the mommy avenger

In our most recent trip to Chicago, we had the pleasure of introducing the Windy City to our oldest son for the first time. Seeing how he loves architecture and is a big city enthusiast, we could think of no better way to start the trip than a classic Chicago Architecture Center River Cruise aboard Chicago’s First Lady Tour. What a great decision that was! First of all, we have to rave about our magnificent tour guide. He was incredibly well-informed, entertaining, and was able to combine both  the story of Chicago and its interesting history with the more technical aspects of its famous skyline and architecture. Not to mention, he did all of this for free which made us appreciate him even more for volunteering and doing such a wonderful job. 

While we cruised down the Chicago River as the sun started to set, we were also captivated by each and every building along the water’s edge. The tour did a great job in highlighting some of the more famous buildings in the city such as the Trump Tower, the Wrigley Building or Tribune Tower, but what really drew our fascination was the emphasis on some of the lesser known ones. For example, the Marina City towers were interesting because their unique cylindrical design was very modern and purpose-driven, as evident by the exposed parking garage that took up the first quarter of the building.

The St Regis Towers were another design that continued to draw our attention on the tour. At first glance (and second and third, mind you), the towers looked to have several curves throughout the exterior of the building. However, the tour guide revealed to us that these buildings actually had no curves, whatsoever. The appearance of the curves was a result of different shades of blue glass that made it look like the outer edges bulged in and out. These were just a few of the details that made our tour so interesting. 

Overall, we were very pleased with this cruise as the start of our trip. Not only did we learn a lot, but we also were able to capture some of the best views of the city and the pictures throughout this article speak to that. Thanks again to Chicago’s First Lady Architecture Cruises for the wonderful evening. We highly recommend everyone check out this experience as a must do when in Chicago!    

               

^{*we were invited to facilitate a feature, all opinions are our own*}