Eric's Trip to Chicago

Tuesday, Sept 4
I really dig going to art museums…especially museums that have a great Impressionists collection. The Art Institute of Chicago has a fantastic collection of the Impressionist masters and I’d highly recommend spending some time there. There are paintings from American masters as well, including American Gothic. The museum has vast collections of art through out the various periods so pick a time frame or style and see the galleries. I tend to burn out in about three hours…which is enough time to see 3 collections.

Another interesting stop is the Chicago Cultural Center…which is the old Chicago Library. The big site to see there is the Tiffany designed stained glass dome on the third floor. Wow. Really cool! Seeing the building and the dome window will take you all of a half hour…and it’s worth it.

Later in the afternoon we checked out the premier shopping destination of Marshall Fields. In the early 1900s this was the store to go to if you had the money to buy anything and everything. The building houses 7 stories of department store, an oak tea room and a domed stained glass dome done by…yep, Tiffany. The visitors center on the 5th floor has a free audio tour that gives an overview of the history of Marshall Fields, why it was so significant and why Macy’s taking over the store last year is really controversial. Take the tour..and go have lunch in the Oak Room. You will have seen it and done it in an hour and a half.

That night we had dinner at Lawry’s. Lawry’s is a high-end prime-rib restaurant chain that started out in Beverly Hills, CA. However, the Chicago version of the restaurant is set in an old residence and makes for an interesting Chicago ambiance. Be sure to check out the various photos set around the restaurant…it’s interesting. If prime rib is your thing, Lawry’s is a great place.