#chicago tourism

[fruitcage]

[copperbadge]

I was catching my train home today in the land down under and there was an ad, apparently paid for by the City of Chicago, saying that Chicago was voted the best city in the U.S.A and telling people to come visit

And all I could think was, I must tell Sam, I'm sure he will have thoughts(tm)

LOL, I will admit my first reaction was "By whom?" and "For what?"

I mean, I love Chicago and think it's a great city, but I don't know if there's any metric by which it is actually the best city in America, unless you confine your sample size to "people who live in Chicago" and even then, like, we don't tend to have many illusions about this place. It's a great city to be a tourist in but there are better ones, depending on what you're touristing for, and there's not much going on in winter outside of shopping. We have some world-class museums, but New York has bigger, and while we do have some of the nicest parks around, nobody visits Chicago for the parks. We have a lot of summer festivals but not as many or as large as say, Austin.

I'd love to see a photo of the ad if you happen to see it again, or know who placed it -- it must be a tourism board of some kind. But Australia? Advertising for Chicago in March, when it's freezing here and probably very pleasant there, is a real choice someone made.

I wonder if an airline subsidized it. We have a hub, so it could be some airline that just opened up flights between Chicago and Australia wants to encourage people to travel.

[shutterandsentence]

11 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;     let the sea resound, and all that is in it. 12 Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them;     let all the trees of the forest sing for joy. 13 Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes,     he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness     and the peoples in his faithfulness.

--Psalm 96: 11-13

Photo: Morton Arboretum, Illinois

[vintagepromotions]

American Airlines travel poster for Chicago (c. 1950). Artwork by Henry K. Bencsath.

[cloudsndreamsxo]

[janicerodriguez]

Foot traffic motion at Navy Pier on Mother's Day 2024

[riannosaurus]

📍boat tour, Chicago, IL

[rabbitcruiser]

National Pierogi Day

National Pierogi Day is an annual feast celebrated on October 8th of every year. The foodie lovers precisely the dumpling fans can celebrate this food holiday. Taste the delicious semi-circular dumplings made of unleavened dough on National Pierogi Day to complete the celebration.

“It’s a good thing that dumplings are small because Lee Anne’s goodies will make your willpower vanish as you reach for ‘just one more.” – Roger Mooking

History of National Pierogi Day

The first National Pierogi Day was celebrated on 2009. The plural form of the rarely used Polish word pierog is Pierogi. Pierogi can be spelt in several ways like perogi or pierogy and is known as varenyky. Pierogi are filled dumplings made up of unleavened dough around a savoury or sweet filling. It is semicircular in shape, traditionally stuffed with a mashed potato filling, potato and onion, potato, and cheese, cabbage, cheese, sauerkraut, mushroom, ground meat, spinach or fruit. The dough will be first boiled, sometimes baked or fried in the butter. It has the Central and Eastern European origin. These dumplings are popular in Slavic, Baltic, and other Eastern European cuisines.

Pierogi is the national dish in Poland and Slovakia. The dumplings will be served with toppings. It includes melted butter, sour cream, fried onion, sauteed mushrooms, or combinations of those ingredients. The Eastern European immigrants popularized pierogi in the United States. Pierogi was a family food among the immigrants and found in ethnic restaurants. In the post-World War II era, ethnic churches made freshly cooked pierogi as a staple fundraiser. Americans typically consider pierogi as a side dish and in other countries, it is the main dish.

How to Celebrate National Pierogi Day

Celebrating the National Pierogi Day is very simple. Enter your favorite restaurant and order some Pierogi for yourself. Know more about Pierogi and how to make them. Prepare it in your home for your family with different stuffings.

Source

[ashitakaxsan]

Ancient Treasures Beeing Uncovered Waiting Excibition

TEHRAN - More than two months have passed since the recovery of 3506 Achaemenid tablets, and the time for their unveiling has not yet been determined. However, the director of the National Museum of Iran announced their imminent display in this museum soon.

It was late in September that 3506 Achaemenid tablets were returned to Iran after nearly 90 years, accompanying the President's plane.

The treasured tablets were returned home by the plane carrying President Ebrahim Raisi, who addressed the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly during his visit to New York.

These clay tablets were part of a larger shipment discovered at Persepolis in 1311, which was entrusted to the Oriental Institute of Chicago for deciphering and study.

Out of over 30,000 pieces held by the Chicago Institute for study and deciphering, five shipments have been returned to Iran in the Iranian years 1327 (1948-49), 1330 (1951-52), 1383 (2004-05), 1398 (2019-2020), and 1402 (2023-24), ISNA reported.

Yet, portions of these tablets still remain at the institute. Ezzatollah Zarghami, the Minister of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts, had previously mentioned the process of returning the remaining tablets, stating that the groundwork for their return has been laid out. “According to an agreement made by the Americans, our experts will go to that country to verify the remaining tablets, after which they will gradually be returned to Iran.”

However, the fifth shipment, arriving in Iran on September 21 this year, consisted of 836 small tablets in Aramaic script and 2670 large tablets in Elamite script. They were shipped in nine boxes each weighing 75 kg. They were ultimately delivered to the National Museum of Iran.

It was planned that after quarantine, inspection, and study, some of these tablets would be put on display. Jebrael Nokandeh, the director of the National Museum of Iran, responding to ISNA regarding the timing of their display, stated: “It will be showcased soon.”.

He had previously mentioned the possibility of showcasing the Achaemenid tablets during Research Week (Dec. 16 to 20), but upon ISNA's follow-up, he responded: "The time for display (of the fifth shipment of recovered Achaemenid tablets) is approaching."

Studies conducted thus far on the Achaemenid clay tablets indicate that their content encompasses the administration and upper echelons of society during that historical period.

Archaeologists affiliated with the University of Chicago discovered the tablets in the 1930s while excavating in Persepolis, the ceremonial capital of the Persian Empire. However, the institute has resumed work in collaboration with colleagues in Iran, and the return of the tablets is part of a broadening of contacts between scholars in the two countries, said Gil Stein, director of the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago.

They are very important sources of information revealing economic, social, and religious data about the Achaemenid Empire (550-330 BC) and the larger Near Eastern region in the fifth century BC.

Persepolis, locally known as Takht-e Jamshid, was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire. It ranks among the archaeological sites, that have no equivalent, considering its unique architecture, urban planning, construction technology, and art.

Narratives say that Persepolis was burnt by Alexander the Great in 330 BC apparently as revenge against the Persians because it seems the Persian King Xerxes had burnt the Greek City of Athens around 150 years earlier. It was the largest and most durable empire of its time, stretching from Ethiopia, through Egypt, to Greece, Anatolia (modern Turkey), Central Asia, and India at its height.

Source:https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/491889/Achaemenid-tablets-recovered-from-U-S-when-will-they-be-unveiled

[seilon]

no like when I say any answer on the queerest city poll that’s not San Fran is wrong I mean it is factually and historically WRONG

[kaz-playz]

CHICAGO HEADCANON!!

Their face is littered in acne scars and bumps. M because of the potholes from snowplows and trucks. Their skin is probably a Sahara type of dry most of the time because of the abundance of wind. They get cold sweats because of the rain (and im also projecting) and their hair is frizzy and dandruff filled despite their desperate attempts to keep it clean and styled. Basically preteen!Chicago

[copperbadge]

Hey Sam, it looks like I'll be in Chicago for a few days next May. I'm going through all the typical sight seeing websites, but do you have any recommendations for a first time visitor? I'm not huge on architecture, parks or crowds. History, art and music are a big yes. I'm considering the Big Bus hop on/off tour for practicality. Any tips would be appreciated!

I used to have a "guide to Chicago" that I would link people to, but I think it probably badly needs updating, since a lot of what it talks about is pre-pandemic, and some places don't exist anymore (which is not necessarily down to the pandemic, Chicago is an ever-changing place). RIP Apocalypse McDonalds. Definitely before you follow anyone's advice including mine, look up what you're going to go see to make sure it's still there.

So, couple of quick recommendations; thanks for telling me some of what you're into, that always helps :) I'm going to assume you're either staying somewhere close to downtown or willing to trek into the city from outside it. A lot of people who tell me they're visiting Chicago are actually visiting Rosemont, which is a nice place but not Chicago and not super close to most of what I'll be talking about. Chicago is extremely large, and if you are staying around the O'Hare airport area (Rosemont) it will be an hour by public transit or at least $50 by rideshare/cab to get downtown.

I will say whenever I'm visiting somewhere, my first stop is always Atlas Obscura, which usually lists the really weird shit to do. :D

I've never done the Big Bus tour, but it's much nicer to do it in May than, say, December, and the people I know who've done it found it a convenient and inexpensive way to get around the city without having to deal with public transit, so while I can't personally recommend, I've only heard good things.

I know you said you weren't into architecture, but if you want to see a lot of Chicago in a very relaxed fashion, while incidentally getting some architecture knowledge, it's tough to beat the Chicago Architecture Center's boat tour. You just get on the boat, buy a drink if you want one, sit back, and drift down the river and back while someone narrates the history of Chicago architecture to you. You'll also, in May, see lots of other folks out on the river and get a real taste of Chicago's downtown scene. If you'd like to see the river without the cost of the architecture tour, I'd check out the water taxis and see if there's an opportunity to take one when going between other places you're visiting. They do a lot of tourist-destination stops.

For history, the Chicago History Museum is a natural fit and a lot of walking tours leave from the museum, although most of them are architecture :D I would also HIGHLY recommend Adam Selzer's Mysterious Chicago tours; Selzer is a very smart local historian and if you'd like to do reading ahead of time I also highly recommend his book Ghosts of Chicago. If he's offering a tour of Rose Hill or Graceland cemeteries, I'd jump on that; Graceland was my old "home" cemetery (it was literally my backyard for about a decade) and I think it's extremely interesting and beautiful. If you do go to Graceland, I can recommend Byron's nearby as a great place to get a burger, fries, Italian Beef, or a hot dog. But pretty much any tour he offers I would recommend whether I've been on it or not, he's great.

For art, again, the natural choice is the Art Institute Museum; to avoid lines, I'd recommend buying your museum ticket ahead of time and entering through the Modern Wing on Monroe Street, which is less attractive but also way less crowded than the "Lions" entrance on Michigan Avenue. I always recommend people make sure not to miss the Thorne Miniatures (they're in the basement so easy to miss, but any docent can direct you there) and the Ugliest Vase in the World. They move the vase around quite a bit, but if you check the website for the Londonderry Vase before you go, it'll tell you where to find it. Its hideousness must be seen in person. Also make sure not to miss the Chagall windows, they're off in a corner by the entrance to the cafe.

I'm not really much on music so my reccs are weaker there, but if you'd like some Chicago blues in a tourist-friendly environment, Kingston Mines is good, as is Buddy Guy's (which also has great food and is closer to downtown). If you like fried chicken, Harold's Chicken Shack is near Buddy Guy's (it's all over, it's a small chain, but that's usually the easiest one for people to find). The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is pretty great for classical music, and in the summer they often have special guests. If you like the NPR show "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me", they record live in downtown Chicago at the Fine Arts building; you usually have to buy pretty far in advance, keep an eye on tickets here.

More general recommendations: the Museum of Science and Industry is really fun, especially with kids but even without, but it's also the furthest out from downtown and can take some work to get to. Field Museum and Shedd Aquarium are both fun times, although the Shedd is kinda pricey I think. They're right next to each other though so a day doing both is convenient. If you are doing any of the museums, keep your eyes peeled for the "Mold A Rama" machines, where for $5 you can watch the machine injection-mold you a souvenir. Often the museums have custom machines for various exhibits (the Death exhibit at the Field had a skull one, for instance).

There are two train systems in Chicago: the "El" (the color-coded trains you see in movies all the time) and the Metra. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES TAKE THE METRA TRAIN ANYWHERE. The Metra is a commuter rail designed for people who know how to use it, and they don't announce stops or even sometimes have signage; often the train won't stop at a platform unless it's told to during certain times of day. It is extremely easy to get extremely lost on the Metra and end up somewhere you do not want to be. If you are taking public transit, even if it seems less convenient, stick to buses and the El trains. The El and Metra run on different tracks so it's easy to avoid the Metra, but I always like to warn folks.

Okay, I think that's the highlights, minus some parks and such; I hope you have a great time! Feel free to hit me if you have questions.

[shutterandsentence]

Dashing through the leaves...

Photo: Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, Illinois

[jdunlevy]

Guests at the Last Frontier pool watched as a mushroom cloud rose from the Simon Test, part of the Operation Upshot-Knothole, at the Nevada Test Site outside of Las Vegas on April 25, 1953. The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce issued a calendar for tourists, listing the scheduled times of the bomb detonations and the best places to view them.

When I saw this photo shared on Facebook by the National Atomic Testing Museum (Atomic Museum), I was thinking what a contrast from just eight years earlier when Enrico Fermi was taking bets ahead of the Trinity test about whether a nuclear detonation would ignite the atmosphere and possibly destroy the world. That’s an episode recounted in John Adams’s opera Doctor Atomic which I saw at Lyric Opera in the 2007/8 season.

I knew Fermi wasn’tserious, but hadn’t understood that by that time that particular catastrophe had already been ruled out by scientists as even a remote possibility, but the idea that it at least might have been possible lived on in the more popular imagination for some time.

[nothisisalexvr]

Why does Chicago Dye the River Green for St. Patrick’s Day? 🍀

[janicerodriguez]

Navy Pier foot traffic on Mother's Day 2024