Unlike any other American downtown
From the outside, Chicago may look like any typical large city with skyscrapers pressed up against a body of water, in this case, Lake Michigan. There are a couple of tall buildings that standout and a couple of uniquely designed buildings that draw your eye, but from a distance, you might conclude the buildings are like any other city’s, just rectangular boxes that represent where people live or work. However, there is much more than meets the eye when it comes to the planning, design, and construction of Chicago’s many structures.
One of the first things we noticed was that Chicago and its residents take great pride in the unique evolution of the city’s beautiful and imposing architecture. In fact, the most recommended activity to do when visiting Chicago is to take an architecture cruise on the Chicago River. Unbeknownst to me, Chicago historically was and still is an urban design and architecture hub with the city historically making innovative contributions to urban planning, zoning standards, and new construction styles. There is even a style of architecture named the “Chicago School” and it refers to the style of buildings built in the city in the late 19th century. Chicago architects were also the pioneers in the steel-framed construction of skyscrapers, building the first one in 1885 to the amazement of the public.
An organization that attempts to preserve this unique cultural phenomenon is the Chicago Architecture Center, and they exist to promote Chicago architectural innovation and inspire people to engage in urban design. They do this by hosting exhibits at their museum and by operating one of the most popular architecture tour river cruises in the city.
