Thursday, August 26, 2010

Last Days in Chicago

Rather than spending too much time in an empty apartment I did some exploring in my last few days in Chicago. My parents moved from Columbus to Chicago in 2008, around the same time Chuck and I moved there, so I hung out with my Dad for much of this exploration.

Montrose Harbor Montrose Harbor
First Dad took me to Montrose Harbor on the North Side. It has a bird sanctuary with natural landscaping that is very lovely. There are several of these natural areas popping up on the waterfront in Chicago, but Montrose Harbor was quite a bit larger than what I saw happening on the southern side of the city. It also has a fantastic view of the Chicago Skyline. It was pretty hot out that day, so we left the Harbor and drove to Andersonville. My parents kept telling me I needed to get over there to explore, and I only just barely made it before I left town, thanks to my dad. Lots of cute furniture shops, restaurants, a Mediterranean grocery, clothing stores, a huge shoe store and the Andersonville Galleria. I'm sure when I come back to Chicago for visits I will be coming back to see more of this neighborhood.

Wright + Cats! Arthur B. Heurtley House
On Friday I suggested Dad and I explore Oak Park. I had only been there a few times, including once on volunteer night for the Wright Plus Home tour. That experience made me realize that the area was full of interesting, extravagant homes, not just by Frank Lloyd Wright. Of course, we looked at several Wright homes on our visit, and we were floored by the unusual Moore-Dugal house. It's Wright's first independent commission from 1895, although he came back to work on it in 1923 after a fire destroyed upper levels. There are cats in the details! We saw a range of Wright's work and stopped by the fun bust of FLW himself. I recently read the book "Loving Frank", so we had to make a point of finding the Edwin Cheney house, which looks very comfortable and well landscaped.

All of this was a helpful distraction from the empty apartment, and I managed to leave the apartment mainly when kitty was asleep anyway. Next posts will be about Portland!

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