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

     I changed the title of my blog since I am home from London. My intention is to post occasionally, when I do something interesting closer to home.

    I went to NewberryFest today. The Newberry Library is a wonderful private library in Chicago. For decades, they have had an amazing book fair that attracted people lining up around the block. I volunteered there a couple of times. After last year, they decided not to have the book fair any more. It's very sad. The Newberry Book Fair was a Chicago institution. 

    To replace the book fair, the Newberry had NewberryFest this year. They had two small exhibits. One was on a night club called Mister Kelly's that hosted many famous and soon-to-be famous acts, including Barbra Striesand, Ella Fitzgerald, and Steve Martin. The other exhibit was on legendary Chicago newspaper columnist Mike Royko. 

    The Newberry also pulled some items from their stacks, including a fifteenth century book of hours, Anna Pavlova's ballet shoes, and a variety of maps. And they did have a mini-book fair. It was much smaller than past book fairs, but still good quality.

The entrance to the Newberry

Circus Poster

A book by Phyllis Wheatley, first published African American poet

A fifteenth century Book of Hours

My book fair finds

Home Sweet Home! 

 Site: St. Paul's Cathedral, Tate Britain

    My last day in London! I have loved it, but I am glad to be going home. 

    I went to St. Paul's Cathedral, which is amazing! It is enormous. I don't know how they built it in the seventeenth century. It is also beautiful. I thought about going up to the top of the dome, but it was over 500 steps, so 25-30 flights. I did go to the crypt and saw the graves of Alexander Fleming, Nelson, Wellington, and Florence Nightingale.

St. Paul's is so big, it is difficult to get a good picture!

Samuel Johnson

Admiral Nelson's crypt

Monument to Florence Nightingale

    Next stop: the Tate Britain. It is a little smaller than some of the other museums, so it feels more manageable. I really enjoyed the Pre-Raphaelite collection.

Stairway at the Tate

Brown Eyes

Ophelia

Scale model of a sculpture on the University of Chicago campus by Henry Moore

Site: Camden Market, Covent Garden, Witness for the Prosecution

    I started the day at Camden Market. I was not impressed. Many of the stalls were selling the same things. Nothing was unique. So I went to Covent Garden, which was much better. I had crepes for lunch at a little cafe. I found several things to buy, which I now have to pack. I also stopped in the London Transport Museum gift shop.

     Then I went to see "Witness for the Prosecution," which is a play by Agatha Christie staged in a court room in County Hall. The building was stunning. The play dragged a little, but the last five to ten minutes made up for it all.