Will you be here Sunday night and do you like rock and roll?

Definately check out the smile-guy on Division and Dearborn. He may ask you to buy a street wise, say no.

no! leaving sunday morning:( limited to friday evening and saturday day+night. I got round trip for $101 from DC so i figured why not!

Of course Mill Park, also the Hancock building has a bar at the 95th floor that is free (except the cost of drinks). A little secret that tourists never know, instead they pay $11 for the observatory.

Hotel Soffitel at Rush and Pearson.
Def. the Gehry Banshell.
See if the Athenium Design Museum is open.

Millenium Park

downtown Meis, Sullivan etc. Calder and Picasso sculptures...

Maybe worth a quick trip to IIT campus to see the Mies campus / individual bldgs (recently restored CrownHall, right next to the Murphy/Jahn residence hall and the Koolhaas Student Center).

I second IIT. Both the mies and the koolhaas buildings are incredible. Go during the day, though.

Oh yeah...Robie House on the Southside is worth a stop. A couple of interesting buildings around the U of C campus (my alma mater). And, Oak Park for Unity Temple and FLW's house.

Having grown up there, I never got around to some of the touristy things ... but last summer, an architect friend came to visit and we did the river tour. It was an incredible view of the city, meandering through these folding/unfolding views. Might be chilly, though.

Just take a ride along Lake Shore Drive from Lincoln Park to the museum campus at night, it's a great view of the skyline. It' not that new but one of my favorite buildings is the Inland Steel by Walter Netch. I also second the Hancock Lounge on the 95th floor, get there before sunset otherwise it gets real crowded. Praire Ave books on Wabash is like the largest Architecture bookstore in the country, or close to it. Have fun. I miss Chicago.

just make sure you take a leak before going to prairie avenue, cuz they don't have a john you can use.

also make sure you dont bring a credit card to prairie avenue... you will max it out... everything that is interesting at all is in that store somewhere... flippin crazy

i also third (or fourth or something) IIT, i go there... but even though i have been here every day for so long... i still am amazed by many of the buildings on campus... good student guided tours (which i do sometimes) of the architecturally significant buildings

i also h ighly recomend the river tour... it is so beautiful

last but not least... the most spectacular thing about chicago is that it is big enough that you cant see it all, but small enough that you can spend a night walking the loop and downtown and be blown away by almost every view... the river... la salle, the el over wabash and wells, grant park, millenium park... no matter where you are, there is something beautiful to see...

Chicago is a ridiculious place for people watching. Beautiful women and men everywhere you look, save for some unsavory tourists here and there and those that come into town on the weekends from the suburbs. Sorry, but it's true!

if you love the suburbs you'll love chicago

Sorry about that suburbs comment. I just, well, it's been a hell of a day. My wife presented this whole thing to me about thinking mailmen are sexy because of the uniform, and I'm going crazy trying to recall all the other comments she's dropped in recent memory about men in uniform. She's very anti-war, but seems to be thrilled at the sight of a Marine in uniform. Army, Air Force, whatever actually. Granted the closest I get to a uniform is consistently wearing a $600 Prada cashemere sweater simply because GQ told me it was the item to have for winter 2004...

But if she's going to subconsciously think she's gonna leave me for some grunt because of the camo fatigues, she's purely insane.

LTP, uniforms are sexy because they say "I'm a man who can get the job done." If you can get the job done in your Prada sweater, then work it.

I like firemen, myself.

if they still have it, take the el train tour that goes all the way around the loop

i miss chicago these days, i really liked the fall there

A hidden gem can be found in the northern suburb of Wilmette across the street from Lake Michigan.

The Baha'i House of Worship, completed in 1953.
<A HREF="http://www.us.bahai.org/how/"</A>

It's a truly unique building and one of the first to use precast concrete with this level of intricacy. It has an exposed white quartz aggregate.

It's a few blocks east of the last stop on the CTA Purple Line (Linden Ave.)

Check it out.

A hidden gem can be found in the northern suburb of Wilmette across the street from Lake Michigan.

The Baha'i House of Worship, completed in 1953.
http://www.us.bahai.org/how/

It's a truly unique building and one of the first to use precast concrete with this level of intricacy. It has an exposed white quartz aggregate.

It's a few blocks east of the last stop on the CTA Purple Line (Linden Ave.)

Check it out.

also if you are down town go to the chicago architecture foundation. i think this is where the tours originate from anyway. they have a giftshop, and a cool scale model of the city, as well as a rotating exhibit. one of my fave buildings is the old library, that is now the cultural center, on michigan and randolf. its free. has a tiffany glass dome in it and a museum of chicago broadcasting, as well as a bathroom you can use.

defn. iit trip in the moring - koolhaas & mies within reach of each other, a very
intersting visit - enjoy.

Definately take a ride on the El - and also do the river boat architectural tour. Both will provide a unique perspective of the city. Stay away from the Sears tower, and instead go up the Hancock - which is also on the Magnificent Mile - a good walking trip to take (esp. if you like to shop).