Today's adventures took me in a direction different that my usual Chicago travels. Most of my attention has been focused on the hip/happening, yuppie northern Chicago area. Today, I turned my attentions to the near-South. My first stop was Chicago's Chinatown, centered on West Cermak and South Wentworth streets. From the picture below, there is no question that I was in Chinatown. Why do all Chinatown's look, smell and feel exactly the same regardless of where in the country/world you are?
The gate to Chinatown on South Wentworth Street with the Sears tower about a mile away
I haven't had Chinese food in who knows how long, so I went looking for the Chinese restaurant that Leah had taken me to when I was here a couple years ago. She had mentioned that it had burned down and when I found it, alas, it was still being remodeled, therefore I had to find another place to go.
Here's where I ate
Food review:
1) Potstickers, surprisingly excellent
2) Hot and Sour Soup, poor, simply awful
3) Eggplant with ground pork, again, excellent. You can thank Mom for her YEARS of indoctrinating me to eat my vegetables for the fact that I voluntarily ordered eggplant. Her years of hard work paid off.
After wandering around Chinatown, I drove about a mile to the East to what is called the Prairie Avenue district. During the late 1800's, South Prairie Avenue was THE address for the rich and famous of Chicago. Marshall Field and George Pullman were only some of the famous names to have beautiful homes on this block. However, due to zoning changes and the slow drift of the wealthy of Chicago relocating to north of the loop, this area fell into disrepair. Many of the beautiful homes were razed and the neighborhood lost its luster. However, during the 80's, there was a move to save the remaining homes and to revitalize the neighborhood.
An original home at 1800 South Prairie Avenue
Right Across the street, the Glessner House at 1801 South Prairie Avenue
A peek into the inner courtyard of the Glessner House
With the prosperity of the late 80's and 90's, the premium on Chicago real estate apparently came to a head and this area, adjacent to the loop was prime real estate. Here's a look at how these remaining beautiful homes are juxtaposed next to newly constructed townhouses and high rises.
1800's and 2000's
New townhomes in the Prairie District
One of the attractions of the Prairie District is that it is right next to the train tracks (allowing easy access to the loop) and right on the other side of the tracks is Lake Michigan. I walked along the overpass and here's the view
To the southeast, The McCormick Convention Center
To the northeast, the newly renovated Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears
One note on Soldier Field. It is currently a designated national historic site, but there is discussion at the moment to have that removed due to the "spaceship" looking remodelling of the inner stadium part. Both the McCormick Center and Soldier Field are a mere quarter mile from the heart of the Prairie District, but separated by the train tracks, thereby giving the area a sense of isolation. Get your piece of this rock before it goes through the roof.
I haven't had Chinese food in who knows how long, so I went looking for the Chinese restaurant that Leah had taken me to when I was here a couple years ago. She had mentioned that it had burned down and when I found it, alas, it was still being remodeled, therefore I had to find another place to go.
Food review:
1) Potstickers, surprisingly excellent
2) Hot and Sour Soup, poor, simply awful
3) Eggplant with ground pork, again, excellent. You can thank Mom for her YEARS of indoctrinating me to eat my vegetables for the fact that I voluntarily ordered eggplant. Her years of hard work paid off.
After wandering around Chinatown, I drove about a mile to the East to what is called the Prairie Avenue district. During the late 1800's, South Prairie Avenue was THE address for the rich and famous of Chicago. Marshall Field and George Pullman were only some of the famous names to have beautiful homes on this block. However, due to zoning changes and the slow drift of the wealthy of Chicago relocating to north of the loop, this area fell into disrepair. Many of the beautiful homes were razed and the neighborhood lost its luster. However, during the 80's, there was a move to save the remaining homes and to revitalize the neighborhood.
With the prosperity of the late 80's and 90's, the premium on Chicago real estate apparently came to a head and this area, adjacent to the loop was prime real estate. Here's a look at how these remaining beautiful homes are juxtaposed next to newly constructed townhouses and high rises.
One of the attractions of the Prairie District is that it is right next to the train tracks (allowing easy access to the loop) and right on the other side of the tracks is Lake Michigan. I walked along the overpass and here's the view
One note on Soldier Field. It is currently a designated national historic site, but there is discussion at the moment to have that removed due to the "spaceship" looking remodelling of the inner stadium part. Both the McCormick Center and Soldier Field are a mere quarter mile from the heart of the Prairie District, but separated by the train tracks, thereby giving the area a sense of isolation. Get your piece of this rock before it goes through the roof.
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