are condos on top of a marina, right on the Chicago River.

River City on the right looking back towards the skyline; Sear's Tower (tall black building) in background. (It is now called Willis Tower, but it will forever in my mind be called SEARS Tower!)

Speaking of ahem, Sears Tower, here is a river view of those skydeck windows

Here is another view:  If you want to see what it looks like from up there, go to my post here.

Lake Point Tower - This was the highest reinforced concrete building in the world at the time it was built in 1968. It held the record for tallest residential-only building in Chicago until 2004. Contrary to popular belief, that is NOT a revolving restaurant on top.

This building is called 311 South Wacker Driver. It is 958 ft tall and has 65 floors. There are two distinguishing features on this building. 1) The color - the building is made with concrete, Texas red granite, and glass. The windows have a bright blue tint on them. 2) the interesting "wedding cake" structure, or crown,  on the roof. "It is a 105-foot tall translucent cylinder, surrounded by four small cylinders.....This makes it one of the most visible Chicago skyscrapers at night as the crown is brightly illuminated. The five cylinders on top are lit at night by 1,852 fluorescent tubes and a lantern at the top changes colors for various holidays and special events." Wikipedia

Our tour guide told us that the lights were so bright that it changed the flight pattern of some birds; they were getting confused as to days and nights. The building had to dim the lights a little after that!

This fountain looks pretty innocuous, BUT

EVERY hour on the hour, it sprays across the river and you COULD get wet. Our boat missed it by 10 minutes, although we would have enjoyed getting wet because it turned out to be a hot day!

Here we are, looking back at the fountain.

A view of the skyline with the water taxi in the foreground.

Another view of the beautiful city of Chicago.

I hope you enjoyed the tour. Be careful disembarking from the boat!

(Again, I relied on Wikipedia a LOT for info, and a little on tour guide information!)

A View from the Edge - No Really!

A few weeks ago a couple of my friends and I went downtown to Chicago for a fun day. Here was the itinerary that my friend, Kim, emailed to me:

 9:20AM Be at my house (Soon after we will pick Patty up at her house)

 9:40 Drive to train station (find parking spot, pay for parking, buy train tickets, get coffee (if desired)

 10:04 Get on train

 11:00 Arrive Union Station

 11:05 Go to the Bathroom

 11:10 Walk a block to Willis Tower stepping over assorted bums on the way

 11:20 Buy tickets to Ledge - $17.50 ea. Up we go! Take a ton of pictures

 12:10 Walk to lunch at Elephant and Castle

 1:22 Take cab to Art Institute Hopefully we will get one that doesn't stink!

 1:30 Get to Art Institute $18.00 admission 1:35 Get all "artsy fartsy"

 4:00 approx. Get cab to train station. At that time the trains run about every 20 min.

Therese's first train ride!

 
Kim and myself - friends since the fourth grade! That's, um, let's just say too many years to count!

Arrive at Union Station - Chicago!

How to feel small - look up!

 

We found out that there was an HOUR wait to get up to the top of the Willis Tower (Sears Tower). I have a hard time calling it Willis Tower as I grew up calling it the SEARS Tower! We had to go through a security check like in an airport - remove coats, sweaters, etc, put all bags and clothing through the x-ray machine, and we walk through a metal detector. The lines moved fairly quick.

Of course, once we got past security there were more lines to endure. Here's a shot of the Skydeck elevators to take us to the top. (Elevators on either side)

Thankfully they didn't shove us in like cattle in the elevator - there was room to breathe. A video screen at the top of the elevator flashed every few seconds as to what floor we were passing.

I didn't time it myself, but I read that it takes 3 minutes, 30 seconds to reach the top. It didn't even seem that long.... Before I show you some embarrassing photos, let me give you some interesting facts about the building. Willis Tower  (still called the Sears Tower by many, including MOI) was the tallest building in the world, when it was completed in 1973. It held that record for 25 years! It IS the tallest building in the United States, AND the SEVENTH tallest standing structure in the WORLD. (Wikipedia) In 2009 the Skydeck was refurbished. The owners installed three glass-bottomed retractable balconies on the 103rd floor, that extend 4 feet out and and are 1,353 feet above Wacker Drive. 

photo from internet

We reached the Skydeck and immediately went to the balconies. Of course, there were lines. But not too bad. Finally it was our turn. The couple behind us was nice enough to take our photo.

Looking straight down

Free falling

Okay, have you wiped your tears away to go on and see the rest of the photos? Here are some of the views from the Sky Deck. The tall black building in the distance is the John Hancock. (remember I'm taking pictures through a dirty window!)

Many, many boats

More Chicago skyline

That domed building protruding out into Lake Michigan is the Adler Planetarium

This interesting looking building with the boats underneath is called "River City". Ah to be rich and famous! Or at least rich!

So! That's just part of our fun day! Next post will cover the Art Institute of Chicago. Stay tuned!