This week I had no plans and wasn't on call, so I decided to spend a day exploring some of the parts of Lincoln Park that I haven't really seen before.
Lincoln Park is Chicago's main urban park, similar to New York's Central Park or San Diego's Balboa Park. At 1200 acres, it matches Balboa Park in size and dwarfs New York's 800 acre Central Park. Needless to say, there's a lot to cover and it's difficult to see everything. Driving on Lake Shore Drive toward the Loop, I have always noticed a totem pole near Addison Street. Fortunately for me, there are a couple of buses that go from my apartment along Marine Drive (the frontage road along the park) so I took one of them to Irving Park and began my tour.
The first order of business when I got off the bus was to find something to eat. There was a hot dog stand over by the Waveland Clock Tower, so I got a Chicago dog and a Coke and sat under a tree between the lake and the tower and ate my snack. The Waveland Clock tower was built in 1931 and restored in 1990. I really like the ivy climbing up the 7 story tower. The clocks were all wrong and reading different times.
After wandering around the tower a few times, I walked to Belmont Harbor and then back to the totem pole. The totem pole is a replica of the original which was placed in 1928 and stood until 1985. On top is a thunderbird, in the middle is a whale with a man riding on its back, and on the bottom is a sea monster. This replica was made by Tony Hunt of Fort Rupert, British Columbia. After looking at the totem pole, I got back on the bus and rode to Fullerton
At Fullerton Avenue, Lincoln Park has the Nature Museum, the Lincoln Park Conservatory, and the Lincoln Park Zoo. I wandered through the *hot* and *humid* conservatory for a bit before entering the zoo. Both of these attractions are free all year round! After walking around the zoo for an hour or so, I walked out the south entrance and through the southern end of Lincoln Park. Finally I ended up on Michigan Avenue, AKA The Magnificent Mile. I walked all the way to Randolph Street and then hopped on a bus home to Argyle.
- Andy
Monday, August 4, 2008
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