BirdsEyeViews: Fall Chicago Visit: Skyscrapers, Churches, Theaters, Zoos- and Protests?

Friday, October 31, 2025

Fall Chicago Visit: Skyscrapers, Churches, Theaters, Zoos- and Protests?

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Next to Charleston, my favorite city in America also begins with Ch: Chicago!

In the late 1980s-early 1990s we lived in "Chicagoland" then over the years, Alesia's work would bring her to the Windy City, and a few times I was able to join her. In more recent years, we have been back several times to visit our son Justin who lives and works in the city.

So on Oct. 16 our latest trip began dark and early with a 6 a.m. flight from Charleston. With the time change, we landed at O’Hare Airport a little after 7:30 a.m.

This is a favorite picture I took from the airplane that shows two of the city’s most famous and tallest buildings: Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower) and closer to Lake Michigan is the Hancock Building.

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We always like to stay downtown near the Chicago River. The Marriott Renaissance Chicago Downtown at 1 W. Wacker was our home for three nights. Though staying on the 13th floor we had good luck being able to check in before 9 a.m., and we made it for the complimentary breakfast just before the concierge room closed at 9. Whew! I needed a hearty breakfast after being up since 3:15 a.m. EST.

From our hotel room, we had this view of the iconic Chicago Theatre. On Sunday, the theatre had a 50th anniversary screening of the cult classic “Rocky Horror Picture Show.” With the cheapest tickets at $60-plus, we did a hard pass.

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Saturday night a cultural arts organizations parade began in front of the Chicago Theatre. A little research found that this is the “Arts in the Dark” 11th annual Halloween parade.

This weekend proved to be a good time to visit, with lots going on. Though I could have done without the huge “No Kings” protest on Saturday that could not be avoided Saturday when we were walking around.

I couldn’t resist capturing this scene of the protesters as they passed Trump Tower…

What would George Washington think about the “No Kings” protest?

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I feel this next photo is quite a contrast to the protest ones. I encountered a busker named Maria Davis near Michigan Avenue. At first I kept walking but then stopped, really wanting to take some photographs. I placed a contribution in Maria’s guitar case and asked her permission to snap a few shots. It was a beautiful day, she looked beautiful and the cityscape background was beautiful too!

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Maria was ready for her closeup!

Chicago is well-known for its architecture, especially the many skyscrapers in The Loop downtown. Two famous examples are seen here: the Wrigley Building (left) and Tribune Tower to the right of it.

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Another good street scene on busy N. State Street.

Macy’s is very sparkly, getting in the holiday spirit.

This Macy’s is located in the historic Marshall Fields and Company Building. Marshall Fields department stores were big in their day.

Built in the early 1900s, the huge structure is a National Historic Landmark. The old clock still works too!

Chicago is rich in department store history and innovations. This isn’t just any Walgreens we went in a couple of times.

We had this majestic view stepping out from our hotel, the Marriott Renaissance. That’s the Trump Tower on the right. The dual Marina Towers Condominiums are in the center. “The towers’ symbolic similarity to rural Illinois corncobs has been noted in media,” Wikipedia says.

Trump Tower Chicago (right) has 98 floors. It includes 486 condominiums, some with five bedrooms, and 339 hotel rooms. Of course it’s big, it's Trump!

Talk about big, how about the world’s tallest church? It’s in Chicago too. The First United Methodist Church (center) at 77 W. Washington St. holds this distinction. The “Sky Chapel” is on the 40th floor, 400 feet up from the sidewalk.

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Here is my panoramic view of the 40th-floor Sky Chapel. It’s an intimate space framed by beautiful stained glass.

The altar features a large wood carving that shows Jesus overlooking the city of Chicago. It was created by Alois Lang and was commissioned by the Walgreens family.

What an outside view from way up there! The church’s Gothic design features flying buttresses like the two seen here. The pastor lives in the three floors above the Sky Chapel. Nice digs!

Down on ground level is the main sanctuary. The tour guide, a member of First United Methodist Church’s congregation, was excellent. Free tours are offered at 2 p.m. daily. We left a donation.

The altar in the sanctuary is similar to the one in the Sky Chapel. This wood carving depicts Jesus overlooking Jerusalem.

Officially called the Chicago Temple building, the skyscraper was completed in 1924. A wooden Methodist church was built on this site in 1831. The congregation is the city’s oldest. The founder of the Methodist Church in the 1730s, John Wesley, is depicted on the stained glass on the left. His musician brother Charles, who wrote 6,500 hymns, is on the panel on the right.

We also learned that the Methodist name comes from the word “methodical.” I became aware of this unique church after our previous Chicago Fourth of July visit in 2023. I had the church on the top of my list to visit next time. I’m so glad we did this time. It was a highlight of the trip for me.

A final takeaway is the interesting story about how this early 1940s painting of Jesus by Chicago artist Warner Sallman became the all-time most copied image of Jesus. The tour guide told us the tale, and I photographed the details to share with you.

“This iconic image has been reproduced over 500 million times,” according to this display.

Sallman called his work “Head of Christ.” Our tour guide says its popularity and familiarity began during World War II when Sallman's image of Jesus was placed on a small card and sent to U.S. service members fighting in Europe and the Pacific.

We lucked out this weekend because the annual Open House Chicago was happening. Thank you Zoe for letting us know and for sending us the website listing the many buildings, churches and theaters offering free access and some with tours.

Just a short walk from our hotel is the grand Nederlander Theater on Randolph Street. You can’t miss it with its long vertical sign.

Wow, how about the lobby? The details and ornamentation are beyond!

Here is the theater’s namesake (below not above lol). It was first called the Oriental Theater when it opened nearly 100 years ago in 1926 as a “deluxe movie house and vaudeville venue,” according to Wikipedia.

Deluxe indeed is this venue. Opulent also comes to mind.

Lavish is another word I came across to describe the Nederlander.

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We left impressed!

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Right next to the theater is a really neat store called Brick Art Materials. I bought a nice bird poster there and a gift for Zoe, who enjoys and appreciates art.

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The downtown buildings on the Open House Chicago list included 333 S. Wabash aka the CNA Center aka The Red. CNA is a large financial corporation headquartered in this 44-floor red skyscraper completed in 1972.

Open house visitors could go up to the 30th floor that for unknown reasons looks like this. We were able to walk around and see the cityscape from a nifty birdseye view.

A Great Horned Owl clutching an open book is atop the main entrance to the Harold Washington Chicago Public Library. “An avid reader, the owl always returns to his books,” is the idea architects sought to convey. I like it!

From the CNA Center we could see the green rooftop of a building with rather creepy-looking features. I was thinking gargoyles but through research learn that the above is “acroteria.” This fancy word is derived from Ancient Greek and Roman architecture. Acroteria adorn pediments symbolically and ornamentally, adding contextualism to buildings. I learned a new word!

But this building is far from ancient and isn’t that old. This is the Harold Washington Library Center, a Chicago public library named for the city’s first Black mayor. It is located at 400 S. State St. and was opened in 1991. According to the Chicago Architecture Center, the new library marked the beginning of a transformation of the South Loop from “vice to nice.”

Not on the open house list, unfortunately, but always a building I like to see is the massive Merchandise Mart, the brown limestone-terracotta behemoth seen here. It was the country’s largest building until passed by the Pentagon in the Washington D.C. area.

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We had a bit of an adventure crossing the Chicago River on our way to The Mart, what it's called for short. As we walked across the Wells Street Bridge, its bell started ringing, indicating the bridge is about to be raised.

We climbed over the crosswalk bar in time to see the bridge go up, allowing several sailboats like this one to travel to their winter storage sites, we were told.

What a rich history (literally and figuratively) has The Merchandise Mart, all 4 million square feet of it, opened in 1930. It was built by Marshall Fields & Co. and was owned for 50 years by the Kennedy family. For decades, it was a hub of Chicago’s wholesale goods industry and hosted major trade and product shows. There are still showrooms that today are open to the public.

Today it’s not the same hub of activity but is the location of swanky, upscale businesses and offices. It does have a Starbucks too (yes, I like Starbucks).

The Mart was not on the open house tour list. It occasionally does offer tours. I saw one is scheduled for December. I would love to see this place in a more in-depth way someday.

Merchandise Mart is so big that it had its own zip code (60654) until 2008.

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A rainy nighttime walk is what we had Saturday night. We were given a left-behind umbrella by the Uber driver who took us to the Charleston airport- and we ended up needing it!

Justin made a 10:15 p.m. dinner reservation at a restaurant he and Zoe like. It was a 10-15 minute fast walk from the hotel. Here are some views along the way…

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Justin and Zoe took us to a few other dining places that aren’t as pricey as Bavette's Bar and Boeuf where I really enjoyed the shortrib and stroganoff (pictured).

Flub A Dub Chub’s in Lincoln Park. Great name with great hot dogs! And I also loved the chocolate milk shake I had. We went there after our zoo visit shown at the end of this post.

Another fun haunt of theirs we experienced was Manny’s Cafeteria & Delicatessen located on South Jefferson St. near downtown Chicago.

Manny’s, at this location since 1942, is known for its corned beef and cafeteria setup. 👍 Manny’s!

Near our hotel we discovered Nonnina at 340. N. Clark St. We enjoyed a hearty lunch at the Italian restaurant before heading to O’Hare Airport for our flight home. Lunching outside on a pretty day was very nice and the food was very good, including dessert. Konnina’s has a smaller part to it where pizza by the slice is available.

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More reminders and mementos of our fun Chicago weekend. Then we take you to the zoo!

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This fun photo op is in the lobby of our hotel, the Marriott Renaissance.

Whoops!

I made a quick visit to Northwestern University’s Chicago campus near Lake Michigan, home to its law and medical schools. I earned a master’s degree from NU in journalism back in 1990.

Picked up a few items here, including knick knacks for SC State colleagues who also earned Northwestern graduate degrees.

I always like to connect with this great school when in Chicago.

I took an Uber to the NU campus then walked back to the hotel. I enjoyed the vibrancy of Michigan Avenue (aka Magnificent Mile) and a reindeer ready for the autumn season.

Michael Jordan’s Steak House has an upscale location on N. Michigan Avenue in this old building. The restaurant is in what is today an Intercontinental Hotel. Nearly 100 years ago the tower was built by the Shriners organization as the Medinah Athletic Club. What a gym it must have been! Next Chicago visit will include going inside to see the preserved relics of the past such as design elements from ancient Egypt, Greece, Mesopotamia, medieval England and others.

We also need to check out MJ’s restaurant!

The ancient influences are evident outside too with what is described as a series of mythological Art Deco bas relief’s sculptures.

More bas relief caught my eye on this building. This building on Dearborn Street dates to 1931 as a Commonwealth Edison Substation.

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The power of electricity was beginning to be harnessed. The sculpture is called “The Spirit of Electricity” and he looks like someone you wouldn’t mess with. Not sure if the power station is still in use, but this guy is still flexing 24/7.

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The mix of Chicago’s older and newer architecture is so interesting to absorb and, for me, to photograph.

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The Chicago River bisecting the cityscape makes it even more scenic.

Our fall Chicago visit was capped off with an excursion to the Lincoln Park Zoo. We arrived early in the afternoon on Sunday and had a wonderful time.