Sure, Chicago has a a lot to offer the modern tourist but let's face it, this city is famous for it's past. Specifically, it's gangsters.
Which is why we took a gangsters and ghosts tour on the one day we had there. You might think the two are intimately connected...they're not.
Our tour guide Declan was amazing.
He lectured on the history of his city while taking us all to all of the best spots. I'm not gonna say Chicago is haunted but...the ghost part of the tour with it's horrifying stories about hundreds of people dying an a matter of moments due to blatantly ignoring basic safety concepts for money was a great deal more disturbing than the stories of Al Capone.
Such as those from The Alley of Death. No joke, this is one of the names it's referred to by.
In a rush to meet the deadline for their first (and final) show held on December 30, 1903 the owners of the Iroquois Theater opted not to worry about a few necessities such as sprinklers, alarms, and water connections among other issues such as the building having a single common stairwell between the foyer, the balcony and the gallery levels. Code at that time required a separate stairwell to the balcony but then people of all social classes wouldn't be able to "see and be seen" if additional stairwells were used.
When a fire broke out on opening night, it did not end well for the over 2,000 patrons watching Mr. Bluebeard. A few hundred of whom were in standing room only, which became illegal in Chicago shortly after this fire because...well...it's not safe. More than 600 lives were lost, many fell or jumped to their deaths in the alley because the fire escapes failed to function properly, the exit doors opened inward, and the exit signs were confusing. Due to the cold weather and volume of dead, the corpses were stacked in the alley while awaiting identification or relocation to a mortuary. At least the city put up covering on either end of the alley to hide horror.
The dead have a reason to be angry.
The tour took us to the Chicago Theater but we didn't go in. This theater is on the US National Register of Historic Places, was built in 1921 in the French Baroque style and up to that point, was the largest and most lavish movie theater in the US.
This place is probably haunted too but we didn't hear any ghost stories about it.
We were also taken to my favorite place, the Palmer Hotel.
This building is so beautiful inside and out, I'm glad it's where we took our break.
It was a great tour!
Once left to our own devices we wandered the streets.
Chicago's architecture is so varying, you could find any style you want smushed between two other buildings and none of them would match! And yet it works to create a fascinating sight.
Dave's favorite was the Carbide and Carbon Building with its black and copper exterior.
If you wander around enough, you'll see the lion guarding the library and the famous 66 ft long bean (which was behind fencing for us unfortunately). You can ride the nearly 200 ft tall Centennial Wheel at the Navy Pier for spectacular views of Chicago's skyline and Lake Michigan.
You can also start your trip down Route 66 at it's official beginning.
There's also something called a Starbucks Roastery located along the Magnificent Mile (shopping district).
It's the largest Starbucks in the world with four floors, each dedicated to a particular theme, including cocktails at the top. We didn't go inside but I've heard it's an experience.
This city requires more than a day to take in but since that's all we had, we did our best and were not disappointed.
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