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Trip: Chicago 2005-A (C05A)
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Chicago, August 19 - August 25, 2005
As a kid I lived near the Chicago suburb of Wheaton for six years. During those years, I went into the city on school trips or with the family a handful of times, not a lot, but enough that combined with other factors left me rather uninterested in the city. And that has been apparent in my adult life. Although I've driven through the city a handful of times and my sister now lives in one of the outer suburbs, I've made only one brief sightseeing visit into the city as an adult - to pick up a site affiliated with the National Park Service. And then there was the Christmas where my sister's family, my folks and I crossed through the city to share a meal with my brother-in-law's family. Within a few days we all ended up with a bout of stomach flu.
I go to the ACM Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining Conference almost every year, and in 2005 the conference was held in a downtown hotel just off Michigan Avenue. I figured I'd tack on some weekend sightseeing so that I could get a bit of an adult perspective of the city. I have to say that I'm more impressed now than I was as a kid, and I enjoyed my sightseeing. Even if the city still doesn't "wow" me.
I have created some entries on Worldisround where you will find pictures from my trip:
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Friday August 19 -
Because I was heading to Chicago, which is a major hub for a couple airlines, I had a direct flight to the city. In a very cramped seat. I had the usual lack of space between my knees and the seat in front of me (at least the person in front of me didn't try to force the seat back), but even the skinny person sitting next to me commented that the seat also seemed to be unusually narrow.
I got to the city and settled into my hotel room at the conference hotel, the Hyatt Regency Chicago on East Wacker, just a couple blocks from where Michigan Avenue crosses the Chicago River.
I then headed out, walking over to nearby Millennium Park. There was an aerial photo exhibit featuring Chicago sites, so I checked that out. The "Bean", the oddly-shaped highly polished, reflective sculpture called "Cloud Gate", was in the midst of being re-polished, so it was mostly blocked off, limiting my views of it. But they were nearing completion of the polish job, so I ended up getting a much better view of it later in the trip.
I headed south through Grant Park, stopping to check out Buckingham Fountain, the fountain featured in the opening credits of the old TV show Married... With Children. I eventually reached the Field Museum of Natural History. It was a regular field trip destination when I was a kid, so I thought I'd check it out again. They had a different tyrannosaurus rex on display than they did when I was a kid, but beyond that the collection was just an odd mix of indigenous people items, plants, rocks, items from ancient Egypt, and soils. Plenty of kids were touring the exhibits, but the museum didn't fall into the annoying trap of dumbing down the displays for kids - an unfortunate trap that a lot of museums fall into nowadays. Even so, other than showing a lot of stuff that the museum has collected over the years, they didn't really "teach" much. I recall being more impressed as a kid.
After leaving the museum, I headed out onto a nearby peninsula to check out the outsides of Adler Planetarium and Shedd Aquarium. I then followed the shore of Lake Michigan north back towards my hotel.
Dinner at the hotel and then a walk around town north of the Chicago River to locate some possible nightlife options and to pick up a CTA "L" (Elevated Train) pass. Later that evening I put the pass to use, taking the red line north to "Boystown", the gay neighborhood along Northalstead Street. I checked out the Lucky Horseshoe Lounge, which would become a regular nightspot for me, and followed that with the dance bar Spin.
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Among my after dinner finds was the Billy Goat Tavern, inspiration of Saturday Night Live's old "Cheezborger Cheezborger Cheezborger " sketches. I'd eat there later in the trip. |
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My experience with Hyatts has generally been quite good over the years, and my room at the Hyatt Regency Chicago on East Wacker made a positive impression when I walked through the door. But then I started to unpack. No desk. No table. The only place to unpack my typical "drawer" clothes was onto a shelf under the TV, just inches off the floor. There was no place in the shower to put down soap or shampoo except on the shower floor. The toilet stopped up repeatedly, and my towels disappeared. When I complained to the front desk about the lack of desk or table, I was told that as a business hotel most of their guests are just there for one night and thus don't need them. This was actually our conference hotel, and it had extensive facilities for conferences. I doubt we were the only conference to stick around for more than one night. |
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I don't use hotel minibars, so when I checked in I didn't pay much attention to the clerk's warning about the minibar's sensitivity to items being moved. I'm not sure what the warning was for, though, as I didn't have a minibar either. |
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I woke up to find a check-out bill two nights into my 6-night stay, so I had to make trip to the front desk to clear that up. The clerk told me it was a "preliminary" bill - first and only time I have ever received a "preliminary" bill - and I average about 100 hotel nights a year. |
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Information in the room reported that if I didn't want the morning papers, they would deduct the cost from my bill. But when the papers stopped showing up (I was at the end of the hall, so it's not likely that someone walking by took them), I was told that they were complementary. |
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For the money involved, I can say unequivocally that the Hyatt Regency Chicago was a terrible hotel experience. Lousy room amenities, poor toilet plumbing and non-responsive idiots at the front desk. Their bill stated, "Our goal is to provide every guest with an exceptional stay." Well, it was exceptional, but not in a good way. Needless to say, I don't recommend it. The average Motel 6 room is more accommodating. And a lot less money. |
Saturday August 20 -
Today was my only full sightseeing day of the trip. It was hot and muggy, something I don't experience much of any more now that I live in Seattle. The skies threatened rain for awhile, but they eventually cleared out.
I began the day looking for a museum that no longer exists and then made my way over to Water Tower Place, and from there to the John Hancock Building. The John Hancock Building and the Sears Tower both have an observation deck near the top, providing great views of downtown Chicago and the surrounding area. I'd hit both of them on this trip because they are far enough apart that they feature fairly different views. Hancock, at the north end of the downtown area, is near the waterfront, and its Hancock Observatory features good views of Navy Pier, the north beaches, and of course the Sears Tower. The Chicago Air & Water Show was underway this weekend, so I also got some decent views of the acrobatics of some jets.
After finishing up at Hancock, I headed over to the lakeshore and followed it over to the Navy Pier. Lots of people were out because of the air show, and from this area I got some good views of some of the acrobatics. The Navy Pier itself now seems to be mostly family-oriented attractions and amusement park features, not really my cup of tea, but I enjoyed the walk around it.
Then it was back to the hotel to get cleaned up. I took the "L" back up to Northalstead, so that I could check it out by day as my "arbitrary" Chicago neighborhood - I like picking some neighborhood out for exploration when I visit cities I'm not very familiar with. But except for a few "funky" or gay-themed businesses, the neighborhood seemed to be rather ordinary and not very interesting. In fact, "only in Chicago" sites more or less eluded me during this visit. Sure, some of the skyscraper architecture was impressive, but take away the "L" and the lakefront, and downtown Chicago actually reminded me of downtown Minneapolis, only bigger and more spread out.
I got an early dinner at Ann Sathers - "A Northalstead Institution" - and then returned downtown and back to my hotel, where I picked up the conference materials and began reading through them back in my room.
I headed back to Northalstead a few hours later for nightlife, hitting the Lucky Horseshoe Lounge again and then the impressive Sidetrack. But with the conference starting tomorrow morning, I didn't stay out too late.
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The Magnificent Mile follows a stretch of Michigan Avenue, and features a fair amount of shopping and restaurants. It also seems to be the place where various famous Chicagoans are honored, including Paul Harvey, Jack Brickhouse, Ann Landers, and others. |
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As in Seattle, there was a lot of panhandling in the the city center. But I was struck by one difference. In Seattle, panhandlers are mostly white whereas in Chicago they were mostly black. I'm not sure what explains the different demographics. |
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In Seattle, there was a big debate underway about how intrusive an above-street level monorail might be in spite of the proposed slim design. Folks from Seattle who fret about it should take a look a the "L" in the Loop. The raised tracks cover entire roads. |
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The Illinois & Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor, which is affiliated with the National Park Service, preserves the waterway that helped give Chicago its significance. The 97-mile canal created a link between Lake Michigan and the Illinois River, and thus the Mississippi River and its tributaries, connecting the farms and ranches of the Midwest with northeastern markets. |
Sunday August 21 -
Conference workshops began to day. During the lunch break I took a walk along the Chicago River. For dinner I went to Ed Debevic's, a classic diner full of the right atmosphere and the right attitude, and food that justified both. When a song popped up, the wait staff hopped up onto the counter to dance with the music.
For nightlife I stayed downtown, checking out the quiet scene at the Second Story.
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Sign at Ed Debevic's: "When in Chicago Eat at Eds" |
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Sign at Ed Debevic's: "Ask for Velveeta on your next Ed's cheeseburger" |
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Sign at Ed Debevic's: "You are now leaving Ed Debevic's ... and on your way back to Grim Reality!" |
Monday August 22 -
The main program of the conference got underway today. I headed out again during the lunch break. Today I hit the Sears Tower Skydeck to check out its perspective of downtown Chicago, including good views of Soldier Field, the Field Museum, Grant Park, the Hancock Building, and the Chicago River. I'd have to say that it provided better views than the Hancock Observatory did, but both towers are worth a visit.
I had dinner at the Billy Goat Tavern & Grill, ordering the "Cheezborger", chips (no fries) and Diet Coke. Not quite the combo featured in the early days of Saturday Night Live, but it worked for me. In addition to its SNL fame, the Billy Goat Tavern & Grill is apparently the source of the curse that has kept the Cubs from the World Series for decades now. Reportedly back in 1945, the owner was prevented from bringing his goat into the World Series where the Cubs were playing, so he cursed the team. The Cubs lost out to Detroit that year, and they haven't appeared in the World Series since then.
Conference activities continued well into the evening with tonight's poster sessions being held at the Field Museum. I finished with the posters more than an hour before the busses were scheduled to take people back to the hotel, so I decided to walk back.
Nightlife at the Lucky Horseshoe.
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Why is Chicago called the Windy City? You'd think that its location on the shore of Lake Michigan would factor into the explanation. However, the origin of the nickname came from the windbags promoting the city back in the 1800s. |
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27 million people attended the 1893 Worlds Fair in Chicago. At that time, there were only 65 million Americans. |
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Revolving doors seem to be very popular in downtown Chicago. |
Tuesday August 23 -
Conference by day. I sampled the Gentry on State piano lounge downtown for nightlife.
Wednesday August 24 -
The conference wrapped up today. I had possible plans to get together with my sister and her family this evening, but it was the first day of school for her kids, and with all the associated hassles and me not having a car we shelved those plans. That freed up a bit of time, so I headed over to the Chicago Art Institute. It seemed smaller than I remembered, but just a few months earlier I was touring the Vatican's collections, so I suppose that explained my perspective. I recognized a number of the paintings, such as American Gothic, painted by some guy that my Grandma had dated, and several others that were featured in an art-themed game that my sister once had - Masterpiece, I think it was called.
On the way back to the hotel, I made another stop at Millennium Park, where the Bean (Cloud Gate) was now a lot more visible. It is a rather interesting sculpture, especially for the distorted skyline views that its peculiar shape reflects.
I got dinner at Red Fish, a Cajun restaurant I came upon during one of my city walks. I followed that with an evening photo walk, covering sites along the Chicago River and the Loop down into Grant Park to Buckingham Fountain, where they put on a colorful lightshow at night.
On my way back to the hotel I stopped at a grocery store where I picked up some loaves of Brownberry Ovens 100% Whole Wheat, my favorite store-bought bread (I can't find it in Seattle). I'd bring them home with me. Just as I reached the hotel, some fireworks got underway over the lake, so I watched those for a bit.
One last night of nightlife at the Lucky Horseshoe.
(btw, I know the painter's name was Grant Wood.)
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The entrance to the Chicago Institute of Art is flanked by two lion sculptures, complete with tails sticking out. So teens and young adults - mostly men, but I did see one woman do this - climbed up on the pedestal that supported the lion and straddled the tail, making it look a lot like there was 2 feet of something sticking straight out from their groin as their friends obligingly snapped their pictures. |
Thursday August 25 -
A very lazy day since for some reason I wasn't able to get a flight back to Seattle until 4PM. With checkout at noon, I was able to sleep in and take my time getting ready. Taxi to the airport followed by plenty of time to kill once I got there. A minor annoyance at the American Airlines check-in. When it was my turn to check in, I approached the free kiosk, did my check-in business and then got stuck when it didn't give me any info about checking my suitcase. Turns out that I was at a kiosk that was for people who didn't have luggage to check. Huh? There was a cluster of kiosks for checking in, and there was a sign about the luggage by the kiosks to the right, I checked in on one to the left, and nothing on the kiosk I used said anything about no luggage - until it finished without asking me about checking luggage. I had assumed that the sign was for the kiosks that it was near, not for the entire cluster. I actually found myself in an absurd argument with the airline clerk over this instead of just getting the trivial situation corrected.
Beyond that, the flight home was shaken by a lot of clear sky turbulence, but ultimately was uneventful.
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Over western Montana, I got some excellent views and photos of the Camas Plain area, a landscape of large ripples on the ground caused by the rapid draining of Glacial Lake Montana several times during the Ice Age as ice dams repeatedly were created and broke along what is not the North Clark Fork River. |
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I think the thing about downtown Chicago that surprised me the most is that the city center is actually raised up quite a bit. When walking along Michigan or Wacker, everything seems normal at street-level. But at the Chicago River and at a few other areas where there were stairs heading down, I found another set of streets below the streets. Not tunnels - just two levels of streets where the upper level was treated like the main level. Of course, with few store fronts and pedestrians, traffic on the lower level could move a whole lot more smoothly. |
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