The Loop: Art, Skyscrapers and Shopping
Chicago is known for A LOT of things. Hot dogs, pizza, sports teams, skyscrapers, the CTA, and its many neighborhoods. The famous Chicago Loop "neighborhood" is at the heart of its city. I use quotations because it is not your typical neighborhood. These days it is tourism central. A neighborhood where you see out-of-towners on Segway scooters and taking boat tours. While the rest of its citizens are going to work, going home, or doing something to keep busy.
In the above photo, you can see one of the many bridges that lead to "The Loop" which is over the Chicago River. Aside from Segway tours, there are many other tours, activities, and museums to attend while in the Loop. You can visit the Chicago Cultural Center off of Washington and Michigan Ave.
The Loop got its name due to the elevated train tracks that form a loop around the area it is located in. The Chicago Union Elevated Railway aka the “El” was completed in 1897, forming a loop around the area. The Loop is bounded by Lake Street (north), Wabash Avenue (east), Van Buren Street (south), and Wells Street (west). The Loop has also been the epicenter of another famous street...Michigan Avenue aka Chicago's Magnificent Mile. There you can shop, enjoy a show, visit a museum, or attend a free event. Built between the years of 1882 to 1930, according to the City of Chicago website "the city which most often represents Chicago to the rest of the world. The district strongly reflects the city's development as a handsome lakefront metropolis during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries". Below you can even see some of the Loop over the years.
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| The Chicago River (Photo by Ken Lund) |
Or you can visit the Flamingo sculpture down in the Loop outside of the Federal Plaza off of Jackson and Clark St. Interestingly enough the Flamingo was a part of a renaissance in public art in the city. It was unveiled in 1974 and created by Alexander Calder, pictured below.
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| The Flamingo at Federal Plaza (Photo by Ken Lund) |
The Loop got its name due to the elevated train tracks that form a loop around the area it is located in. The Chicago Union Elevated Railway aka the “El” was completed in 1897, forming a loop around the area. The Loop is bounded by Lake Street (north), Wabash Avenue (east), Van Buren Street (south), and Wells Street (west). The Loop has also been the epicenter of another famous street...Michigan Avenue aka Chicago's Magnificent Mile. There you can shop, enjoy a show, visit a museum, or attend a free event. Built between the years of 1882 to 1930, according to the City of Chicago website "the city which most often represents Chicago to the rest of the world. The district strongly reflects the city's development as a handsome lakefront metropolis during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries". Below you can even see some of the Loop over the years.
Another staple of the city is the famous Art Institute of Chicago. Below you can see a postcard of the Art Institute from a company called Davidson Brothers from 1907 and a photo I took recently.
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