On a walk through America’s windy city, Chicago, you are guaranteed to encounter a dramatic skyline after all this is a city that claimed to have built the world’s first skyscraper. The architecture and the music help to set this city apart from its other American counterparts and both can be experienced in their entirety on a walk through America’s Magnificent Mile.
Our walk begins at the Michigan Avenue Bridge and across the Chicago River. The flow of this river was famously reversed in 1900 to keep sewage from flowing into Lake Michigan, then source of the city’s drinking water.
Almost immediately you will come across two important buildings: The Wrigley Building and the Tribune Tower. Both of these buildings are completely different and, whilst The Wrigley Building is 1920s in appearance with its terracotta tiles, the Tribune Tower is a gothic building that mimics the Rouen Cathedral in France. You may want to take some time from your America walk to view this beautiful building, which is embedded with 120 stones from famous sites all over the world, including sites from all of America’s 50 states.
From the tower, take a staircase that leads into Lower Michigan Avenue and a bar called The Billy Goat Tavern. This bar is often frequented by local journalists and is famous for its ‘cheezborger’ skit that appeared on Saturday Night Live. You may want to halt your USA walking tour and try one of these famous ‘cheezborgers’ but make sure you tip well, as the pub is also famous for a curse that the Billy Goat Tavern placed on the Chicago Cubs.
Continue north and you will soon encounter a street of luxury designer shops. Female walkers may be tempted to make the most of the tax free shopping opportunities that this street has to offer, from Ralph Lauren to Neiman Marcus. Across the street at Chicago Avenue are the few buildings that survived the Great Fire of 1871. Two of these buildings are the pumping station and the controversial water tower. The tower has been kept standing as a testament to the city’s determination but many, including Oscar Wilde, have criticised the aesthetic value of the building.
Your USA walking tour of the windy city continues to the nearby John Hancock Centre, which was built in the 1970s. The building is 100 storeys tall and from the 94th floor observatory you can see across Illinois to the states of Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin. The price of a cocktail will allow you access to a further two storeys up, to the Signature Bar on the 96th floor, where the views are even more spectacular.
After downing Cosmopolitans and looking out across America’s Great Plains you should feel inspired enough to continue with your America walk. The route proceeds onwards to the end of the Magnificent Mile and to Oak Street Beach. From Oak Street Beach you can take an underground passageway that takes you onto the shores of Lake Michigan and to the end of your USA walking adventure in Chicago.
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