Explore Chicago Like Never Before
Thursday, May 05, 2005

Every architect seems to know early on in life what they want to be. I recall visiting the main branch of the public library in the town where I grew up regularly, fascinated with books about architecture. When it came to that section that described modern architecture in North America, all the books seemed to be focused on one city – Chicago.

The Mayor’s Office of Special Events, as part of their summer festival series, is staging “Great Chicago Places and Spaces” May 20 - 22, 2005. This festival presents Chicago’s design heritage in a way that few cities are able.

More than 200 free festival tours throughout downtown and Chicago’s many diverse neighborhoods take place Saturday, May 21, 2005 and Sunday, May 22, 2005. Past tour guides and speakers include Stanley Tigerman, Lucien LaGrange, Bill Kurtis, Adrian Smith, Dirk Lohan and Frank Gehry. Tours are available via bus, boat, trolley, bicycle and on foot.

These tours tend to highlight out of the way places one rarely gets to see. Modestly, I’d attempt to use this column space to hawk the tour programs I’m presenting if it weren’t that there are so many other programs that are even better: ever want to see the inside of a bridgehouse when the bridges are up? It’s something straight out of a Jules Verne novel. How’s about a bicycle tour of Chicago – just name your neighborhood or topic, and bring your bike and helmet. Or, have you ever wanted to take a Chicago River boat tour, hosted by Geoff Bair of WTTW fame? For thrills – or vertigo, depending on your point of view - Rooftop Real Estate looks at Chicago buildings rooftop by rooftop. Ever wonder what ‘dream projects’ have been proposed for Chicago over the years, or what either of the World’s Fairs looked like? Or, are you looking for a family program? Set the kids onto the zillion-piece Lego set at Northbridge, to build a model of Chicago. It’s all here, as part of the tour programs. What’s more, the tours are all free of charge.

If that’s not enough, a pre event forum, Great Conversations’ will feature Stanley Tigerman, Lee Bey and Bruce Mah discussing “How Chicago can lead in new socially responsible design’ on Friday at 630 p.m., in the Arthur Rubloff Auditorium of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Visitors to Chicago who want a comprehensive Chicago architecture experience can participate in the GCPS Immersion Weekend. For a set fee, participants will have the weekend programmed for them with special tours, reserved spaces on GCPS tours, transportation and a stay in the newly renovated Hotel Blake in Printers Row.

A complete list all of tours is available online or via brochure in April. Select tours are available for online registration from April 25-May13, but participants can sign up the day of the tour for most tours. Day-of registration begins at 7:30 a.m. each day at event headquarters, the Archicenter (224 South Michigan Avenue); tours fill up quickly, so early arrival is highly recommended. The Archicenter is just a couple steps away from the Loop Elevated, and reasonably close to all Metra stations.

Only Chicago could stage anything that even vaguely resembles Great Chicago Places and Spaces. This is your city – enjoy!

By the way, did I mention anything about the tours that show the train stations of Clinton Street, or the birth of the office building, or perhaps the link between railroads and skyscrapers? Maybe, I promised not to…

Darrel Babuk, AIA, MRAIC, LEED AP, is an Architect, and a noted speaker and writer on issues combining architecture & transportation. He is a Senior Associate at DLK Civic Design in Chicago, Illinois, and works with clients in their Transportation and Transit Planning department.