The architectural marine biology of Chicago

It’s the small things that do me in. The last-minute change to fly solo to a city I barely know was workable for me – I know how to group sites, time visits, and I definitely know how to walk miles and miles through big cities. Dinner on my own in a restaurant is fine.

But we all have our weaknesses.

I’m afraid to ride in a cab or Uber by myself.

And I can’t get into an elevator alone.

So adjustments needed to be made. A quick confessional phone call to my hotel got me moved down from a 35th floor view room to a 4th floor room, where I can get to the lobby using these fire stairs (note to Chicago Hyatt: there are beer cans “decorating” these stairs):

Here is the view from my new room:

Finding a buddy for 21-mile ride from the airport was harder. Although I am not chatty with my seat mates on an airplane, I spent 3 silent hours with the woman next to me, and then, as we circled our landing, I said, would you like a free ride with me to downtown and so along came my seat mate, Susan – my first new friend in Chicago.

I started my day at the Chicago Cultural Center. This is an 1897 building that opened as Chicago’s first public library. It’s got a cool Beaux Arts exterior:

But the real showstopper here is the extensive mosaics and Tiffany glass. They remind me of the exquisite beauty of the red cement stairwell at my Chicago Hyatt. The mosaics were inlaid into plaster at the Tiffany Studio in New York and then transported to Chicago. The best room is called Preston Bradley Hall. Hopefully this video will convey at least a sense of the grandeur:

I had a noon appointment with some penguins at the Shedd Aquarium, so I walked down the length of Michigan Avenue. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the stroll:

A little bit of Paris:

The Bean that everyone is always discussing, actual name Cloud Gate, installed between 2004 and 2006 – 168 stainless steel plates, welded together with no visible seams:

Jay Pritzker Pavillion, built between 1999 and 2004. It’s a Frank Gehry design and honors the Pritzker family, which is funny, because they’re the family that owns the Hyatt hotel chains – including the Hyatt I’m currently inhabiting, with the charming views, cement stairs, and beer can decor. It makes me think that we all might have a chance to get large public places named in our honor, no matter what kind of architecture we’re associated with.

It was bittersweet to get to the Shedd Aquarium. I might be the one to drag us down the coast of Baja California on a bus to get some close up time with a gray whale, but Ron is our aquarium fan and the Shedd was for him.

The building opened in 1930 and is Classical Greek on the outside:

Here are a couple of interior pictures. It’s probably the nicest aquarium I’ve been to:

And then here – finally – is my penguin meet and greet:

Tomorrow is my all-day Frank Lloyd Wright bus tour so I’ll talk with you in a couple of days, but I’ll leave you with these pictures. They’re evidence of a fine downtown Chicago meal with Kris and Jim – my favorite travel buddies – who trekked over to have dinner with me at the Purple Pig. Kris and I had these very lovely beet salads and whipped ricotta appetizers:

And Jim ate most of a large pig leg and left this: