Chicago

The Chicago L. It snakes it way through the town and through its first ring suburbs. While it is loud, slow and and expensive, perhaps there is no better way to see the city. The L has created an entire street system below downtown and close to downtown neighborhoods are marked by restaurants, shops and apartments right below.

The next picture is of Union Station. The mail bus and rail terminal for Chicago is still a grand early 1900's building. The style reminds me of the Milwaukee County Courthouse, which was built in the late Depression - early WWII years.

The Marina Towers probably were controversial when they first built. They are bold, modern and tall. Since then, they have become a downtown icon and really are classic. You will see posters and t-shirts featuring the Towers all around town. While the 1960's is generally known for horrible, utilitarian architecture, the Marina Towers have endured.

The next Tower is on Chicago's Gold Coast. All that concentrated wealth can only mean one thing: Oprah. She commands the entertainment and residential housing sectors in the city. It is a large building, but Oprah seems content to her entire floor.

Finally, this picture over-looks the Chicago River. The river is maybe the only river in the history of the planet that has had its flow reversed. The river no longer drains into Lake Michigan, it drains to the Mississippi, sending all the garbage and flith Chicago can produce downstate. No wonder people in Peoria aren't fond of Chicagoans.