Patrons play basketball at Lin (Margaret Hie Ding) park as an Orange Line train weaves over head. This half acre park in Chicagos South Loop was created in the 1960s and officially renamed in 2004 to honor Margaret Hie Ding Lin, one of Chicago’s first Chinese physicians who also played a key role in providing medical services to the residents of our nearby Chinatown neighborhood. This park was also made TV famous after being featured in various commercials including soft drink commercials with Michael Jordan and Derrick Rose
A tugboat pushes a large barge up the South branch of the Chicago River and past a kayaker and electric boat. As seen here, the Chicago River has been used for just about everything throughout its history from shipping, industrial activity, transportation, tourism, and services like firefighters and police. This section of river is also unique in that it was artificially straightened in 1929 to make navigation and river crossings easier
Wishing everyone a happy Mothers Day from these blossoms a few weeks ago in Chicagos Grant Park. I hope you all have a great day and that all mothers out there feel loved and appreciated!
Commuters rush up and down Chicagos Lake Shore Drive (officially Jean Baptiste Point du Sable Lake Shore Drive) on a pleasant spring evening in Chicagos Lakeview neighborhood. Initially built in the late 1800s for Chicagoans to take carriage rides, Lake Shore Drive is now one of the busiest freeways in the city connecting residents from the Northside neighborhood of Edgewater to the Southside neighborhood of South Shore and everywhere in between. This road has had a few names throughout its history, with its southern portion being named Lief Ericsson Drive from 1927 to 1946 before the entire freeway was renamed to just Lake Shore Drive. There have also been numerous proposals for name changes in the past, including naming it after the Apollo space missions. Today, the drives new name was made official in 2021 to honor DuSable, the first non-native settler in what would soon become Chicago.
Golfers enjoy Sydney Marovitz golf course (also known as Waveland) on Chicagos lakefront during a warm spring morning. This 9-hole golf course opened in 1932 under the Waveland Golf Course, at the time costing a mere 25 cents for a day pass. In 1991, the course was renamed after Sydney Marovitz, a commissioner on the Park District Board from 1974 to 1986. However, in typical Chicago fashion, many still simply refer to it as Waveland. Today, this course offers some challenging golf while providing epic views of Chicagos skyline and lakefront
Chicagoans wait at the L terminals at 95th and Dan Ryan in front of a distant Chicago skyline. First opened in 1969, this massive station at southern end of our Red Line route was heavily renovated in 2014-2019. Today, this unique station is designed to double as an immersive piece of art with commissions by local artist Theaster Gates and a DJ booth featuring local musicians.
A Water Taxi glides through the South Branch of the Chicago River while carrying Chicagoans towards Chinatown. Wendella (@wendellaboats ) started this service in 1962 as a way to carry Chicagoans between Michigan Avenue and The Northwestern Railroad Station. Since then, they have operated the “Wendella RiverBus” and now “Water Taxi” as a cheap and effective way to utilize the Chicago River as a means of transportation around our city. Today, Water Taxis operate 7-days a week, moving people through downtown and part of our rivers south branch
Chicago’s nearby skyline rises over Grant Park or “Chicago’s front yard”, on a warm spring day. This 319 acre park was first set aside as public ground in 1836. From the start, city leaders insisted the park remain “forever open, clear, and free.” That vision, however, was not always easy to maintain. We can thank figures like Aaron Montgomery Ward, who fought a series of legal battles between 1890–1910 to protect the park from private interests, for keeping the land open, free, and clear to the public. The park was renamed in 1901 after Ulysses S. Grant, and today remains an awesome space to enjoy fresh air in the heart of our great city!
Patrons enjoy Chicago’s AIDS garden in front of a distant skyline on a chilly spring evening. This 2.5 acre garden was opened in June 2022 to memorialize those impacted by an HIV/AIDs crisis in Chicago during the 1980s. This garden sits at the former location of the Belmont Rocks, a historic gathering space for Chicago’s LGBTQ+ community and as a memorial space for those who died in the epidemic. The centerpiece of the garden is the 30-foot tall green sculpture titled “Self-Portrait”, which was designed by activist and philanthropist Keith Haring and installed in 2019. The rest of the park was completed until 2022 and now includes open spaces for art installations and QR codes that can be scanned for an educational walkthrough about the impact of HIV/AIDs on Chicago’s LGBTQ+ community.
A brown line train zips through Chicagos Near North Side. The near north side is one of Chicagos 77 official community areas and is the northernmost community area included in our downtown skyline. Within the Near Northside are countless unique neighborhoods including the bustling Streeterville and River North, historic Gold Coast, energetic Old Town, and the once heavily industrial Goose Island to name a few
A Green Line train rumbles over Lake Street Bridge in downtown Chicago. Opened in 1916, this double decker trunnion bascule bridge was the first of its kind in the world. Today, this historic bridge is undergoing a massive rehabilitation effort expected to be completed in January 2028
Elston Avenue cuts through Chicagos northwest side. Elston Avenue, like most of our diagonal streets, first originated as a trail used by indigenous tribes of the area connecting Lake Michigan to the Des Plaines River. Over time the trail evolved into a toll road in the mid 19th century, named Lower Plank Road. It was then that the routes high tolls led farmers in the area to stage Boston Tea Party style protests, disguising themselves as indigenous people of the time and destroying the toll booths. Today, Elston Avenue remains a major free road and commercial corridor cutting diagonally through Chicagos gridded street system and serving as a bypass for the adjacent Milwaukee Avenue (another diagonal street at which Elston begins and ends). The road is named after Daniel Elston, a 19th-century English immigrant, alderman, and brickyard owner who also owned quite a bit of property along the route.
