The Pilsen Neighborhood

 

On a Saturday afternoon we toured this museum and neighborhood.




This was a tribute to Cesar Chavez, the union organizer.

Some of the murals dotting the neighborhood.


Looking for the perfect restaurant.

The Insull/Cuneo Mansion & Gardens

Just 10 miles northwest of Evanston just before Libertyville is this estate built by Samuel Insull in 1918.  Insull came from England to be Thomas Edison's secretary and eventually founded GE.  He lost all his money in the Depression and in 1937 the estate was bought by the Cuneo family, a family of magazine and book publishers.

The house was built to be an authentic Italian villa and had a working, retractable glass roof but when the Cuneos bought it, they had other ideas. 

Wednesday afternoon theater, The Buddy Holly Story

His story only lasted 18 months.  When he died, I was a junior in high school.

This was a travelling company, only here for less than 2 weeks, and they were good.  They all played 3 or 4 parts and instruments.  They were really good.  There are two guys who play Buddy and I can see why.  But if you're not playing Buddy, you still have other parts.  They worked hard and they were good.  
This theater was built in 1926 but was recently refurbished.  Very beautiful.

The Art Institute/New Exhibit/The Impressionists & Fashion

So this is a wild and crazy 50 foot tall water sculpture in the new Millenium Park with faces of the people of Chicago projected on it with water spouting out of their mouths.  What can I say?


It is located in front of the Art Institute.  We were on our way to view a new exhibition which will be there all summer about the Impressionists and fashion.  I did not realize that when those people were painting their pictures it was about the clothes. 


After viewing the exhibition, we had lunch in this garden restaurant.

This was scallops with cauliflower with a butter curry sauce.  Very good!

Of course, we couldn't take pictures inside the exhibition.

Some of the Sculpture in Chicago

On a weekend, we went to the Loop and it was eerie.  Not many people; just us and the buildings and the art.

This is the untitled Picasso.

This is the front of the same piece.

In the same plaza is this fountain.

This is Miro's Chicago.




The title of this one is Freeform.


This is Calder's Flamingo.

Millenium Park

Just across the street from the Cultural Center is Millenium Park.  I don't know how this park was funded but it is magnificent.  Frank Gehry designed the amphitheater and bridge across to what will be the Mary Daley Park (named after the wife of a previous mayor).



14,000 people can listen to the free concerts they have in this pavillion almost every night beginning at 6:30. 

So this guy Jay Pritzker was a Chicago billionaire who established the Pritzker Prize for architecture and the family must have funded this amphiteater and bridge because he died in 1999.

Within the park is this Lurie Garden.  I assume funded by the Lurie family or foundation.  There was a competition to determine whose design was implemented.  This place is really fabulous.



This is a sculpture entitled Cloud Gate but nicknamed by Chicagoans the jelly bean.  The creator was a Japanese and didn't know what a jelly bean was.

A sign encountered at a hot dog stand in the park.