What Makes You Smile in Downtown Chicago?

I'm curious to know what are the special corners, nooks, and crannies that readers treasure about downtown Chicago. If something or someplace in downtown Chicago has a special meaning for you, please feel free to tell us all about it.

What Makes You Smile in Downtown Chicago?
The joy's the thing in downtown Chicago. Credit: RcktManIL.

Monday's post on my hikes through downtown Chicago turned out to be one my most widely read ever, especially after being featured Tuesday on Chicago's leading metablog, Gapers Block. I'm glad to know others find urban exploration as interesting as I do.

Now, I'm curious to know what are the special corners, nooks, and crannies that you treasure about downtown Chicago. If something or someplace in downtown Chicago has a special meaning for you, please share it with your fellow readers and me by leaving a comment, below.

The success of the post was an unexpected joy on a day that seemed to be full of them. As Tuesday began, I returned to the fold of the relaunched Chicago Bloggers webring.

Later in the day, I received an email from the Chicago editor of The Huffington Post, the nation's most popular news and political group blog, inviting me to participate as a blogger on HuffPost's forthcoming new Chicago site (more on that later, and as you might imagine, I did not decline).

I ended the day reading a tender email from an old friend, long out of touch, who previously has appeared many times on these pages. It was this that brought the biggest smile to my face.

What makes you smile in downtown Chicago?