On The Road To Chicago (Again)...
When I visit a new place or city, I try to look beyond the normal, everyday tourist sites. Chicago is well known for the nightclubs, museums, fountains, Navy Pier and, of course, Sears Tower. Have you ever wondered about what else might be available to look at? Here are some of the things that I have found…
Museum of Surgical Sciences
1524 N. Lake Shore Drive
It houses a fascinating array of instruments, artists' renderings and graphic descriptions of the history of surgery. If it was allegedly medical at any point in history, you can probably find it here.
63rd Street Indian (30’ Cigar Store Indian)
6258 South Pulaski
A large cigar store indian (not strictly a Paul Bunyan).
Field Museum
1400 S. Lake Shore Dr.
Pet Cemetery Nominee - The Man-Eaters of Tsavo (lions)
Two lions terrorized an East African British work crew in 1898. The duty of the work crew was to build a bridge over the Tsavo River. The lions developed such a taste for human flesh that they would stop at nothing to obtain it. The official death count is listed in the 30s, but estimates run as high as 110 when the count includes local Africans not associated with the bridge project.
Statue Burnishing, aside from noses -Vague Recollections
They had an exhibit of life sized bronze statues of the races of man positioned around the second floor balcony. Both males and females in their native garb lined the halls, with nothing to keep visitors from touching them. For the African and South American natives, it was not their noses or toes that were shiny, but much more intimate portions of their anatomy.
Eastland Disaster Plaque
Downtown, south bank of the Chicago River, on the northeast corner of LaSalle St. and Wacker Drive.
845 Western Electric employees and family members died when their Chicago River faring ship overturned on the morning of July 24, 1915. You can find out more about this at - http://www.eastlanddisaster.org/
Chicago's Wrigley Field
Fans jam beer cans into the outstretched hand of the statue of Harry Caray.
Metal Giraffe (10’ foot tall in private yard)
From the intersection of State and Madison (where all addresses begin in Chicago) go south twelve blocks to Roosevelt road. Proceed south through that intersection. The giraffe is about ten houses south of Roosevelt on the right side of the street. How can an animal be a Paul Bunyan?
Museum of Holography
1134 W. Washington Blvd.
The only museum devoted to holography.
Museum of Science and Industry
Many interesting displays including the coal mine, ½” slices of a man (vertical) and a woman (horizontal), a WWII German submarine, and a Walk-Thru Heart (Anatomical model is big enough to stroll inside). These are all among many other (more normal) exhibits.
Muffler Man - Mr. Bendo
3940 W Grand Ave.
A ‘Paul Bunyan’ metal statue.
Bob Newhart Statue
600 E Grand Ave, At Navy Pier.
A statue celebrating a TV icon -- fictional character Bob Hartley played by Bob Newhart on the "The Bob Newhart Show." The bronze sculpture will stand in front of his fictional office building at 430 North Michigan Avenue.
Weber Grill Restaurant
539 North State Street
Giant grill sticking out of building. Large metal griller statue inside.
Prayer Booths at the Navy Pier
600 E Grand Ave.
Not your usual tourist available booth and not a bad thing, either!
Salt Stain Virgin Mary
Fullerton Avenue, underneath the Kennedy Expressway - I-90.
Monument to Jack Brickhouse, Famous Announcer
On N. Michigan Ave., just south of the Tribune Tower and a stone's throw from the Bob Newhart statue.
Hyde Park's Escaped Parakeets
Nichols Park, between 53rd and 54th Sts. and Kenwood and Kimbark Aves. A parakeet population in the wild.
Alley Where John Dillinger Was Gunned Down
2433 N. Lincoln Ave.
North side of the city. I-90/94 exit 47A, east on Fullerton Ave. for about two miles, then make a sharp left at the intersection of Fullerton, Lincoln Ave., and Halstead St., onto Lincoln Ave. The alley will be up a third of a block on the right, a few doors down from the Victory Gardens Biograph Theater.
Giant Man Made of Plastic Barrels
US 10 West at the Clark's Garden Center and Stone Depot. As it is composed of plastic barrels, this is not strictly a Paul Bunyan either.
Large Radio Flyer Wagon Large? More like Massive!
6515 W Grand Avenue, where Grand turns into Fullerton.
"Wizard of Oz" Tin Man statue
Corner of Lincoln Ave, Belden Ave. It is a little south down Lincoln from the intersection of Lincoln, Halsted and Fullerton
30-foot tall DNA strand
3333 Green Bay Road
Muffler man (what? Another Paul Bunyan? Yes!)
On Grand Ave. (Rt.132) 1 block east of Rt. 41.
Site of the St Valentine's Day Massacre
2122 N. Clark St. North side of the city. I-90/94 exit 47A, east on Fullerton Ave. for two miles, then right onto Clark St. The vacant lot where the Garage used to stand is 2.5 blocks south (between Webster and Dickens), on the right, next to a nursing home.
Not Your Mama's Bus Tour
1331 S. Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago.
StreetWise (Chicago's homeless newspaper) sponsors a tour of Chicago that is based on true stories by former homeless people (women, men and youth). They go to several stops, including-the site of the 1968 Democratic Convention Riots (where hippies and student protestors chanted,"The whole world is watching!" and where at least one person was killed), Cabrini Green (one of Chicago's most notorius housing projects and the site of TV's Good Times), Malcolm X College, Chicago's Civic Center and the spot where a homeless SteetWise vendor was was shot to death by an off-duty police officer. The tour goes past some of Chicago's most famous off the beaten track spots like Cook County Hospital (think E.R.and Chicago Hope) and through the south, west and north loop areas and downtown.
Superdawg Hot Dog Drive-in
Intersection of Milwaukee Ave. and Devon near the NW border of Chicago and Niles.
There is a restaurant called Superdawg with two Giant hot dogs (him & her) standing on top of the roof.
In Conclusion...
These rather fun and unusual sights were found at a very interesting website known for finding the odd and unusual. Called Roadside America, it finds and catalogs roadside attractions. What is mentioned above may or may not be open. We will have to wait and see. You can visit them at http://www.roadsideamerica.com/. I would like to thank them for making my future visit to Chicago a little more interesting...
Oh yeah... I kept referring to a Paul Bunyan - Whatever did I mean? Basically a Paul Bunyan is a Roadside statue or other tributes to the Great Tree-Biter, Paul Bunyan. They usually refer to Muffler Men, those large metal statues that were known to adorn muffler shops. You can find out more about them (and find one or two in your area) by going to here or here!
Again thanks goes to Roadside America for their interest and diligence in tracking these bits of Americana!
Museum of Surgical Sciences
1524 N. Lake Shore Drive
It houses a fascinating array of instruments, artists' renderings and graphic descriptions of the history of surgery. If it was allegedly medical at any point in history, you can probably find it here.
63rd Street Indian (30’ Cigar Store Indian)
6258 South Pulaski
A large cigar store indian (not strictly a Paul Bunyan).
Field Museum
1400 S. Lake Shore Dr.
Pet Cemetery Nominee - The Man-Eaters of Tsavo (lions)
Two lions terrorized an East African British work crew in 1898. The duty of the work crew was to build a bridge over the Tsavo River. The lions developed such a taste for human flesh that they would stop at nothing to obtain it. The official death count is listed in the 30s, but estimates run as high as 110 when the count includes local Africans not associated with the bridge project.
Statue Burnishing, aside from noses -Vague Recollections
They had an exhibit of life sized bronze statues of the races of man positioned around the second floor balcony. Both males and females in their native garb lined the halls, with nothing to keep visitors from touching them. For the African and South American natives, it was not their noses or toes that were shiny, but much more intimate portions of their anatomy.
Eastland Disaster Plaque
Downtown, south bank of the Chicago River, on the northeast corner of LaSalle St. and Wacker Drive.
845 Western Electric employees and family members died when their Chicago River faring ship overturned on the morning of July 24, 1915. You can find out more about this at - http://www.eastlanddisaster.org/
Chicago's Wrigley Field
Fans jam beer cans into the outstretched hand of the statue of Harry Caray.
Metal Giraffe (10’ foot tall in private yard)
From the intersection of State and Madison (where all addresses begin in Chicago) go south twelve blocks to Roosevelt road. Proceed south through that intersection. The giraffe is about ten houses south of Roosevelt on the right side of the street. How can an animal be a Paul Bunyan?
Museum of Holography
1134 W. Washington Blvd.
The only museum devoted to holography.
Museum of Science and Industry
Many interesting displays including the coal mine, ½” slices of a man (vertical) and a woman (horizontal), a WWII German submarine, and a Walk-Thru Heart (Anatomical model is big enough to stroll inside). These are all among many other (more normal) exhibits.
Muffler Man - Mr. Bendo
3940 W Grand Ave.
A ‘Paul Bunyan’ metal statue.
Bob Newhart Statue
600 E Grand Ave, At Navy Pier.
A statue celebrating a TV icon -- fictional character Bob Hartley played by Bob Newhart on the "The Bob Newhart Show." The bronze sculpture will stand in front of his fictional office building at 430 North Michigan Avenue.
Weber Grill Restaurant
539 North State Street
Giant grill sticking out of building. Large metal griller statue inside.
Prayer Booths at the Navy Pier
600 E Grand Ave.
Not your usual tourist available booth and not a bad thing, either!
Salt Stain Virgin Mary
Fullerton Avenue, underneath the Kennedy Expressway - I-90.
Monument to Jack Brickhouse, Famous Announcer
On N. Michigan Ave., just south of the Tribune Tower and a stone's throw from the Bob Newhart statue.
Hyde Park's Escaped Parakeets
Nichols Park, between 53rd and 54th Sts. and Kenwood and Kimbark Aves. A parakeet population in the wild.
Alley Where John Dillinger Was Gunned Down
2433 N. Lincoln Ave.
North side of the city. I-90/94 exit 47A, east on Fullerton Ave. for about two miles, then make a sharp left at the intersection of Fullerton, Lincoln Ave., and Halstead St., onto Lincoln Ave. The alley will be up a third of a block on the right, a few doors down from the Victory Gardens Biograph Theater.
Giant Man Made of Plastic Barrels
US 10 West at the Clark's Garden Center and Stone Depot. As it is composed of plastic barrels, this is not strictly a Paul Bunyan either.
Large Radio Flyer Wagon Large? More like Massive!
6515 W Grand Avenue, where Grand turns into Fullerton.
"Wizard of Oz" Tin Man statue
Corner of Lincoln Ave, Belden Ave. It is a little south down Lincoln from the intersection of Lincoln, Halsted and Fullerton
30-foot tall DNA strand
3333 Green Bay Road
Muffler man (what? Another Paul Bunyan? Yes!)
On Grand Ave. (Rt.132) 1 block east of Rt. 41.
Site of the St Valentine's Day Massacre
2122 N. Clark St. North side of the city. I-90/94 exit 47A, east on Fullerton Ave. for two miles, then right onto Clark St. The vacant lot where the Garage used to stand is 2.5 blocks south (between Webster and Dickens), on the right, next to a nursing home.
Not Your Mama's Bus Tour
1331 S. Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago.
StreetWise (Chicago's homeless newspaper) sponsors a tour of Chicago that is based on true stories by former homeless people (women, men and youth). They go to several stops, including-the site of the 1968 Democratic Convention Riots (where hippies and student protestors chanted,"The whole world is watching!" and where at least one person was killed), Cabrini Green (one of Chicago's most notorius housing projects and the site of TV's Good Times), Malcolm X College, Chicago's Civic Center and the spot where a homeless SteetWise vendor was was shot to death by an off-duty police officer. The tour goes past some of Chicago's most famous off the beaten track spots like Cook County Hospital (think E.R.and Chicago Hope) and through the south, west and north loop areas and downtown.
Superdawg Hot Dog Drive-in
Intersection of Milwaukee Ave. and Devon near the NW border of Chicago and Niles.
There is a restaurant called Superdawg with two Giant hot dogs (him & her) standing on top of the roof.
In Conclusion...
These rather fun and unusual sights were found at a very interesting website known for finding the odd and unusual. Called Roadside America, it finds and catalogs roadside attractions. What is mentioned above may or may not be open. We will have to wait and see. You can visit them at http://www.roadsideamerica.com/. I would like to thank them for making my future visit to Chicago a little more interesting...
Oh yeah... I kept referring to a Paul Bunyan - Whatever did I mean? Basically a Paul Bunyan is a Roadside statue or other tributes to the Great Tree-Biter, Paul Bunyan. They usually refer to Muffler Men, those large metal statues that were known to adorn muffler shops. You can find out more about them (and find one or two in your area) by going to here or here!
Again thanks goes to Roadside America for their interest and diligence in tracking these bits of Americana!
posted by CewTwo at 7:22 PM
10 Comments:
Well there ya go!
The Eastland Disaster is one of the most obscure parts of Chicago's amazing history, so you indeed looked beyond the normal, everyday tourist sites when you visited the site of the historical marker.
Perhaps on your next trip into the Windy City consider visiting the Reid Murdoch Center. Located directly across the Chicago River from the historical marker and inside the lobby is a 5-foot by 7-foot photo essay that tells (and shows) even more of the history of the Eastland Disaster. This permanent display features nearly 20 of the families (victims, survivors, heroes) who were affected by the tragedy.
Kudos to you for sharing a bit about Chicago's greatest tragedy on your blog.
Regards,
Ted Wachholz
Executive Director
Eastland Disaster Historical Society
1-877-865-6295 (office)
My parents took me to the Field Museum and the Museum of Science and Industry when I was 15. We took our kids there when they were growing up. I went to a surgical museum in DC once.
Last time we were in Chicago we walked out on Navy Pier and walked around in Millenium Park. When we go through Chicago on AMTRAK we always walked to the Lake. So.. OK... more than you wanted to know.
What great list you have!!
What is going on with tornado damage north of Denver??
Did they change the course? Does the race go by all those sites now? That's a lot of places to visit. You're going to be busy!
The Field Museum is on our list. We were there when my son was 5 and my daughter was a baby. Who doesn't love dinosaurs?
The Eastland Disaster site is right down the street from my hotel. I'll be checking that -and the Reid Murdoch center out too!
Also, my opinion, the view from the John Hancock Building is better than the view from the Sears Tower. Like I said, just my opinion, but if I had to pick one, I would go with John Hancock.
Ooh, a great way to get even more out of your marathon!
I'll have to check out that website. I'm sure I'm missing a lot on my visits to various places to run marathons.
Oh Charlie - I'm beginning to get so excited now! Don't feel quite ready to book my ticket but still! Have to add another 2 attractions to the list - I really enjoyed the Chicago Architectural Associations river cruises (sensible option for sightseeing before the race) and after the race I adored going out to Oak Park to see the Frank Lloyd Wright house and do the walking tour. I've done it twice and will, in all probability, do it again. I'm going to have to add some days to my trip now you've added your tips though..
Thanks for the interesting bird story with a good ending!!
Yes, about who reads our little blogs... Sometimes I wonder!
I see there are silent visitors from all over the world.. and I just wonder....
Wow Charlie, you do your homework, don't you? I know they do have a ton of museums. Some of these sound really fascinating.
So, do you know what training plan you are using? It's my question of the week...lol.
What - what a great list! I'm going to check out that site for places I go in the future.
The closest I've gotten to chicago was hanging out at the airport and staying overnite due to a missed flight. Not too exciting. Sounds like Chicago is going to be a great destination to travel to for a marathon!
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