The recent Bertrand Goldberg retrospective was a great opportunity to get re-acquainted with a familiar and fantastic part of Chicago’s skyline - Marina City. My favorite part was this companion exhibit - nothing like a museum-sanctioned snoop around someone else’s living space! (If you want to get up close and personal with Goldberg himself, head to the Arts Club of Chicago show, which includes some of his personal belongings.)
Goldberg is a Chicago visionary - the ‘city within a city’ concept behind his Marina City complex caught a fire in post-war America, and it lives on in arguments by ‘new urbanists’ (and others) for high density cities.
But these days there are many takes on the city within a city - from huge, multi-phase high end entertainment complexes to the ‘tent cities’ that became a ubiquitous feature of Occupy protests - and are still popping up all around the world.
This week I’m drawn to a...lowlier variation on this theme: the city within a city underground. The Chicago Pedway construction started in the early 50s and its utopian ideal - dodging the sleet and snow of our unfortunately long winter - is still alive and kicking today.
You can eat or drink or shop your way through the Pedway. Beyond the controlled climate of life below ground is about the same as it is on the street - some stretches of the pedway are clean and well lit; others a bit run-down. The biggest trick might be finding your way from one end of the five mile course to the other - maybe a guided tour would help?
That’s one of my picks for the weekend, the rest are below. And guess what - we have a very special guest this Weekender! Be sure to listen for her thoughts on how to get out there and enjoy!
Friday - Sunday 10am-5pm
Navy Pier 700 E Grand Ave
2. National Wet Paint Exhibition
Friday - Saturday
1029 W 35th Ave
3. Twyla Tharp’s Come Fly Away
Friday - Sunday
18 W Monroe
Saturday 10am-3pm
Jane Addams Hull House Museum 800 S Halsted
5. Winter Block Party for Chicago’s Hip Hop Arts
Saturday 12pm-11pm
Metro 3730 N Clark Ave
6. Lizzie Borden’s Born In Flames
Saturday 7pm
Cinema Borealis 1550 N Milwaukee Ave
Presented by White Light Cinema
Sunday 7pm
Reggie’s Rock Club 2109 S State
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