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Once the school bell has rung for the last time,
parents are ready to schedule a little summer fun for the family. Try a
weekend in Chicago, where it’s easy to plan loads of outdoor fun
activities that will thrill and amaze. With gas nearing $4 per gallon, the train may be the
perfect way to travel. To avoid last-minute delays, purchase tickets in
advance and be patient — Amtrak does not always run like clockwork.
Be sure to bring along activities to keep you and the kiddies busy on the
trip. One good, centrally located place to stay is the
Palmer House. Kids will get a kick out of the beautiful architecture and,
surrounded by the luxury and beauty of the historic hotel, can pretend that
they’re royalty. The original hotel was destroyed in the Great
Chicago Fire of 1871, just 13 days after opening, but architect John Mills
Van Osdel, wisely, had buried the construction plans. Before the ashes were done smoking, Potter Palmer
chose the lot across the street for the second Palmer House, this one
fireproof, and it was completed by July 1873. President Grover Cleveland
had an impromptu reception on the staircase in 1884, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant
held a banquet there in 1879, and in 1933 the hotel opened the Empire Room,
where some of the most famous performers of all time have appeared. Famed
hotelier Conrad Hilton bought the Palmer House in December 1945. Should you stay, take family pictures on the grand
staircase and spend a minute gazing up at the amazing ceiling. The
restaurant at the hotel is pricey, so you may want to go around the corner
to the Corner Bakery to find good, reasonably priced fare. Meals are also
available at some of the fun stops you plan. The
Palmer House Hilton is located at 17 E. Monroe St. Call 312-726-7500 for
more information.
After checking in, hit the street and head for
Millennium Park, but on the way take a detour to the Chicago Cultural
Center. The center, located at 78 E. Washington St., opened in 1897 as the
first central Chicago Public Library. Today the center hosts performers and
public programs. Kids will love the building’s castlelike
architecture and amazing stained-glass rotunda. Programs at the center
include classical, jazz, world, folk, pop, and vocal music concerts, new
and classic plays and readings, modern-dance performances, art discussions,
film screenings, lectures, cultural celebrations, and participatory events
for people of all ages. For those who have patient kids who like the arts,
a “LunchBreak” session is offered each weekday, along with
weekly “Sunday Salon Series” afternoon concerts. Building tours
are offered at 1:15 p.m. each Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. Groups may
tour the building at other times by appointment. The Chicago Cultural Center is located at 78 E. Washington St.
Call 312-744-6630 for more information.
You’ll find a great photo op right in front of
the center, where you can take a picture with one of Chicago’s famous
cow sculptures. Across the street is Millennium Park, which is open daily 6
a.m.-11 p.m. Admission is free. One of the highlights of the park is the
Frank Gehry outdoor concert venue, which measures 120 feet at its highest
point. A variety of concerts and events are presented at this modern art
arena during the summer months. The kids will enjoy seeing their reflections and
taking their pictures at what Midwesterners refers to as the soybean
sculpture, a 110-ton piece made of stainless-steel plates. The real name of
the shiny bean, designed by British artist Anish Kapoor, is “Cloud
Gate,” and
beneath the 12-foot-high arch of the soybean or kidney shape is a
“gate” where visitors can walk beneath the sculpture and see
themselves from all sides. Millennium Park also boasts the quirky Crown
Fountain, consisting of two 50-foot glass-block towers, each projecting
video images, set at the ends of a shallow reflecting pool. Another
fascinating feature of the park is the Lurie Garden; guided tours of the
mazelike garden are offered every 10 to 15 minutes on Sundays through Sept.
28. For more information, call 312-742-1168 or
go to www.millenniumpark.org.
Millennium Park is just north of the Chicago Art
Institute. The kids may want to take a pass on Monet and Matisse and head
instead to Navy Pier, with its amusement-park feel. Opened to the public in
1916, the pier offers a panoramic view of Lake Michigan. Here you can hop
on a boat tour and enjoy the Chicago Children’s Museum, rides, shops,
eateries, and other attractions.
If you’re looking for a bit of culture at Navy
Pier, try the Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows. Located inside
Festival Hall, this is the first museum in the United States dedicated
solely to stained-glass windows. You can walk briskly with the kids along
an 800-foot-long series of galleries boasting a permanent display of 150
stained-glass windows. The museum, housing both secular and religious
windows, is divided by artistic theme into four categories: Victorian,
Prairie, Modern, and Contemporary. Frank Lloyd Wright admirers will also
enjoy examples of his work. During the summer, a free trolley takes visitors to
Navy Pier; your hotel concierge can offer details. Navy Pier is located at 600 E. Grand Ave. For more information,
call 312-595-7437 or go to www.navypier.com. Up for a ride on the L? For a small-town boy or girl,
riding on the rapid-transit rail system (much of it on elevated tracks
through the city) may the ultimate excitement of the trip. Our suggestion:
Catch a line and head for the Garfield Park Conservatory, which celebrates its centennial this year.
This jewel was designed by famous landscape architect Jens Jensen, best
known in Springfield for the Lincoln Memorial Garden. The conservatory has
a distinctive ceiling that Jensen, in a nod to Midwestern agrarian
sensibilities, wanted to be evocative of a haystack.
Garfield conservatory offers a variety of indoor
gardens and this year provides a series of events under the theme
“Chicagoasis: The Greenest Show on Earth.” Many of the plants
on display at the Garfield Conservatory are very old. Because there is no
foundation beneath the conservatory, just Chicago soil, plants with roots
that require a lot of space can flourish. One of the ones in this category
is the Scheelea palm, which was grown from a seed given to scientist on an
expedition to Brazil in 1926. The palm is now the largest — although
not the tallest — at the conservatory. Cultural exchanges such as
this one have resulted in the great variety of plant life from all around
the world here. Outside the conservatory are communal gardens. Some
summer highlights include the “Flower Power” show, June 7-Sept.
28. The newly established Museum of Botany will feature the exhibit Cultivars of the Past & Present June 7 through Sept. 28. Located at
300 N. Central
Park Ave., the conservatory is open daily from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and on
Thursday until 8 p.m. For more information, call 312-746-5100 or go to
www.garfield-conservatory.org. These are just a few of the things to do in Chicago.
Although the Sears Tower, Field Museum, Adler Planetarium, Shedd Aquarium,
and Museum of Science and Industry still top many lists, these summer
activities will get your kids outside to enjoy a little cultural beauty and
make memories that will last.
Cindy Ladage of Virden is a
frequent contributor
to Illinois Times.
This article appears in May 15-21, 2008.
