Why I Star Chicago

I was maybe 10 years old walking down Michigan Avenue with my mother (whom probably had some appointment somewhere) told me, "Walk faster. You need to walk like you're from the city." She moved to Chicago to get her Masters in Architecture despite the fact that the nuns at her small town Massachusetts Catholic school told her that her options were limited to nurse, teacher, or homemaker. My mother has always been my greatest role model, but these words have always resonated more than any others. They gave me a kind of home town pride that has a tendency to get lost on people from Chicago --knowing that they're from the "second city." I felt as if I knew something others didn't. I've seen these buildings, know what they offer, and can find the best route to get there. However, the reason my mother quipped those words at me was because I was skyscraper gazing. That's right, I was doing what all the typical tourists do; walk slowly, mouth agape, at the tall pretty buildings.

My mother's appreciation for architecture has long been ingrained in me. I still remember a time when my mother picked me up from school because I was sick and had to drag me to a site she was going to rehab. It was an old Catholic school that had long been out of use. I remember walking through long halls of dark brick and tile, looking out of windows onto gardens overgrown with unkept weeds or being shown into rooms with a skeleton key. Many rooms were empty or contained old desks with attached seats but the one that sticks out in my memory is one that had been used to to house the dogs. There was shit everywhere. There was even shit on the ceiling. The fact that this room was utterly disgusting took a backseat to this overwhelmingly toxic feeling of history. My heart beat faster with the feeling that people have been there and with their actions left their mark on the walls. This may have very well been my first phenomenological experience.

This city is full of cool shit just like that dog room in the abandoned Catholic school. I know just where to find it too. This blog is meant both for people new to Chicago that want to get away from the tourist traps (or at least see them in a new light) and for those that have lived here forever and maybe have never taken their time to stop and smell the scrapers. I have a profound appreciation for art, architecture, food, and experiencing things the way they should be --that is, the must fun way possible. I will take you to landmarks and shit holes and show you my personal highlights or perhaps just how to do them differently. Essentially, this is my guide to loving the hell out of Chicago. I star Chicago.