Friday Dec 4, 6-9 PM
Sat. Dec. 5, 11 am – 5 pm
Sun Dec. 6, 11 am – 5 pm
Featuring over 40 chicago area artists and artisans
Everything is hand-made!
Jewelry, Painting, Sculpture, Photography, Printmaking, Fiber Arts, Ceramis, Holiday Items, Glass, and other great gifts!

http://CorneliaArts.com

The first weekend in December Chicago has multiple shopping opportunities for anyone who’s taken the Handmade Pledge. First up, the Renegade Craft Fair Holiday Sale is December 5th and 6th from 11am – 7pm at the Pulaski Park Fieldhouse. Entry for shoppers is free.

Can’t get to the show? Shop the Chicago actual store’s online store, here: http://www.renegadehandmade.com.

(c) Rebecca Zemans

The 9th annual One of a Kind Chicago last four days — December 3-7th at The Merchandise Mart. Find the hours of the show here: http://www.oneofakindshowchicago.com

The show is over 60,000 square feet and includes works of painting, sculpture, glass, photography, ceramics, jewelry, wearable art and furniture.

Tickets are required, adults $12, children 12 & under free.

And one more:

ShopColumbia Holiday Market, December 1-3. Details here: http://www.colum.edu.

Keep in mind that I haven’t lived in this area since it was affordable (so that would be the 1960s) so my latter-day experience is as a tourist, though a local one!

First, a little history: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Town,_Chicago
They say that if you can hear the bells of St. Michaels, you are in Old Town. It’s one of the few churches that survived the Great Fire: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Michael’s_Church,_Old_Town,_Chicago

Anyway, lots of neat old quirky homes around Old Town. We used to live on Burton Place, a block-long street between Wells and LaSalle, and I still think the places there are cool. Some fun boutique shopping on Wells Street and on Armitage Avenue (Armitage Ave shopping is west of Halsted).

Late-night bar Burton Place is ok. Gold Coast Dogs on Clark has great Chicago-stle hot dogs http://www.goldcoastdogs.net.

Restaurants I like are Old Jerusalem and Nookies (which I think is more morning fare) Kamehachi (sushi) Salpicon (Mexican). Twin Anchors on Sedgwick is known for its ribs and beer and is usually crowded, but people like it. Geja’s (on Armitage) is known for fondue (I think that’s all they serve?) and they have flamenco on the weekend. Lots of other places, I know, but those are the ones I know. Fireplace Inn has been in Old Town forever.

Things to see:
Second City is in Old Town: http://www.secondcity.com
Chicago History Museum, recently remodeled small museum. Chic Chicago is a nice exhibit if you like fashion: http://chicagohistory.org

Lincoln Park, which is technically not Old Town, but it’s right next door! Zoo http://www.lpzoo.org, swan boats, Nature Museum, Shakespeare Gardens (which is a garden around the statue of Shakespeare directly across from…) Lincoln Park Conservatory http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Park_Conservatory, North Avenue Beach and its boat-shaped beach house with a decent restaurant. I think there is even a health club along the beach. Midwest Buddhist Temple and the area around it is wonderful: http://www.midwestbuddhisttemple.org.

A guest post from Lynn. Thanks!

Oak Park is the first suburb to the west of Chicago.

See two blocks and then some of Frank Lloyd Wright homes, plus his home and studio. More here: http://www.wrightplus.org/homestudio/homestudio.html

You can take a guided tour or do one of those audio tours with the little phones. IMO, the studio is well worth a tour, and I don’t even like FLW all that much.
The house that he built for his girlfriend when she was still someone else’s wife is here: http://www.oprf.com/flw/Cheney.html

birthplace of Ernest Hemingway, who really didn’t like us (but he didn’t like anybody): You can tour the birthplace home and visit the museum across the street. There are other Hemingway homes in the area (I guess they moved around!) One is now on Chicago Avenue (moved from Euclid, I think?) More about EH here: http://www.ehfop.org/

Other famous people lived here: Edgar Rice Borroughs! http://www.oprf.com/burroughs/
Kathy Griffin! And others still live here, though not the kind you would recognize on sight.

Oak Park is very walkable, though you might want to give your dogs a rest and get a ride with this guy: http://www.rickshawrick.com/ He will also point out areas of local interest/give you a tour if you are so inclined.

Our library is very nice too–the third floor is a nice place to sit and look out the huge windows. Or you can grab a sandwich and have a picnic in Scoville Park across the street (concerts Sunday night) or Austin Gardens, where they sometimes have plays in the park (right now it’s “Fifth of July”)

Other places of Interest (Cheney Mansion) gardens, house belonged to Elizabeth Cheney and then husband) and Pleasant Home on Home Avenue.

Local places to eat: Poor Phil’s (seafood, beer), Philanders (fancier; in same building as Poor Phil’s), New Pot (pan-Asian), Sagano Sushi or Sushi House ($$), Fuego Loco or Maya (mexican-ish), Hemmingways (French bistro-y), Winberie’s, Prairie Bread Kitchen or Erik’s or George’s Lido’s Cafe (super-casual; good for a sandwich), 5 Guys (burgers), The King and I (Thai), Marion Street Grille ($$), Marion Street Cheese Market, and across the street in what looks like a chain restaurant, Pompeii, which I think is wonderful and actually is an offshoot of a restaurant from the Little Italy area of Chicago (Taylor Street). Gepetto’s and Cucina Paradiso are other nice Italian restaurants.

Tasty Dog is a local fast-food hangout that used to be in a grungy place across the street but local kids staged a protest, and given that every other adult at the time worked for some major media outlet, the protest worked, and the village spent something like $1 million on this relatively flashy hotdog stand.

IMO I don’t think Oak Park is a culinary destination by any means, but you won’t go hungry here either.

This is mostly about downtown Oak Park Stuff, between the Oak Park and Harlem stops of the Green Line. There are lots of other things to do South and East, many pools, parks, restaurants (the Depot on Roosevelt, and many other wonderful restaurants there and Cermak Avenue (La Quinta de los Reyes! http://www.yelp.com/biz/la-quinta-de-los-reyes-berwyn), but hard to get to if you are on foot.

If you are taking the Green line to or from Oak Park, you might want to stop off at the Garfield Conservatory, a pretty and peaceful place to see flowers and plants–there is an indoor kids’ play area in the back, and a huge field to romp in. More here: http://www.garfield-conservatory.org/

If you come in on the Blue Line or are up for a walk (or rickshaw ride) you can see our Harrison Street Arts districts, with its studios, glassworks, and boutiques (love Careful Peach) More here: http://www.oakparkartsdistrict.com/
Buzz Cafe is a fixture here, and they have very good food and coffee and show a lot of local artwork: http://www.thebuzzcafe.com/ My personal favorite restaurant there is Trattoria 225: http://www.trattoria225.com/

Also, Oak Park has its own small conservatory, complete with cranky talking parrot George: http://www.oprf.com/conservatory

I asked locals, both Chicagoans and suburbanites to make recommendations and everyone says go to Millennium Park, see the Bean. The Bean is supposedly actually called Cloudscape, but nobody calls it that. (Speaking of suburbanites — used to be called 708ers, for the area code, before the addition of more area codes in both city and suburbs.)

The Sears Tower has a new scare your pants off feature, a glass bottom balcony.

I had some requests for “non-touristy” stuff to see, but a wise friend said, “actually, I think the touristy stuff is better.”

Chicago is a city of neighborhoods, and because of traffic patterns and distance, you’ll want to visit one neighborhood per day. Two if they’re close and you’re really energetic.

I’m organizing some things to see in Chicago by neighborhood:

Hyde Park: See Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House and the Oriental Institute, eat in nearby Chinatown. (Nearby is relative.)

If you have time, stop by the Japanese garden that’s behind the Museum of Science and Industry. Skip the MSI unless you’re really into trains, planes, WWII subs or want to go in a replica coal mine. I think I’m bored with MSI from going too often, but my good friend says:

“remember the Harry Potter exhibit and the Smart House! Also there is a great inventors exhibit (can’t remember what it is called) that has a very cool music-generating machine.”

Downtown: the aforementioned Millennium Park, you can walk over toward Wacker Drive and the Dearborn bridge and stand on the bronze plaque where Fort Dearborn once stood.

Of course there’s Art Institute of Chicago, armor collection, pre Columbian Gold, and lower level decorative arts collection. The brand new modern wing just opened, I haven’t been yet, but friends report that it’s great. Be warned though, the Art Institute just raised their price to a whopping $18.00 per person! (Not sure where the armor is, with things being moved around during remodeling.)

If you can take more art at this point, go to the Chicago Cultural Center, formerly the library, and see the Tiffany dome, the multiple art galleries, and if you’re there on the right day, see a free lunchtime performance.

Walk to the lake, of course, see Lake Michigan, stop by Buckingham Fountain on your way.

From downtown it’s a straight shot out to Oak Park to see the Frank Lloyd Wright home and studio. Or take a walking tour, download the audio for one for free.

Where to eat: this is a tough call, as there are a ton of good restaurants. For good cheese, Marion Street Cheese Market, for Mexican, Lalo’s on Oak Park Avenue, 5 Guys Burgers and Fries on Lake Street, Trader Joe’s on Harlem for a picnic lunch.

Or visit nearby Forest Park for Gaetano’s, Cafe Dalucca if it’s before 3 pm, or Fuji Grill on Harlem for Japanese.

For more on what to see in Oak Park, see the post above this one.

North End of Downtown, or the “Magnificent Mile”

A bit dull, artistically. The Museum of Contemporary Art is there, and they have some nice Calder mobiles. Other than that the Mag Mile just shopping, I don’t get it. Upscale retail, if that’s what you’re in the mood for.

Pilsen:
An excellent museum is the National Museum of Mexican Art (formerly the Mexican Fine Art Center Museum) in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago.

It’s the largest museum of Mexican art outside of Mexico! Plan your visit info. is here.

Where to eat: El Milagro on Blue Island and Cafe Bon Bon on 18th for desert. Yum! Check out hours and such first.

Old Town:

Visit the Chicago History Museum. More on the neighborhood here.

Evanston, IL

Stop by the beach and the Blind Faith Cafe for veggie eats. For beads, see Ayala’s Originals.

There’s also the Evanston Art Center, and right next door, a lighthouse you can tour: grossepointlighthouse.net. Kids under 8 are not allowed.

Navy Pier
Navy Pier is a mall that happens to be on a pier. I think it’s the least interesting thing to do in Chicago. It’s also hard to get to. There’s a shuttle from the closest train stop, if you miss it, it’s a long walk. Parking is really, really expensive. I think there are a lot of more interesting things to do in Chicago. Sure, it’s safe, clean and indoors, but it’s summer, so skip it. (Lots of people disagree with me. It’s a good place to catch a boat tour, there’s a stained glass museum, lots of good restaurants, and the Chicago Children’s Museum.)

Getting around

Traffic is a big factor if you’re driving, so plan accordingly or take the train. The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) has a phone number you can call and they’ll plan your whole route for you.

Trains are easier to figure out than they used to be, but not as easy as Washington, D.C. Make sure you’re getting on the right “color” train and the correct “end of the line.”

Some helpful planning websites:

Transit Chicago

Explore Chicago

Bonus section:

Cool houses of worship to see

Unity Temple in Oak Park, IL http://www.utrf.org/visit.html

BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Bartlett, IL http://www.swaminarayan.org

more to come

Your suggestions are welcomed in the comments!

Photo credit: Joe Pena
———————
From the Comments:

Mary Ellen writes:

You forgot one great Chicago activity – the Architectural Boat Tour. If you put it on the list, I suggest that you recommend that people book it through the Chicago Architecture Foundation, as these docents know more than they have time to talk about. Other boat tour companies have added some information on architecture, but they aren’t as extensively trained or knowledgeable as the CAF docents.

Great suggestion Mary Ellen, thanks! Here’s the link: http://www.architecture.org

Coming to the Chicago area for the Metal Clay World Convention this July?

Here’s a post I wrote waaaaay back in 2007, with some ideas of what to see and do, on a jewelry theme:

http://www.creativetexturetools.com/news/2007/09/22/jewelry-tourism-chicago

What would you like to see while you’re here? I can write a new post on visiting Chicago, and I’d love to know what kinds of things you’re interested in. The offbeat? Unusual? Path less travelled? Where to eat? Please post a comment!

Thanks!

Photo credit: Joe Pena

Even if you can’t make it to the show, the article is an interesting read: http://www.washingtontimes.com.

The show will be up February 13, 2009 — July 5, 2009.

Learn more here: http://www.fieldmuseum.org/exhibits.

Read it here: http://www.artjewelryforum.org.

A site to remember for when you’re planning your next trip!

My town, as visited by Gail Lannum, a nice series, start here: http://gaillannum.blogspot.com.

Photo by Gail.