All About Architecture in the Windy City, Chicago

Monday, September 22, 2025

Chicago

About Architecture in the Windy City, Chicago

Today was devoted to seeing, appreciating and understanding the astounding Modernist architecture of Chicago. Indeed, the city has landmark buildings each of which competes for attention with the other. The Chicago river, as it winds its way through the city, makes the perfect mode by which to take in the towering sights of skyscrapers like no other. But to begin at the beginning.

Off on the Commuter Train (the Metra) to Downtown Chicago:

I awoke at 5.00 am to start teaching my classes in Bombay—with the alarm, of course. I taught two classes from 5.30 till 7.30am, then had a half hour break during which time I had a decaff coffee and a small bowl of overnight oats. Then, I taught another class from 8.00 to 9.00 am. By 9.00 am, I was done, showered, dressed and got ready to leave the house with Marielou for a day out in the Windy City. We were blessed with an exceedingly beautiful day—the sun shone warm and golden upon us (perhaps too warm for late-September) but we were happy to take it (rather than the promised wet spells).

We carried a canned strawberry smoothie with each of us and had it while awaiting the commuter train (the Metra) to Chicago city. The journey took 45 minutes on a slow train and reminded me in many ways of our Metro-North journey from Southport to Grand Central Station in New York City. Marielou had purchased online return tickets for both of us and so off we went, sipping our smoothies during the 20 minutes that we waited in the Waiting Room for the train to arrive.

Once at Union Station, a really grand architectural masterpiece (similar to Union Station in Washington DC or Grand Central in New York), filled with Baroque decoration, Neo-Classical columns and much Amtrak information and posters all over (as Chicago is a very active hub for cross-country rail service in the USA), we paused to take pictures in a vast concourse that dwarfed us. I was struck to see the place absolutely filled with Amish folk. Apparently, there is a huge settlement of them in neighboring Indiana and since they reject flying as a means of travel (too highly technological), they only travel long-distance by train. I was sharply reminded of the film, “Witness” with Harrison Ford as I took in the sights of so many of them.

on the Water Taxi to Michigan Avenue:

Marielou, who knows Chicago really well (she has lived here for over a half-century and has worked in the city) suggested that, in the interest of minimizing the amount of walking we would do, we take the Water Taxi to Michigan Avenue. It was a brainwave. For $8 a pop, not only did we save our energy but we had our first experience of being out on the river. It was exciting to use this mode of transport—we were only two of a total of four passengers in the taxi.

And it was fun as we passed by buildings that towered above us. We’d have much more of this on the First Lady Architecture Tour just a little later.

Taking the First Lady Architectural Tour of Chicago:

Marilou highly recommended the Architecture Tour of Chicago which is one of the most popular touristic items in the city. While there are many companies that offer it (Shoreline, for instance), she insisted we take the one offered by the Architecture Center as it would be most comprehensive. Accordingly, we walked to the Center and took a flight of stairs down to the riverfront. Chicago is interesting (like Edinburgh, Scotland) in that it is constructed on two tiers, each offering a wealth of shops, restaurants, etc. In fact, the city has developed a waterfront walk that runs almost the entire length of the river downtown and many famous restaurants and steak houses (Smith and Wollensky, Legal Seafood, etc.) have taken us spots along this route

We did obtain our tickets for the 1.00 pm tour which would last exactly 90 minutes. The ticket was a pricey $56 each—yes, I have to say that I am getting sticker shock at every point as prices in the USA seem to have soared since the time I lived here—and yes, that was pre-Covid).With really nice deck side seats, one behind the other, we were off and away.

Our docent was Susan and indeed she was brilliant. For the next hour and a half, we cruised gently along the river, passing by a million bridges (I certainly did not remember that Chicago had so many) with their 19th century impressive iron decorative work which makes each one unique. Every building, as we glided by it, has a story and we were told about its origin, its architects, its most distinctive features, etc. Susan’s knowledge was deep and impressive and there was tremendous clarity in her voice and commentary that made listening to and comprehending it a real pleasure. We saw several landmark buildings, such as the Gothic-inspired Chicago Tribune Building, the garish Trump Tower—the one with the largest letters proclaiming its name—the ‘Mart’—created by Marshall Field to be the warehouse of the world, a straight black box of a building (the handiwork of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe—which I found least interesting), right next to it, the ‘Corn Cob’ buildings that I found most interesting, the building that resembled a bottle of champagne (green length with real gold highlights at the very top) and the most famous Chicago skyscraper of them all the former Sears Tower (at one time the world’s tallest building—it is now the Burj-Khalifa in Dubai which I have also scaled), now known as the Willis Tower as poor Sears-Roebuck has faded into history. We passed by the famous Navy Pier (which apparently comes into its own at night and which contains the world’s first Ferris wheel—designed and created by a name with the last name of Ferris—who knew?—after whom it is named—and apparently Chicago’s answer to the Eiffel Tower in Paris). Of course, we passed by dozens of other significant buildings, but honestly, after a while, each one merged into the other and it was impossible for me to remember more than the ones I have listed above.

Ninety minutes later, after taking in the most astounding sights, in terms of design, height and engineering of modern urban masterpieces, we alighted. I was hungry and felt as if we needed lunch.

Lunch at Chipotle:

Luckily for us, a Chipotle was right across the road and sharing a burrito loaded with marinated, grilled chicken, brown rice, beans, sour cream, lettuce, tomato, salsa and cheese—how on earth do they manage to pile all of it on to the tortilla is beyond me—we found ourselves seats and sipping on tall glasses of lemonade (most welcome given the mounting warmth of the day),we split the burrito in half and enjoyed it fully. It was a terrific meal for a terrific day, but we did not linger too long over it. It was time to move on.

Off to the Architecture Center:

The Architecture Center that runs the Architecture Cruise on the river through a company called First Lady, has its office very conveniently located just one tier above the boarding pier. Marilou remembers a time when entry and a vist to this venue was free of charge—she has taken many visitors to the city to this spot. But post-Covid, everything costs money and a lot of it too! So entry is usually $8 each but with our tickets for the cruise, we were offered a discount and bought them for $5 each.

Inside, the biggest highlight is a model of the city of Chicago. I had seen a similar model of this kind featuring London at the Museum of Architecture in Bloomsbury, London, many years ago, so I am very familiar with the architectural genius of presenting such an item for viewing. Every building is done to scale. They are white clay structures that imitate and reflect the architectural design of the structures as they punctuate both banks of the Chicago River. You can also see Millennium Park (which, as its name suggest, was built to mark the start of the 21st century and a new millennium). It is also downtown, beautifully landscaped and features a few interesting structures like a classical Greek crescent of columns, a modern theater, a skate boarding rink, etc.

But its single, most popular feature is colloquially called The Bean. It is a massive sculpture, the brainchild of Indian-British sculptor, Anish Kapoor, shaped like a gigantic upturned bean. Its surface is covered with a silver, metallic, reflecting paint of sorts that captures the entire Chicago skyline as it acts as a mirror. The concept is simply ingenious and because people see themselves reflected in the mirror, you can see all of them sitting or standing and clicking pictures of themselves. You could spend an awful lot of time in this venue, circumnavigating it and taking in the sights of the many buildings. We did take out time but, ultimately, moved on. As we exited the Park, we saw another novel fountain that had images reflected on its sides which produced jets of water from strategic spots, eg. from out of the mouth of a man whose face was on the fountain’s sides. All these modernist aspects of contemporary arts and architecture are fascinating and it is hard to fathom how these effects are achieved.

Home on the Train to Northbrook:

And then, it was time for us (at past 4.30 pm) to think of returning home as Marilou’s dogs needed to be fed and walked. We had a longish walk back to the train station (about 20 minutes) as we walked along the grid that makes up the downtown area. Once we found our train, we hopped into it, found seats side by side in a Quiet Car (that did not allow us to talk at all—not even to each other, forget about talking on a phone) and then we were off. The return journey took another 45 minutes. We picked our car up from the parking lot and we were home where the dogs gave us an uproarious greeting before being let outdoors to tinkle.

Dinner at Home During a Relaxing Evening:

All that was left was for us to kick back. Marilou had chores, the dogs to walk and dinner to organize. I excused myself and took a nap as I was still jetlagged, had woken up early and not had my usual afternoon nap. Hence, I hit the sack and while believing it would be a mere 20 minutes, did not get up for a whole hour. Once up, I joined ML in the kitchen. She insisted I have a gin and tonic and she joined me in one as we loaded it up with sliced cucumber, freshly muddled basil leaves from her garden and plenty of lime. It was such a refreshing end to the day as we made our way to the dining table. ML brought the lovely Asian Salad she had prepared—a substantial affair with glass noodles, freshly sliced veg (beans, snow peas), bean sprouts galore and shredded chicken and a lovely dressing based on peanut butter. It was delicious with a squeeze of lime juice and with our gimlets, we had a really lovely meal. Of course, we chatted nineteen to the dozen and before you know it, both of us were fading away and were ready to call it a day.

Yes, we had covered an awful lot during the day—Union Station, a ride in a Water Taxi, an Architectural Cruise on the River, a Visit to the Architecture Center and a visit to Millennium Park to take in Anish Kapoor’s Bean. I also realized that the train fare was a skinny $2.50 one way—which made a return downtown most economical—so, of course, we would go there again, probably on a wet day when being inside a museum would provide the perfect antidote to the rain

Until tomorrow, see ya’ …