Edilbe Books at the Newberry Library

 

 Lincoln Park Conservatory Spring Show

The Lincoln Park Conservatory has long been a favorite of my family. We have some great pictures taken there with my grandmother. Even though admission is still free, tickets are now required. I was also surprised by how crowded the conservatory was on a weekday afternoon.

 Klairmont Kollection- a car museum on Chicago's Northwest Side

Steam powered motorcycle

Made in Chicago Exhibit

Vintage Slot Machine

Eisenhower's car

 Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art

Oak Brook, Illinois

    In case you were wondering, lapidary means cutting and polishing gemstones and making things out of them. This museum in the Chicago suburbs is small, but full of beautiful objects. Some of the exhibits are of items carved from jade and other precious stones. Others hightlight the stones themselves. And there are some mosaics! It only takes about an hour to go through, and there is a nice gift shop.

 Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

    Lake Geneva is a town a little under two hours from Chicago. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, many of the Chicago upper class had second homes in the area, especially around the lake. (The town is Lake Geneva, the lake is Geneva Lake.) We stayed there for a two-night getaway. We stayed at The Cove, which conveniently located a block from Main Street and has very nice swimming pools. 

    There is a path, the Shore Path, that runs all the way around Geneva Lake. It is public access, but goes through private property. My dad and I walked along it for a while. It is a wonderful way to see the big houses. Just be warned, the path is not always smooth. 

    One of the big things to do in Lake Geneva is the boat ride. We were not impressed. The boat was nice, but the narration was too loud, and got repetitive. 

    For evening entertainment, I recommend the Tristan Crist magic show. I preferred the more quiet tricks with more patter to the more elaborate ones with more apparatus. 

    The Yerkes Observatory is supposed to be very impressive. We opted out of the tour of the building and went to see the grounds, supposed to have very nice gardens. We couldn't find them! Just overgrown grass.

Lake Geneva Veterans' Memorial

Lake Geneva Public Library

 Walking Tour with the Chicago Architecture Association, "Historic Treasures"

    I went on this walking tour with my good friend Amber. It was about two hours, but there were many stops. We started from the Chicago Architecture Center on Wacker. The architecture center has a good system for walking tours. Every participant wears a device with earbuds around their neck that amplifies the guide's voice. Unfortunately, mine was much too loud, and the volume control did not work. I was getting a headache, so I took the earbuds out. 

    We were lucky that it didn't rain, but it was humid and getting hotter as the tour went on. Our guide almost got heatstroke! I was starting to worry that we would have to call an ambulance, but fortunately, there was a doctor in our group who convinced the guide to sit down for a little while. 

The Wrigley Building

Tribune Tower

The former Carbon and Carbide Building

The former Chicago Public Library, now the Chicago Cultural Center

Some Michigan Avenue buildings

Doors at the Palmer House, originally anti-theft doors from CD Peacock

Some more shots of the Palmer House

The former Carson Pierre Scott Building, now a Target, designed by Louis Sullivan

Tiffany ceiling at the former Marshall Field's, now Macy's

Detail of Tiffany inset in the Cultural Center

Tiffany Dome at the Cultural Center

Mosaics at the Cultural Center (lower picture contains the emblem of the Chicago Public Library)

Amber and me at the Palmer House