Exploring Chicago. I'm not listing everything, just the major ones and some of my favorites. See also these sections that have things related to Chicago: Education, Chicago Restaurants, Philippines Links, Health Links, Martial Arts Links, Martial Arts Commercial Links, and Movies. See also this "Visiting Chicago" Googe Map [maps.google.com...] where I've started placing some Chicago stuff.

A great town to live 90 miles away from.

-Milwaukee about Chicago. Ha!

Institutions

Not everything but some of the bigger ones and some of my favorites.

Libraries

Don't forget the many university and college libraries.

Media

Neighborhoods

In Chicago, there are 77 official "Community Areas" and there are also informally established "neighborhoods" that sometimes coincide with the Community Areas.

Here are some of my favorite neighborhoods.

Here is a list of favorite streets, drives, curves, intersections, etc. in Chicago.

Official

Parks

I thought it would be nice to make notes on the different parks around Chicago, especially notable ones and ones that are convenient for me.

I'll start with a few from the Chicago Park District [ChicagoParkDistrict.com], but I should probably list state, national, and private parks too. I'm not going to list the tiny little parks that are all over the place but sometimes those are the most important. While the CPD site is nice their swim schedules are incomplete --I recommend you call or visit the park directly. See: CPD swimming pools; CPD ice rinks.

As part of Forest Preserve District of Cook County, Illinois (FPDCC) [fpdcc.com], Cook County has a number of "Forest Preserves" scattered around the perimeter of Chicago, with even more in the Chicago suburbs.

Transportation

Churches

There are many churches, temples, etc in Chicago, but I only regularly go to a few.

Miscellany

  • Irish American Heritage Center [irish-american.org]. My wife plays with Noel Rice and the the Academy of Irish Music [academyofirishmusic.org]. The IAHC is the size of an elementary school and they have their own pub! They also have a museum, an art gallery, a libarary, classes, etc.
    • 4626 N Knox Ave, Chicago, IL 60630
    • 773.282.7035 ext 10
  • Lake Michigan [W]. We tend to forget that Chicago is on the shore of Lake Michigan. Lake Michigan has 4,900 km^3 or 21% of the water in the Great Lakes. Of the Great Lakes, Lake Michigan is the only one entirely within US Borders. The Great Lakes [W] have 22,810 km^3 or 22% the Earth's surface water. There is 1.3e7 km^3 water underground, 2.5e7 km^3 water frozen, and 1.32e9 km^3 water in the oceans. The total volume of water on Earth is 1.36e9 km^3.
  • gaisma.com/en/location/chicago-illinois.html. Sunrise, sunset, dawn, and dusk times for the whole year in Chicago.
  • Lincoln Square Lanes
    • 4874 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago, IL 60625
    • (773) 561-8191
    • Invisible little bowling alley above an Ace hardware store. Old school, bar, pinball machines, 1950s atmosphere.
  • MetroBlogging Chicago [chicago.metblogs.com]. A multi-blogger site about Chicago.
  • MetroMix [metromix.chicagotribune.com]. Living it up in Chicago: Restaurants, Events, etc.
  • Mitsuwa Marketplace [http://www.mitsuwa.com/english/]. "Mitsuwa Marketplace is the largest Japanese Supermarket in the U. S." Instead of a "China town" there is a "Japanese mall". Most of the other locations for this chain are in California. The chain used to be "Yaohan" and may turn up in maps as such. 100 E. Algonquin Road, Arlington Heights, IL 60005. (847) 956-6699.
  • NorthshoreNannies.com.
    • 'We have provided the highest quality and most professional childcare placement services for Chicago area families since 1991. We pride ourselves on the long-term relationships we have created with our clients and our nannies.'
    • Instant baby sitters!
  • Northwestern Cutlery [nwcutlery.com].
    • 810 W Lake St, Chicago IL 60607.
    • 312-421-3666.
    • 2010-04-29 I was walking by and I decided to drop in. Awesome place! Lots of knives! Lots of professional grade kitchen gear too. I was impressed by the 1 meter sharpening stone that they seem to have spinning all day long.
  • Peerless Fence and Supply [peerlessfence.com]
  • Powers of Ten [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKBhvDjuy0]. One of the more famous powers of 10 videos out there starts in Chicago. This one is by Charles and Ray Eames for IBM. It goes from 10^0 m to 10^24, then down to 10^-16.
  • Resource Center [resourcecenterchicago.org]. 'a non-profit environmental education organization, has led the way in demonstrating innovative techniques for recycling and reusing materials. Too often in the urban setting, abundant and important resources are wasted. Our recovery work aims to reverse waste and to improve the quality of life for urban dwellers. We have been devoted from the beginning to the economic and educational revitalization of city neighborhoods through recycling, urban gardening and other programs that reclaim and reuse resources.'
  • Skydive Midwest [skydivemidwest.com]. Actually 50 miles (80 Km) north of O'Hare airport.
  • The House on the Rock [thehouseontherock.com]. OK, OK, this is actually in Wisconsin but it's cool and it's close. The House on the Rock is architecturally complex that has musueum like collections.
  • World Sport Chicago [worldsportchicago.org]. "World Sport Chicago promotes Olympic and Paralympic sports to the youth of Chicago. We seek to grow the passion for sport and help Chicago children find the sport that will help their dreams grow."

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