Chicago Meeting Planners Guide 2009 - (Page 20) NORTH of THE LOOP The Magnificent Mile The phrase “shop ’til you drop” is far from an exaggeration on Michigan Avenue. From the Chicago River north to Oak Street, the Mag Mile is ranked as one of the world’s top five shopping streets — a medley of chic boutiques, huge department stores, vertical malls, and various bars and restaurants great for resting between purchases. Among the notable buildings one encounters walking north along the strip are the white terra-cotta-clad Wrigley Building; the Gothic Tribune Tower; the Chicago Water Works building, which houses the Chicago Visitor Information Center; the quarter-mile-tall John Hancock Tower; and the elegant Drake Hotel. River North A perfect illustration of creative urban renewal, River North has transformed itself from an area of abandoned manufacturing buildings into a trendy hub for cultural, residential and professional uses. The River North Gallery District comprises numerous art galleries and studios, antique shops, restaurants and loft housing — all in the same stately buildings and warehouses from yesteryear, rehabbed into places truly distinctive. River North lies just north and east of the Chicago River. The colorful Old Town neighborhood fuses old and modern styles. ©Weaver/Denise Chambers Hyde Park The cultural nucleus of the South Side, Hyde Park is home to the prestigious University of Chicago. Between Jackson Park and Washington Park, the tree-lined streets surrounding the campus are certainly worth a stroll and contain a wealth of historic buildings and museums, including the Oriental Institute Museum, the David and Alfred Smart Museum, the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Robie House and the DuSable Museum of African American History. Just east of the train tracks, Jackson Park and the Museum of Science and Industry remain legacies of the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893. Pullman Historic District George Pullman had this planned community built in the 1880s for the workers at his railway sleeping car factory. Complete with housing, schools, churches and shops, the companyowned town was eventually annexed by the city of Chicago and today is a national, state and Chicago historical district. The town’s modernday working-class community works hard to preserve and restore these buildings, with the Historic Pullman Foundation conducting walking tours of the area. Located about 15 miles south of downtown Chicago, the Pullman Historic District lies between 111th Street and 115th Street, from Cottage Grove Avenue to S. Langley Avenue. 20 Chicago Meeting Professionals Guide
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