That Most American of Cities: Chicago?

When the world thinks of a quintessentially American city, which one do you think it thinks of?  New York?  Los Angeles?  How about Chicago?

This is the side of a Korean Air shuttle bus parked outside of the awkwardly-named Grand Ambassador Seoul Associated With Pullman Hotel in Seoul, South Korea.  The bus wrap is a big ad that boils down to "fly Korean Air to America."  And to represent America, there's a picture of the Chicago skyline.

Another reason for the city of big shoulders to stand proud and strong

• Click here to see more than a thousand Chicago buildings at our sister site, Chicago Architecture Info.

Skyline: Manhattan

The Empire State Building stands proudly as the tallest building in New York City, with the rest of the skyscraper jungle creeping up around it.

• Click here to see hundreds of buildings from Manhattan on our sister site, New York Architecture Info.

Chicago Skyline Sunrise

The sun peeks out over Lake Michigan and illuminates the skyscraper forest of Chicago on an early morning.  From this vantage point, several buildings clearly stand head and shoulders above the rest:

• Trump International Hotel and Tower 
• Willis Tower 
• 300 North LaSalle 
• The Park Tower

Why no 100-story John Hancock Center in the photograph?  Because it was taken from the John Hancock Center.

Pics: Earth Hour in Chicago

Last night, many places around the world dimmed their lights to mark Earth Hour, an even organized by the World Wildlife Fund.  I happened to be in Chicago at the time and I've posted a few photos below.  Last year, participation by Chicago buildings was spotty.  This year was better, though there were still a few hold-outs.

Among those I could see going dark:

• Navy Pier, except for its ferris wheel still blazing into the night (600 East Grand Avenue)
• The John Hancock Center (875 North Michigan Avenue)
• Willis Tower (233 South Wacker Drive)
• Aon Center (200 East Randolph Street)
• Marriott Chicago Downtown Magnificent Mile (540 North Michigan Avenue)
• The Park Tower (800 North Michigan Avenue)
• Grand Plaza (540 North State Street)
• 55 East Erie (55 East Erie Street)
• NBC Tower (200 East Illinois Street)
• Chase Tower (10 South Dearborn Street)
• The Clare at Water Tower (55 East Pearson Street)

I assume that the Wrigley Building and Tribune Tower participated because they participate in most everything.

The Marriott always has trouble with its sign, so it ended up darkening some of the letters early in the evening (spelling out "Mot").

Trump International Hotel and Tower was also dark, but not for the occasion.  In spite of what the Chicago Tribune reported, it does not light up at night at all, so this was one of the few occasions when it actually looked appropriate in the night skyline.

Some buildings didn't join in:  

• Millennium Centre (33 West Ontario Street)
• 300 North LaSalle (300 North LaSalle Drive)
• 353 North Clark (353 North Clark Street)
• The Hyatt Regency Chicago (151 East Wacker Drive)
• Museum Park (1215 South Prairie Avenue)
• The Fordham (25 East Superior Street)
• Millennium Park (337 East Randolph Street)

As you can see in the photos below, 300 and 353, and the Hyatt are the brightest things in the Chicago skyline, and conspicuous for their illumination when all of their neighbors have gone dark. As always, you can click to enlarge the pictures and see the offenders.

Skyline: Minneapolis, Minnesota

The skyline of Minneapolis rises behind one of the thousands of lake that make up the sponge-like topography of Minnesota.  Note the sign warning people not to walk on the ice.  With the kind of weather that Minneapolis typically has, people have learned to embrace outdoor sports in even the most frigid conditions.