Architecture River Cruise

 

We chose the sunset Architecture River Cruise, a calm, scenic ride through downtown on the Chicago River.

Seeing the city from the water gives enough distance to properly take in its buildings and bridges. 

Each structure stands out like The St Regis Chicago hotel, but together they create a unified skyline that reflects Chicago's deliberate balance of design and function.

150 North Riverside stands out for its unusual, eye-catching design. Its inward-sloping base make the structure appear almost unstable. Most buildings widen at the base to support their height. This one does not.

Riverside Point, next to 150 North Riverside, also features an inward-sloping base, though its front and back are curved. It sits at the junction where the North and South branches of the Chicago River meet.

One building along the river stands out for the wrong reasons: Trump Tower. The building carries a growing stigma that continues to overshadow it.

In contrast to the towering skyscrapers, the bridges share a largely uniform design, creating striking visual patterns as you drift along the river. Most of the bridges serve a dual purpose, carrying road traffic while the upper level is dedicated to the city's "L" trains.

The north branch of the Chicago River contains some of the city’s older bridge infrastructure, including the decommissioned Chicago & NW Railway Bridge (above) and the Kinzie Street Bridge (below).

Moving along the South Branch of the river, the tall skyscrapers give way to more residential buildings and industrial areas.

Chicago's architectural landscape ranges from the elegant Art Deco designs of the 1920s to the bold contemporary structures of today. Dominating the skyline is the Willis Tower, once known as the Sears Tower. Finished in 1974, it held the title of the world's tallest building until 1998.

THe cruise was a really nice way to end a very busy day.

Navy Pier

 

Chicago's Navy Pier features prominently in most travel guides, but it held limited appeal for us beyond serving as the departure point for the Architecture River Cruise.

While the pier includes the Centennial Wheel and a wide selection of restaurants, there was little else that truly stood out.

It’Sugar in Chicago really caught me off guard. Seeing that massive amount of sugar on display was terrifying.

Field Museum of Natural History

 

Our walk through Grant Park concluded at the Field Museum of Natural History. This enormous institution ranks among the largest museums in the world, with a collection totaling around 24 million specimens.

The Field Museum is housed in a grand building with striking architecture, most evident in its vast Grand Hall, surrounded by the various exhibition wings.

The largest exhibit in the Field Museum, Máximo, a 27-metre-long titanosaur and one of the largest dinosaurs ever discovered, dominates the Great Hall.

Despite its vast collection, the exhibits on display are thoughtfully curated, reinforcing the museum's reputation as one of the most important scientific centres in the United States, and arguably worldwide.

Much of the museum is devoted to seemingly endless displays showcasing an extraordinary range of animal life from across the globe.

Alongside its extensive animal collection, the Field Museum also houses a vast array of artefacts from civilisations across the Americas, including exhibits that trace human migration across the two continents.

The Field Museum features an extensive dinosaur collection, with a particular focus on Tyrannosaurus rex. SUE, the most complete T. rex skeleton ever discovered, is the centrepiece of a vast dinosaur gallery.

The only more impressive collection I’ve seen is at the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Alberta.

The Field Museum is the most impressive natural history museum I have ever visited. We spent nearly five hours there and still didn’t see half the exhibits, it became overwhelming by the end. As a Chicago resident, it would probably take at least five visits to feel like you’d covered it properly. For local teachers, it’s an incredible educational resource.