The Mag Mile
Image used under Creative Commons license.
Chicago has a street called Michigan Avenue that goes straight through downtown and is lined with high-end retailers, restaurants, and other businesses. Famous around the world as a tourist destination, it’s a fun place to be. The large white building on the left in the foreground is the Wrigley Building, which is actually two buildings connected by a covered walkway several storeys off the ground.
It’s built with four different colors of white marble that get progressively whiter toward the top. The original Mr. Wrigley, way back in the 1900’s, did that on purpose because he wanted it to shine like a beacon at the foot of Michigan Avenue. The gothic skyscraper on the right behind the drawbridge building is Tribune Tower. There are rocks and other artifacts all around the base of the building at pedestrian height, including a fragment of moon rock brought back from one of the moon landings.
Image used under Creative Commons license.
Every year during the holidays, the businesses that are part of the Greater North Michigan Avenue Association put on a lights festival in order to entice visitors during the coldest month of January and February.
If you like shopping, this is a great place to come and poke around.
Thank you for joining us for the A-Z Blog Challenge. If you’re blogging in the challenge, please leave us a link so I can come visit you too. If you have a moment, please check out these other fine blogs:
The theme at Noony’s blog, Explore the Worlds of A. Catherine Noon, is The A To Z of the Zoo. Join her as she explores Brookfield Zoo and finds animals, birds, and insects from A to Z.
Noony’s theme on Knoontime Knitting – One Writer’s Journey Into 3-D craft blog is Letterforms In Nature and the Built Environment.
The Nice Girls Writing Naughty have a new home, and we’re blogging in the challenge again this year. Throughout the month you’ll be hearing from each of the Nice Girls, and during the RT Booklovers Convention from April 12th to the 17th, you’ll be getting live convention reports. Join the conversation!
The Writer Zen Garden’s brand new website is up and running, and we’re bringing you posts from Noon & Wilder; the talented Darla M. Sands – a blogger in her own right, see below; as well as Grace Kahlo, Evey Brown, and author Tina Holland. Check it out!
Our friends who are participating in the challenge (and if you’re not on this list, tell me and we’ll add you!):
- Darla M. Sands, Awakening Dreams and Conquering Nightmares with a Pen
- Kari Trenten, The Cauldron of Eternal Inspiration
Write on, and Happy Blogging!
I don\’t know if the building just behind (left of) the Wrigley Building has a name, but one of my aunts used to have a condo there. We usually called it the \”dog bone building,\” as it has an indent in the middle of the otherwise rectangular building, making it resemble a dog bone from the top. I loved visiting her, since it had a great view!
The Mag Mile is definitely worth visiting, even if you\’re just window shopping. There\’s something different about window shopping in Chicago vs. New York, I think. Maybe just the feeling that yeah, one day you could be going into those shops, whereas in NYC it\’s more like hell no, you never will? I guess you can still do the whole \”Breakfast at Tiffany\’s\” thing in Manhattan, but I remember going with the same aunt to Marshall Field\’s, all the way up to their top floor where the fancy ballgowns and furs were… and we were giggling about the prices (and the ugliness of such pricey dresses), when a severe saleswoman came over to ask if she could help us. She wanted to shut us down and kick us out, clearly, but I know my aunt had a smart, scathing reply to this woman, something akin to the Pretty Woman incident with the shitty saleswoman. And then we went downstairs and still bought some Frango mints! Definitely wouldn\’t have done that in Macy\’s.
I don\’t know the name of that building either, but it\’s right next to my old health club so I used to walk over there all the time. I\’d get up at 0500 and get on the earliest train I could, work out, and go to work. Man, that was some sleepy commuting. I still get up at 0500 usually, but … well, to be honest, I\’m still sleepy. I hate early mornings. ~fail~
My dad and I got kicked out of the Hyatt Regency San Francisco (the typewriter building) when I was about nine for riding the elevators up and down (you know those glass ones?). The concierge came over and explained to my father that they were really only for guests.
Jerkface.
🙂
Visiting Chicago is on my bucket list. Thanks for sharing. https://mhsusannematthews.wordpress.com/
It\’s an awesome city. I hope you visit someday!
Thanks for taking the time to stop by and comment. I appreciate it!
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