CHICAGO, WINDY CITY - AUGUST 1982

MANY YEARS BEFORE THE MUSICAL...

«Checagou», meaning «wild onion» or «garlic», was the name the Potawatomi tribe called the marshes on which Chicago was later built. Located in north-eastern Illinois at the south-western tip of Lake Michigan, Chicago's official geographic coordinates are 41°53′0″North, 87°39′0″West. It sits on the continental divide at the site of the Chicago Portage, connecting the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes watersheds. Chicago has now a population of 2.9 million. If you take into account the greater metropolitan area known as Chicagoland the population grows to more than 9.4 million, making it the third most populated city in the United States.

***


"VIEW TO THE LAKE - The Portuguese Tourism Office was very well located in 1982. The view from the John Hancock Building towards the Michigan Lake was superb!"

***

Chicago is famous for its architecture. Frank Lloyd Wright and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Frank Geary, as well as the so-called «Chicago seven» - James Freed, Tom Beeby, Larry Booth, Stuart Cohen, James Nagle, Stanley Tigerman, and Ben Weese - have constructed buildings of varying styles in the city!


"THE WATER TOWER, located on the Magnificent Mile of North Michigan Avenue, was built in 1869 by architect William Boyington. It is deemed to have been the only surviving structure after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, and serves as the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau Visitor's Welcome Centre"


"CRUISING - A cruise in Lake Michigan is a perfect opportunity to spot the famous Chicago architecture. In fact, starting in the early 1880s, the Chicago School pioneered steel-frame construction and the use of large amounts of glass. These were the first modern skyscrapers. Here we can see at least the Sears Tower and the Standard Oil Building..."




"SEARS TOWER is the tallest building in the United States, and the views are fantastic, but the city also helps a lot! The John Hancock Building, the magnificent black structure seen in the photo, is a 344 m-tall skyscraper designed by Fazlur Khan and, when completed in 1969, was the tallest building in the world outside New York City. The building contains the highest residences in the world"

***

Further to the famous buildings, Chicago shows also an impressive display of contemporary works. The Public Art Program of Chicago was a success that inspired more than 200 similar programs in U.S. cities!


"CHAGALL'S 1974 FOUR SEASONS - A 21 meter long, 4.2 meter high and 3 meter wide mosaic depicting the four seasons, standing at the First National Bank Plaza... !"


"MIRÓ - Chicago by Miró, located outside 69 West Washington, is a 12 meter high reinforced concrete sculpture designed mid 1960's and installed 1981, anticipating our visit and our passion for Miró...


"PICASSO'S unnamed statue, often referred to as the "Chicago Picasso," is a 15 meter high 1967 sculpture, and can be found in a public square on the south side of the Richard J. Daley Centre at 50 W Washington Street"

***

Chicago's urban context is organized within a grid pattern. The pattern is modified by the shoreline, the three branches of the Chicago River, the system of rail lines, several diagonal streets, the expressways, and hundreds of bridges and viaducts.


"CHINATOWN - The neighbourhood is on the near South Side. We had a noice dim sum lunch on Sunday"




"MICHIGAN AVENUE is a north-south street in Chicago. At the north end it merges into Lake Shore Drive. Through portions of its northern part, it is a double decked road, including a two level bridge over the Chicago River. A portion of Michigan Avenue North of the Chicago River is referred to as the Magnificent Mile. It is the home of Chicago's famous Water Tower landmark"


"ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO is one of the great art museums of the world. The European painting and sculpture collection - more than 2,000 works - is considered one of the finest in the world. It is represented by works dating from the 13th century through the mid-20th century, including a rare group of 15th-century Spanish, French, and German paintings as well as 17th- and 18th-century paintings from most of the European nations. Impressionism and Postimpressionism is also well represented"


"GOLD COAST - Lake Shore and John Hancock... The Gold Coast is Chicago's wealthiest neighbourhood. The zone extends along the lakefront from Oak Street to North Avenue, and the housing is a mixture of 19th century brownstones and concrete high-rises, mostly from around the 1960s"


"GOLD COAST ART FAIR - The «Grand Daddy» of American art festivals, attracts over 400 artists and 600,000 visitors. The free festival is set along city streets and sidewalks in the gallery-filled River North neighbourhood. Seen from the apartment where we were staying, it looked much quieter than it actually was"

***

Luis' apartment, where we stayed, had a wonderful location at the Gold Coast, and superb views...


"LIVING ROOM - Wall glass windows and mirrors made a tremendous combination..."


"DAYTIME - Towards Lake Michigan!"


"SUNSET - Looking south..."


"NIGHT - Incredible view from bedroom..."