By Joan Russell
Chicago is located in the state of Illinois. It has over 40 different museums, 150 theaters and over 6,000 different types of restaurants. It has one of the world's largest libraries--the Harold Washington Library Center. As a tourist spot, Chicago has many positive things to see with family, friends and kids. It has great venues for entertainment, nightlife and food.
Lincoln Park Zoo
The Lincoln Park Zoo is located at 2200 North Cannon Drive, Chicago. It is one of the oldest zoos in the U.S. It is also one of the only zoos with free admission. The Pritzker Family Children's Zoo features animals from North America--black bears, red foxes, beaver and river otters. Visit the exciting Regenstein Center for African Apes--it is a large glass-enclosed complex. Also, a trip through the Regenstein African Amazon gives visitors a journey into the habitat of animals of Africa.
Chicago Cultural Center
The Chicago Cultural Center is located at 78 Washington Street. It is known as one of the most comprehensive art centers in the world. The interior of the building has brass, marble and stained glass domes. The center presents a wide variety of musical performances like jazz, folk, classical, and pop. There are new and classical plays performed, dance performances and movies regularly.
Shedd Aquarium
Shedd Aquarium is located at 1200 South Lake Shore Drive. It has sea creatures from around the world. Exhibits featured are underwater reefs, a simulated exhibit of the Amazon or the Pacific Northwest coast, and you can even observe penguins and polar bears in their natural environment. Educational and fun activities for adults and children are featured.
Art Instiutue of Chicago
The Art Institute of Chicago is located at 111 Michigan Avenue. It has one of the largest collections of Impressionist paintings in the world. It features art work of African-Americans, local Chicago artists and photographers, along with a large collection of children's art, portraits, and more. It also has the Silk Road Exhibit about China and the silk industry. Modern and contemporary artwork and western paintings are included.
Navy Pier
The Navy Pier is located in 600 East Grand Avenue in Chicago. It has many interesting attractions to see, including an 150-foot Ferris wheel and many other rides to enjoy. There is an IMAX theater, the Chicago Shakespeare theater, concerts, plays and more in this large entertainment complex.
Sears Tower and Wrigley Field
The Sears Tower is located at 233 S. Wacker Drive. It is 1,450 feet high and has two twin antenna towers. It opened in 1973 and took three years to build. The Skydeck, located at 1,353 feet, lets you see 40 to 50 miles away. On a very clear day, you can see four states from the Tower. It has six roof-mounted robotic window-washing machines that wash all the 16,100 windows on the building. About 25,000 people visit the building every day.
Wrigley Field, located at 1060 West Addison, is one of the oldest ball parks in the major leagues. It was built in 1912. Its ivy-covered walls are a must-see for baseball fans.
Theater and Nightlife
The nightlife in Chicago offers a wide range of choices from jazz, theater, comedy, wine bars, blues, piano bars and bistros. It has a rich history of jazz and blues music from the Cotton Club, Green Dolphin Street and the Redhead Piano Bar. The theater district features musicals, comedy, drama and experimental theater. Some of the well known theaters are Chicago Theater and Goodman Theater.
Food in Chicago
Chicago is known for having many different types of cuisine to choose from--deep dish pizza is a very popular type of pizza in Chicago for locals and tourists. Chicago restaurants include Chinese, steak and seafood, Mexican, Korean, Chinese, sandwich shops, barbeque, sushi, seafood, American and Italian, among many others.
Resources
About the Author:
Joan Russell has been a freelance writer for many years. She writes on variety of topics, including food, health, gardening, travel and education. She's written for the Christian Science Monitor, IGA Grocergram, Home Cooking, Atlantic Publishing and Duclinea Media. She has a B.A. in journalism/communications from the University of Bridgeport and an A.S in food service management from Naugatuck Valley Technical Community College.
