The hub of
the ten-million strong metropolitan area, Central Chicago
hosts many of the region's finest and most celebrated landmarks,
institutions, and attractions. Rising from the shores of
Lake Michigan, the extraordinary skyline is a tribute to
more than a hundred years of innovation and celebration,
an invocation of triumphant, urbane Americana. Gracious
nearby parklands suggest the reverence of Chicago's founders
for the habitat in which they settled, their vision of "Urbs
in Horto", the City in a Garden.
Downtown. The cultural
capital of Chicagoland, and location of such world-renowned wonders
as the Magnificent Mile shopping corridor crowned by the John
Hancock Building; the stunning architecture of the Loop
including the breathtaking Sears Tower in the Financial District,
Carson-Piery-Scott in the Commercial District, and the Cultural
Center in the Theater District; the "Eighth Wonder of the
World": Millennium Park featuring contributions by world-famous
architect Frank Gehry and sculptor Anish Kapoor; The Art
Institute of Chicago (pictured); Navy Pier amusement park;
the Museum Campus including the Field Museum, the Shedd Aquarium
and the Adler Planitarium; the bold new Soldier Field; Chicago's
Museum of Contemporary Art in the friendly Streeterville neighborhood;
amazing medieval-revival style churches in the Cathedral District;
entertainment for everyone in the River North, elite rental residences
and condominiums in the North Loop and West Loop Gate; and delicious
Mediterranean cuisine in Greektown.
Detail of Art Institute lion.
Near North. Charming
residential neighborhoods and upscale commercial corridors: the
popular shops and restuarants of Old Town and the landmark-rich
Old Town Triangle; the Gold Coast with its posh, historic Astor
Street, the Near North neighborhood featuring Washington Square
and the elegant Newberry Library (pictured), and the storied Cabrini
Green.
The Newberry Library
Near Northwest.
Exciting, historic, vibrant neighborhoods on the fringe of the
downtown area: trendy Wicker Park offers unique shops, restaurants,
and night clubs along with edgy Bucktown; the picturesque Ukrainian
Village features beautiful churches; happening Goose Island is
known for its dance clubs along nearby Weed Street; and dynamic
Noble Square recalls Polish roots.
Ukrainian Village steeples.
Near West. Some of
Chicago's oldest neighborhoods with rich tales to tell: industrial
districts along the river such as the Fulton River District; residential,
primarily African-American communities such as West Town (pictured)
and the Near West Side.
Church in West Town.
Near Southwest. A large
swatch of land encompassing the University of Illinois at Chicago
and the surrounding University Village and Little Italy neighborhoods
(pictured); historically Irish Bridgeport
and Canaryville; the industrial park that has replaced the Union
Stock Yards, and the nearby Back-of-the-Yards
neighborhood.
Restaurant in Little Italy.
Near South. Historically a destination
for immigrants and since the early 20th Century a large community
of African Americans, the Near South includes the Bronzeville
neighborhood, sometimes called "Black Metropolis",
a showplace of African-American culture and home of the Chicago
Defender newspaper (pictured). Also in this large area south
of downtown, one finds the South Loop, a somewhat less developed
extension of the commerce to the north; Chicago's classic Chinatown,
now expanding into the Near Southwest; as well as the once-and-once-again
upscale Prairie District, an upper-echelon neighborhood of a
bygone era and one of Chicago's most recently rehabbed. The
whole of the Near South is changing rapidly as its prime location
prompts a rediscovery of its real estate by developers and well-to-do
homebuyers.
