Living - Places - Chicago, Illinois, USA

Chicago has many neighborhoods, entertainment venues, museums, and other places with Web sites

• Sites: Places such as parks, buildings, public gardens and zoos, notable buildings, libraries, interesting places
  • 360 Observatory: Observatory atop a skyscraper; views of the city from the 94th floor of 360 Chicago, 300 meters above Michigan Avenue; in 875 North Michigan Avenue (formerly the John Hancock Center)
  • 606, The: elevated park; 4.3 km route for biking and walking
  • Album: CHI Album; a collection of images of Chicago's sites, skyline, and street scenes
  • Antique Market: Chicago Antique Market; Randolph Street Market, Indie Designer Market, Modern Vintage Chicago, Holiday Market
  • Aquarium Shedd: John G. Shedd Aquarium; world's largest indoor aquarium; on Lake Michigan shore; see photo
  • Architecture Buildings: Emporis.com entry for Chicago; shows information about Chicago's major office and other buildings
  • Big Marsh: 112-hectare eco-recreation park in-development
  • Board of Trade: Chicago Board of Trade; open auction and electronic forum for futures exchange in which contracts are bought and sold; these contracts are to accept or deliver a commodity, such as corn, soybeans, wheat, or US Treasury bonds; see photo
  • Botanic Garden: Chicago Botanic Garden; gardens showcase Midwest plants in woodland, prairie, and river habitat; School of the Chicago Botanic Garden offers classes and educational programs; owned by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County
  • Cultural Ctr: Chicago Cultural Center; Houses official Visitor's Center at North Michigan Avenue and Washington; visual arts displays; Claudia Cassidy Theater; Preston Bradley Hall; Sidney R. Yates Gallery
  • Garfield Cons: Garfield Park Conservatory; 1.8 hectares of greenhouses and exhibition halls in Garfield Park on Chicago's Westside
  • Goethe Inst: Goethe-Institut Chicago; works for the teaching and dissemination of German language and culture worldwide
  • Graveyards: Graveyards of Chicago; support site for the book of the same name by Matt Hucke and Ursula Bielski; presents many images of headstones and monuments in cemeteries
  • Green City Market: farmer's markets; Lincoln Park, West Loop, delivered
  • Historic: National Register of Historic Places; Chicago travel itinerary; introduces the city's history and architecture through looks at early skyscrapers and homes
  • Hyde Pk-Kenwood: Community Conference; community organization; promotes participation of its residents, businesses, institutions, and organizations
  • Images: Chicago Imagebase; developed by the University of Illinois at Chicago to present a variety of images and information about Chicago's built environment
  • Lake Michigan: Great Lakes Information; Lake Michigan is the only Great Lake located entirely within the United States
  • Landmarks: Buildings, sites of note in Chicago; comprehensive list of notable buildings and historic districts provided by the City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development, Landmarks Division; includes brief description of each and photos
  • Libraries: search for area libraries; gives link to official Web site and information link; includes academic, public, and special libraries
  • Library CPL: Chicago Public Library; branch libraries all over the metro area; Harold Washington Library Center is the largest public library building in the world (7 hectares floor space, over 100 km of shelving); see photo
  • Library Newberry: Independent library; research and reference in the humanities; extensive non-circulating collection of rare books, maps, and manuscripts; see photo
  • Lincoln Park: Lincoln park (neighborhood) chamber
  • Maggie Daley Pk: 8-hectare park in the loop; by Lake Michigan
  • Magnificent Mile: (1.6 km) Shopping area; information about stores, restaurants, hotels on North Michigan Avenue; provided by the Chicago Magnificent Mile Association
  • Maxwell St Mkt: The New Maxwell Street Market; bargains and bargaining; near W Polk St and S Desplaines St
  • Merchandise Mart: Wholesale showrooms and design center; host of trade shows, conferences; world's largest commercial building; largest wholesale design center; 40 hectares, 25 stories; see photo
  • Millennium Pk: Multiuse parkland; downtown Chicago on Michigan Avenue between Randolph and Monroe Streets; 10 hectare park is center for art, music, architecture and landscape design; Jay Pritzker Pavilion, outdoor concert venue designed by Frank Gehry
  • Navy Pier: Entertainment complex; restaurants, shops, entertainment, attractions, conventions; opened in 1916, once used as a military training site
  • NBC Tower: office building; one block from North Michigan Ave with dining, retail, and entertainment
  • Neighborhoods: Chicago: The City of Neighborhoods; presents a map of neighborhoods; tours available; sponsored by the Chicago Office of Tourism, Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs
  • Neighborhood Link: Neighborhood Link; neighborhood and nonprofit group information
  • Obama Center: Under construction--The Obama Presidential Center; in Jackson Park; commemorates the 44th president of the United States; near the University of Chicago campus; a new branch for the Chicago Public Library; seeks to inspire young people
  • Old Town: Old Town Merchants and Residents Association
  • Parking-Spot Hero: Parking spots around town; rent by the day or longer
  • Parks: Chicago Park District; 3,000 hectares, 552 parks, 33 beaches, 16 lagoons, 10 wildlife gardens
  • Planetarium Adler: Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum; Chicago planetarium and museum; solar observatory and interactive astronomy exhibits
  • Pullman: Historic planned town; first planned industrial town in America, 1880's; southeast Chicago
  • River: Friends of the Chicago River
  • Riverwalk: The Chicago Riverwalk; promenade 2 km+ along the Chicago River; districts include the confluence, the arcade, the civic, and the esplanade; from Lake Street to the Lakefront
  • River North: Shopping and art gallery area; north of the Chicago river in downtown; River North Association
  • Streeterville: Streeterville Chamber of Commerce; neighborhood north of the Chicago River and along Lake Michigan, bordered North Michigan Avenue, Lake Michigan, and the beach; includes Lake Shore Drive, John Hancock Center, Navy Pier, and the Water Tower
  • Union Station: Transportation hub; Amtrak, Metra trains, buses; Great Hall
  • Wicker Pk & Bucktown: Eclectic neighborhoods; 3 km north of downtown
  • Willis Tower: Skyscraper; office building; formerly called The Sears Tower; 110 stories, 442 meters tall; observation deck; see photo
  • Wrigley Bldg: Wrigley Building
  • Zoo Brookfield: Animal park; 80 hectares in Brookfield, Illinois
  • Zoo Lincoln Pk: Animal park; in lakefront Lincoln Park
• Venues: Places for performances, concerts, athletics, conventions, tradeshows, gatherings
  • Allstate Arena: Multi-use arena; seats 18,500; music, sports; Rosemont, Illinois (just east of Chicago's O'Hare International Airport)
  • Auditorium Theatre: Performing center; built in 1889; music, dance, education programs; seats up to 3,929
  • Chicago Theatre: historic theater; opened in 1921; National Register of Historic Places
  • Civic Opera: Civic Opera House; Art Nouveau / Art Deco building from 1929; seating for up to 3,600
  • Guaranteed Rate Field: baseball stadium; home of Chicago White Sox; formerly site of New Comiskey Park, Comiskey Park, US Cellular Field, now called Guaranteed Rate Field for the time being
  • Hawthorne: Horse and auto racing; Cicero, IL; formerly Sportsman's Park
  • McCormick Pl: Convention facility; 20 hectares of exhibit halls; managed by the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority; three buildings--South and North buildings and the Lakeside Center; 14 hectares on one level, largest US convention center; complex includes Lakeside Ctr and Arie Crown Theater; CTA bus #3 and the Metra Electric Line stop at McCormick Place
  • Now Arena: Multipurpose arena; 11,800 seats; Hoffman Estates; originally known as the Sears Centre, Sears Centre Arena, now NOW Arena
  • Soldier Field: Sports stadium; home of the Chicago Bears and the Chicago Fire
  • Tinley Park Amp: (Name Varies) Performance center; located near the intersection of I-80 and Harlem Avenue in South Suburban Tinley Park, Illinois; formerly the Tweeter Center, Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, World Music Theatre, New World Music Theatre, First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre; check Web site for current name
  • United Ctr: Sports and entertainment arena; home of the Chicago Bulls, Blackhawks; seats 20,500 (hockey) and up to 25,000 (boxing)
  • Wrigley Field: Baseball stadium; home of the Chicago Cubs; built in 1914
• Housing: Find a place to stay or live in Chicago
  • CCTB Hotels: Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau list of hotels; map and list helps you find a hotel
  • Chi Real Estate: Free multiple listing service property search engine
  • Hostel HI: Hostelling International J. Ira & Nicki Harris Family Hostel Chicago; downtown hostel offering a place to stay to travelers as well as programs for international understanding
  • HotRooms: Discount hotel rooms in Chicago
  • Live by Transit: Transit-oriented real estate; choose where to live based on its location near transit
  • -USA Housing-: National lodging and housing directories; there are national directories you can use to locate area lodging or housing
• Museums: Displays of objects; includes planned educational activities related to art, history, culture, or science
  • American Writers: The American Writers Museum
  • African DuSable: DuSable Museum of African American History; dedicated to the history and culture of Americans of African descent
  • Art Institute: Art Institute of Chicago; major art museum displaying art from many centuries in all media; notable impressionist collection
  • Art Block: Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art; visual arts for the Northwestern University community and public; notable 20th-century sculpture collection
  • Art Darcy: Loyola University Museum of Art; Loyola University Chicago's museum of Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque art; formerly Martin D'Arcy Museum of Art
  • Art Galleries: Directory of Art Galleries; schedules, artists, exhibits
  • Art Intuit: Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art; displays the art of outside artists (untrained or self-trained artists, eccentrics, isolates, compulsive visionaries, or the mentally disabled) which established art institutions have traditionally eschewed
  • Art La Salle: La Salle University Art Museum
  • Art Mexican: The National Museum of Mexican Art; Mexican art and culture
  • Art MCA: Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago; "art of our time"; contemporary visual culture through painting, sculpture, photography, video, film, and performance
  • Art Smart: David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art; The University of Chicago; permanent collection of over 7000 objects, spanning five centuries of both Western and Eastern civilizations
  • Art Terra: Terra Museum of American Art; includes works by John Singleton Copley, James A. McNeill Whistler, Mary Cassatt, Winslow Homer, and Georgia O'Keeffe
  • Art Ukranian Modern: Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art; galleries plus ongoing programs of cultural exhibitions, literary events, film screenings and music recitals
  • Art Veterans: National Veterans Art Museum; art reflecting war experience of infantry, naval, air crew, nurses, doctors, and prisoners of war
  • ArtWorld: Online gallery for Chicago; Web site exhibits works of Chicago artists; includes directory of local artists with links to their Web sites where available
  • Astronomy Adler: Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum; Chicago planetarium and museum; solar observatory and interactive astronomy exhibits
  • Blues Heaven: Willie Dixon's Blues Heaven Foundation; history of the blues and the music business
  • Bridgehouse: McCormick Tribune Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum; tells the story of the Chicago River; located inside the southwest bridge tower on the Michigan Avenue Bridge
  • Broadcast Communications: Museum of Broadcast Communications; public archive collection of over 13,000 television programs, 4,000 radio programs, 11,000 television commercials, and 4,500 newscasts
  • Charnley House: Charnley-Persky House Museum; architects Louis Henry Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright; James Charnley House on North Astor Street, built 1891-1892
  • Design Athenauem: Chicago Athenaeum; International Museum of Architecture and Design; dedicated to the Art of Design in all areas: architecture, industrial, and product design, graphics, and urban planning
  • Children's: Chicago Children's Museum; a community of play and learning; primary audience is children up through the fifth grade including their families
  • Children's Bronzeville: African American children's museum
  • Chinese: Chinese American Museum of Chicago; Raymond B. & Jean T. Lee Center; culture, exhibitions, education, and research
  • Driehaus: Richard H. Driehaus Museum; residential building from 19th-century Chicago; Gilded Age home of banker Samuel Mayo Nickerson; Richard H. Driehaus founded the museum on April 1, 2003
  • Glessner House: Glessner House Museum; Henry Hobson Richardson designed this house completed in 1887; decorative arts; Aesthetic and English Arts and Crafts movements
  • Historical Society: Chicago Historical Society; presents the multicultural history of Chicago and Illinois
  • Hellenic: Hellenic Museum & Cultural Center; the Greek immigrant experience in America; culture of contemporary Greek-American; Hellenic culture through the visual, literary and performing arts
  • Hull House: Jane Addams Hull-House Museum; owned and operated by the University of Illinois at Chicago; a historic site and memorial to Jane Addams' settlement house programs; housed in two original Hull-House buildings
  • Hyde Park History: The Hyde Park Historical Society
  • Irish: Irish American Heritage Center
  • Jewish Spertus: Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies; museum presents Jewish history, religion, art and culture through its exhibitions and programs
  • Lithuanian: Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture; cultural artifacts and arts of Lithuania and Lithuanian immigrants to the United States
  • Lucas: Lucas Museum of Narrative Art (LMNA); narrative art and the evolution of moving images from illustration to cinema to the innovations of the digital age
  • Maritime: Chicago Maritime Museum
  • Military: Pritzker Military Museum and Library; military history, military affairs, and national security
  • Money: Money Museum presented by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
  • Natural History Field: Field Museum of Natural History; extensive collection of natural history in over 36,000 square meters of floor space; dioramas; notable Sue, the world's largest, most complete, and best preserved Tyrannosaurus rex; see photo
  • Nature Notebaert: Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum; Chicago Academy of Sciences; helps urban dwellers connect to the natural world through scientific learning and environmental programs
  • Oriental Institute: Oriental Institute, University of Chicago; museum and research organization devoted to the study of the ancient Near East
  • Photography MOCP: Museum of Contemporary Photography; dedicated to the creation, collection, and examination of photographically related images, objects, and ideas
  • Polish: Polish Museum of America; promotes Polish history and culture, Polish and Polish American art in paintings, sculptures, drawings and lithographs
  • Pullman Porter: Asa Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum; contributions of Asa Philip Randolph who was the chief organizer and founder the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters who worked on Pullman Rail Car Company trains
  • Radio Hall of Fame: Radio Hall of Fame; recognizes and talent from today's radio and the pioneers who shaped the media; located at the Museum of Broadcast Communications
  • Robie House: Frederick C. Robie House; Frank Lloyd Wright-designed house; 1909 Prarie style house; in the Hyde Park neighborhood
  • Science & Industry: Museum of Science and Industry; wide range of science displays including submarine, coal mine, human heart
  • Stained Glass: Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows; on the Navy Pier; a display of stained glass windows housed in a series of galleries along the lower level terraces of Festival Hall
  • Surgical Science: International Museum of Surgical Science; 4,000 years of surgical history
  • Swedish-Amercan: Swedish American Museum; educational activity center dedicated to Swedish American history and culture
  • Ukrainian: Ukrainian National Museum of Chicago; details the heritage, culture and people of Ukraine
  • Vietnam War: Viet Nam War Museum; presents the history of the Vietnam conflict through artifacts, photographs, documents, artwork
  • Wright Home: Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio; in Oak Park

Is something missing or incorrect? Please send a correction to johndecember@gmail.com with the subject places-chi.