When I moved eight miles north from downtown Chicago, I traded in one spectacular high-rise view for another. Here’s a set of videos to show how living across from the Loop compares to living on the edge of Lake Michigan–in all its inland-sea glory.
Two months ago I moved out of Marina City to head for a quieter life beyond downtown. But there’s something to be said for living at the center of it all. I’m learning the grass isn’t any greener outside the Loop–and the roaches sure do put up a fight.
Pizzeria Due saved my sanity when I first decamped Atlantic shores for Lake Michigan ones in the early 2000s. That’s why my recent trips to the less-touristed, cheaper Lou Malnati’s have left me riddled with guilt.
Some people get in their cars and drive to clear their minds and think. Me, I put on my shoes, pick a direction, and start walking through my wondrous downtown Chicago urban neighborhood. Here’s a look at my favorite Windy City urban hikes and why I find them so special.
Suleiman Ahmed is the proud owner of the Chicago Loop’s popular Oasis Cafe, the middle-eastern falafel shop that until June had been tucked oddly into the back of Wabash Avenue’s Jewelers Mall for 17 years. Depsite what the little yellow sign may say outside, it’s not coming back, at least not to that location. As Ahmed tells it, he spent his summer dodging bombs in his native Nazareth only to return to Chicago to do battle with the mall’s new owners over the terms of his lease.
Since 2005, the General Services Administration has been acquiring buildings on the State Street block adjoining Federal Center to eventually demolish and build out new office space. The Chicago Loop’s historic Berghoff Restaurant, on the same block, has been protected from those plans. Until now.