I was coming up from the riverwalk downtown on a recent morning, camera in hand, when I saw the vista of the winding Beaux Art staircase and the gleaming, modern, 321 N. Clark building, built in 1987, in the background. Architectural contrasts like this—and you can live here for years and not notice a particular one until one day---are what make Chicago so cool.

(photo by Lee Bey)