There wasn't an event or pop up happening the day I visited but it is still a great place to stop…read moreand sit a while, maybe enjoying some lunch or people watching! The architecture views here are also fantastic!

So happy to have caught another pop up. There are certainly enough items in my house from Home…read moreGoods. They are giving away FREE tote bags and if you scan the QR code on site, you'll instantly receive a 5$ coupon. Keep the pop ups coming!

A Chicago Landmark [Chicago IL]…read more This bridge is actually the DuSable Bridge (formerly the Michigan Avenue Bridge). The bridge is a gateway to the Magnificent Mile. We walked past this bridge and ascended from the Riverwalk from this bridge. We also drove through it while navigating our way through the city... but I paid more attention to Chicago's famous buildings more than the bridge. It isn't a long bridge but why is it popular especially when there are other bridges that crosses over the Chicago River in Downtown Chicago. Aha! I googled! Well, this bridge is movable with counterweights that lift so that boats can pass underneath. I've never seen it in action though. The bridge was named after the Haitian-born explorer and trader Jean Baptiste Point du Sable and there is a bust of him at the end of the bridge. Anyway, while there is historic significance to this bridge that dates back to when it opened in 1920 I just marveled at the spectacular views from the bridge... also, the former name is easier to remember, the Michigan Avenue Bridge. We passed the bridge a couple of times during an evening tour with the Chicago River 90-Minute Architecture Boat Tour. Review #3822

Another Chicago Staple and when in Chicago a must see!…read more Nice spot to take some amazing photos This bridge/area has a lot of history to it and the views are amazing The architecture is awesome and if you find yourself here on this bridge there are many options to go see that are walkable

This is a small pocket plaza located in the heart of downtown Chicago, sandwiched between the…read moreWrigley and Realtor buildings. It was dedicated in 1963 by the then Mexican Consulate General, in honor of the member countries of the Organization of American States. It is a small plaza that is very picturesque, especially at night at is home to a few sculptures. In the Spring and Summer, the plaza is adorned with beautiful flowers and folliage. It is well maintained. Obviously, they cant have the plants in the harsh Chicago winters though. You will find the Wings of Mexico here. It is a temporary exhibit that consist of a pair of gold wings that visitor can pose in front of and take pictures. There is also a life-sized sculpture of Mexico's first president of indigenous origin (26th overall), Benito Juarez in the plaza. I did not see any seating in the plaza, so I guess they do not want it to be a spot to hang out and loiter, but to just enjoy. There are flags around the plaza's perimeter, representative of the each respective country that is part of the Organization of American States. Parking to get here is very difficult, as is most parking in the Windy City. I like this place and what it represents, but this plaza is not a destination spot and most of its visitors will be passerbys such as myself. I would say, I spent about 20 minutes here and moved on.

This place was nice to just sit, relax, enjoy the view, and take a quick break from walking around…read morethe city.

I used to enjoy this place, sitting outside in the park near the lake. Not sure what happened this…read moreyear. Its like they fired their cook and hired someone who doesn't know anything about food. The only vegetarian item on the menu is a humus and vegetable platter with pita chips . When my food came, they were out of pita chips. The humus was a small container maybe 2 inches wide, like something you'd put ketchup in. The vegetables were grated carrots and exactly 3 sliced cherry tomatoes. Was i supposed to scoop out the humus with a cherry tomato or a piece of grated carrot? Did the person who prepared this even think about what they were putting on the plate? I paid $11 for this monstrosity and left and went elsewhere to get something to eat.

A peaceful area where many can relax, play tennis, softball, flag football, soccer or get bike…read morefixed. There is a huge parking lot, so need to worry about parking. As for me myself I run, and ride pass this place when headed toward downtown Chicago, but my only visit to this place was for Chicago Marathon training with Clock Tower Runners, which training group that meets at the tower to do training runs. Clock Tower Runners is the ONLY "free" running group in Chicago, that will prepare you for Chicago Marathon during the summer, and fall months. All paces are welcome, and they meet mostly on Saturday's at 06:30. Anyway,there is a café called "Clock Tower Café" where you can lunch and dinner if you choose to. One thing I love about this area, is that there are always activities going on, and if you would like to take the children to a park; there is one right next to the huge field at Waveland. Enjoy!

Fort Sheridan is a hidden gem of a small residential community that was once an Army post from the…read morelate 1800's era.  Honestly, we only came through here to get to the Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve, a large enclave that is technically part of Fort Sheridan.  Before heading to the preserve, we did stroll around the attractive centerpiece of the town, and that is the Water Tower which is on the National Register of Historic Places.  The tower and many of the community's buildings all have the same attractive yellowish brickwork that was used in the construction of the original military post.  All of the residences look quaint, upscale, and well maintained and strolling about is very peaceful and pleasant.  If in the vicinity, it's worth a drive-by and/or stroll through this historic area.

Every time coming across this structure, I have to admire it. If going along the Lakefront Trail in…read moreLincoln Park, it's pretty hard to miss. The Kwagluth Totem Pole is one of the park's many monuments and other things. Carved by an actual tribal chief. You can get close enough to see the craftsmanship and skill. Actual name of it is Kwanusila. It's a 40 foot high totem pole. This was carved by Tony Hunt, who was the chief of the Kwagu'ł tribe. He also carved many others. There's one in Vancouver's Stanley Park. An interesting history about the Lincoln Park one and how it came to be. His ancestor, ethnologist George Hunt, carved one for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. Then it was purchased by cheese producer James L. Kraft and placed on this site in 1929. It suffered from weather damage and vandalism over the years, and was moved to the Museum Of Anthropology at the University Of British Columbia. Then in 1986 this one was made by Tony Hunt to replace this one at the same site. It's carved from red cedar. There's a sea monster on the bottom, a man riding a whale in the middle, and Kwanusila the Thunderbird is on top. Conveniently located to the east of Lake Shore Drive close to Addison. It's one of many classic structures in the park. This isn't the original but it still looks pretty impressive and certainly is among the best examples of classic woodcraft.

The very finest Totem pole in Chicagoland! Perfect to visit…read moreon your bike. Tell em Josh sent you.

So far my time in Park Ridge has been fine. I've used the park district a few times and it's been…read morevery good; I've taken a class with my little one and will be starting another one in a couple weeks with the Wildwood Nature Center. The park district also has a preschool program, including a nature preschool, which has really piqued my interest. They did a leprechaun hunt that was kind of easter egg hunt but make it leprechauns, and I also signed up for their thing where residents can put out a leprechaun trap and a park district employee will come to leave fun stuff from the leprechaun. I signed up for the easter egg hunt at home that they have too, and that will be fun for my little one. The schools are excellent; one of the elementary schools has recently been deemed the 20th best elementary in the state. And there are some famous Park Ridgians (none who live here any longer, of course): Hillary Rodham Clinton and Harrison Ford are probably the two most famous. Park Ridge is bordered by three Chicago neighborhoods: Edison Park, Norwood Park, and O'Hare. The plane noise isn't too bad, given its location to the airport (which can be quite a convenience). There's ample access to public transportation as well; the CTA blue line can be found in Chicago just across the street from the border to Park Ridge. There's a large parking lot there for commuters. In addition, there's both a Dee Road station and a Park Ridge station on the Metra line (currently called the Union Pacific Northwest line, though Metra is planning to change the names). The Dee Road station has a lot of parking (I've never had a problem finding a spot, though it may have been different pre-Covid) and I think there's probably plenty of parking for the Park Ridge station as well. The farmers market is really great. I have been to several neighborhood markets in Chicago, and only the North Branch Market in Edgebrook is better. That's including the Green City Market, in my opinion. Last year they started a night market that took place once per month during summer and it was a lot of fun as well. There was a band and adult beverage vendors, as well as quite a few food vendors. Parking wasn't bad for either market. Overall, it's not a bad suburb nice that it's so close to Chicago.

Park Ridge City Hall is a stately building located in Uptown PR. City Hall is the home to most of…read morethe governmental offices for Park Ridge. The city council meets here, so this is the place if you want to attend a meeting and voice your opinion. If you are a resident then you will likely need to come here for a variety of reasons - to pay City bills in person, get vehicle stickers, dogs tags or bike tags. During elections this acts as a voting place. The lines are typically shorter than the local schools and there is ample parking by the attached police station. The City does a great job of decorating the building for holidays and really adds to the community feel. They also host a variety of summer concerts on the steps of City Hall. Hodges Park is located in front of City Hall and is the home to many grea community events.

The Nine Dragon Wall is a landmark across from the Chinatown entrance that says "Welcome to…read moreChicago's Chinatown". This wall is a miniature version modeled after a wall built on the south wall of the Imperial Perfection Gate. The original was built under the reign of Emperor Qianlong, during one of China's most prosperous rulers. In China, 9 symbolizes the supremacy if the emperor and dragons are also a representation of royalty, as you will see the ancient time Chinese Kings have a lot of dragons on their attire. The colors red, gold, and blue are auspicious colors for good fortune. I'm glad I got to see this miniature version in Chicago, but I would love to see the original version one day. It must be even more majestic if this is the mini.

Another piece of architecture in Chinatown. If you've seen the Chinatown Gate, this may be the next…read moremost important thing you see around here. Nine Dragon Wall is pretty cool looking. Maybe you think this is actually the most important thing in Chinatown, and many others believe it. This is also a popular place for crazy pictures and selfies. Basically this is a reproduction of a wall in Beijing. It has tiles that were actually made in China. This is one of the few times "made in China" is a good thing. It gets its name because there's nine dragons of course. Well actually there's nine large dragons. Look closer. There's many smaller dragons too! Nine is a number of good luck in China. This might bring you good luck. Conveniently it's located next to the public parking lot on Cermak. It's also easy to get to from the CTA station just by here. This way you can avoid paying anything for parking.