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The cruise begins
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We started this perfect sunny day on an 11:00 a.m. cruise with the
Chicago
Architecture Foundation (CAF). Equipped with full service bar, the CAF River Cruise takes place on the
Chicago's First Lady Cruises
cruising yachts which offer open-air decks as well as air-conditioned interior seating. It felt like the 21st of May was going to be a special day.
The story of the
Chicago’s First Lady cruise ships is quite amazing. Everything started in the 1930's when Portuguese immigrant Arthur Agra began operating speedboat rides from the southeast corner of
Navy Pier carrying only 6 passengers. Later in the1940's, Arthur and his son Robert Sr. moved their operation to the south west side of the Michigan Avenue Bridge at Wacker Dr., as
Mercury
Sightseeing Boats and later expanded to vessels carrying 40 passengers.
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Moving along the river under the bridge
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Nowadays,
Chicago's First Lady Cruises
continue to expand its company and its partnership with
The Chicago Architecture Foundation. A new attraction beginning in 2009 is Chicago's River walk located where
Chicago's First Lady docks, at Michigan Avenue and Wacker Drive.
Stepping onboard the
Chicago’s First Lady
, the captain and his crew began the cruise by offering a friendly welcome and inviting the passengers from all over the world to relax and enjoy a beautiful 90 minute cruise on the Chicago River where they would be offered spectacular views of the heart of the city. The perspective from the river is different from any other. As soon as the ship left the shore, the charming and dynamic CAF’s specially trained volunteer docent captivated us with interesting historic architectural commentary about the city’s buildings.
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Trump and Wrigley
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Being on board the
Chicago Architecture Foundation River Cruise,
we realized that Chicago keeps its cards hidden very well. Every time the captain turned to reveal something new, the city showed passengers a different facet each more impressive than the last.
The cruise highlighted the 53 historic and architecturally significant sites of Chicago. As first time visitors to the U.S., the magnificence of the buildings in windy city’s heart just stunned us. The gorgeous monuments impressed us so that we could not take our eyes off these beautiful structures.
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The city reflected back in the glass building
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The tour began as we passed the giant building located on 333 Michigan Avenue
, which quietly exemplifies the austere, minimalist and steel maxim of Modernism, with which
Mies Van Der Rohe
is associated. Suddenly, all at once as though synchronized, passengers brought out cameras like paparazzi and captured these dramatic views forever.
As our discovery continued, the imposing
Merchandise Mart came into view.
Graham, Anderson, Probst and White
designed this famous skyscraper. Originally conceived as a distribution center for Marshall Field & Company, this monument is a massive two-city-block structure with Art Deco styling: pyramidal towers, setbacks, and bands of chevrons. Views that were beautiful and dramatic continued to give us pleasure as we continued this memorable cruise.
The
Tribune Tower
caught the passengers’ attention because of its history: the sculptural setback tower, devoid of traditional ornaments, influenced future architectural design. Finnish architect
Eliel Saarinen’s
design was
the runner-up for 1992 Chicago Tribune Tower. An appealing feature of this building is that it is the oldest among all the modern buildings surrounding it.
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Sears tower-can this be real?
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It was great fun to wave hello to happy kids and grownups aboard the
Chicago’s Fair
Lady when we were sailing along the river toward the amazi
ng,
Sears Tower the world’s tallest building for 24 years. This site is famous since it is one of the main attractions in Chicago. The tower built by
Skidmore Owings and Merrill, with design by Chief architect
Bruce Graham
and head structural engineer
Fazlur Khan. This marked the world’s introduction to the highly innovative engineering concept known as bundled tube construction. We used to see pictures of the tower, but the feeling we had seeing them in person seemed unreal. It was an outstanding show.
Originally created by
George Washington Gage Ferris
,
the
Ferris Wheel at
Navy
Pier is a little more than half the height of the original wheel. This really impressed us and we will remember it with delight. To us the scene looked like a piece of heaven. The sun shining brightly, the unclouded blue sky, the sight of the area overwhelmed with yachts and private boats made us feel like it was already summer time. One thing was in our minds then: ride the incredible wheel and have some fun.
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Marina towers began a new trend
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As we moved to our final site, which was by far the most unique, we saw
Lake Point Tower. With its distinctive curvilinear, dark-tinted, glass curtain call, the monument designed by
Schipporeit and Heinrich, is quintessential Chicago Modernism, exuding brawn with stunning grace. The view of the building struck us because of its peculiar curvy design, which makes it a contrast to the more typical straight lines in most of the buildings. All too soon, the
Chicago Architecture Foundation River Cruise stopped at Riverside Garden, and we went back to our daily routine but with our heads remained full of gorgeous pictures of the windy city. We know we will enjoy sharing this experience with friends and family at home. And we recommend it to anyone who can find the time to go on this outstanding cruise.
For more information on our tour and other CAF activities:
The Chicago Architecture Foundation
224 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60604.
www.architecture.org or call 312.922.3432.
Chicago Architecture Foundation River Cruise,
Shop and Tour Center
Santa Fe Building
224 South Michigan Avenue
Chicago, Illinois, 60604-2500
312.922.3432
Photos: Courtesy of the Chicago Architectural Foundation and Constance Delepaut
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The River Walk is taking shape
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