I gravitate towards gatherings of people and grand objects. Coffee shops resonate with hum and buzz of people doing work, and hot drinks being made. Books, laptops, headphones, and steaming mugs gather here, people emerge from this fabric as vibrant points of cerebral activity and sparkling conversation. Art gathers in museums. Statues, paintings, and artifacts mark territories of new and ancient times, of gestures, of craft. Classrooms are still more gathering places for books and great minds.
It's an acute pleasure to spend time being keyed in to these environments. Which is why my trip to the Art Institute of Chicago and the Harold Washington Public Library this past weekend felt like the ultimate treat to myself. They serve as gathering spaces for art, meditation, and learning, for quiet yet earnest "buzz".
I spent some hours walking around downtown Chicago and soaking in its tall buildings like grand gestures. I absorbed its all-around cityness - classy people walking and taking buses everywhere, architectural elegances dotting the visual landscape, and the the constant sound of the El Train facilitating Chicagoans like the vital artery of it all. Arriving at the Harold Washington Public Library marked the end of my walk around The Loop.
The Harold Washington Library has something called a "Winter Garden" on the 9th floor (and yes, there are 9 floors...and also giant brass owls on each corner of this gorgeous red brick building). It's a constantly heated ballroom-like space with a balcony, chandeliers and glass ceiling, even real trees and plants growing inside. With its accompanying tables and chairs, any weary urbanite can come here to read or relax. I didn't even have a library card - it's an open public space. Spending a couple hours reading Ambient Rhetoric (and watching an episode of Star Trek: Voyager) was a perfect mid-day break from adventuring.
Next stop was the Art Institute of Chicago. I've seen most of the museum proper, so I zeroed in on the rotating exhibits. Who knew if I'd get to see them again? Exhibits ranged from photography to "touchable" statues, and while they were great, one exibit in particular was riveting. In a simple blue room within the Modernism wing resided the Chicagoisms exhibit. Based on a book of architectural theory, the Art Institute had built a room detailing Chicago's identity as an architectural playground, a conduit for creativity, and as a highly complex institution in its own right. I got to see old city maps, beautiful quotes from abstract theorists, and interactive 3D artist representations of "city creativity". Having recently garnered an interest in the rhetoric of urban spaces, I was like a kid in a candy shop.
Of course, I ended up buying Chicagoisms from the gift shop, and I sat in the member lounge of the institute to read it (and yes, I am a nerd enough to be a member; students get to have a year-long one for only $50, and it's been completely worth the investment). The lounge is a quiet cafe gathering-place with complementary tea, coffee, and large comfy couches. I read for yet another couple of hours there while sipping some jasmine tea. All in all, it was a blissful day spent in some of the city's best gathering spaces.
It's an acute pleasure to spend time being keyed in to these environments. Which is why my trip to the Art Institute of Chicago and the Harold Washington Public Library this past weekend felt like the ultimate treat to myself. They serve as gathering spaces for art, meditation, and learning, for quiet yet earnest "buzz".
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| Grilled doorway |
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| Chicago Methodist Church |
I spent some hours walking around downtown Chicago and soaking in its tall buildings like grand gestures. I absorbed its all-around cityness - classy people walking and taking buses everywhere, architectural elegances dotting the visual landscape, and the the constant sound of the El Train facilitating Chicagoans like the vital artery of it all. Arriving at the Harold Washington Public Library marked the end of my walk around The Loop.
The Harold Washington Library has something called a "Winter Garden" on the 9th floor (and yes, there are 9 floors...and also giant brass owls on each corner of this gorgeous red brick building). It's a constantly heated ballroom-like space with a balcony, chandeliers and glass ceiling, even real trees and plants growing inside. With its accompanying tables and chairs, any weary urbanite can come here to read or relax. I didn't even have a library card - it's an open public space. Spending a couple hours reading Ambient Rhetoric (and watching an episode of Star Trek: Voyager) was a perfect mid-day break from adventuring.
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| Harold Washington Public Library |
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| Winter Garden |
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| Description of Chicagoisms |
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| Old city map |
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| I'm a nerd. |
You make Chicago come alive in this entry, Priya! You're like a flaneur strolling through Chicago.
ReplyDeleteI spent some time up there last Fall meeting my friend who is studying Urban Planning in grad school, and I was instantly taken back to our meanderings around the city. I need to go back this summer.
Keep the awesome entries coming!