An American Adventure

A couple of weeks on from my return from holiday, the jetlag has finally lifted and I am gradually adjusting back to life in an English autumn. The holiday in question? The definitive road trip, the ultimate American adventure… Route 66.

So, where to start? There is absolutely no way I can summarise three and a half weeks of adventure in one blog (plus who would read that?), so I will break it down and kick off with the start of the adventure: Chicago.

I was so excited about finally visiting Chicago – everything I’d seen and heard suggested I would love it. The reality? So much better than I could have dreamed. It’s a fantastic city, with an abundance of features to inspire anyone with an interest in the built and landscape environment – or art, culture, sport, food… in fact, I’m pretty confident that anyone with any interests or ability to derive joy from life would like Chicago – but do let me know if you disagree!

There are so many things I could share, but from a designed environment perspective, if I had to pick out the three key characteristics that struck me most about Chicago, I’d say:

1: A beautiful, engaging and totally unique public realm

Maximising the magnificence of the city’s dominant landscape setting, the Lakeshore Trail provides 18.5miles of continuous pedestrian and cycle routes along Lake Michigan, with a sequence of individual public spaces and key leisure destinations such as Navy Pier, the Adler Planetarium, Field Museum and Soldier Field located along it. It is a phenomenal asset for the people of Chicago, preserved by a planning regulation preventing and future development to the east of Lake Shore Drive. I envy those runners and cyclists!

To the west of Lakeshore Drive, Grant Park provides 1.29km2 of designed parkland, with the Art Institute of Chicago taking centre stage within a landscape that dates back to the city’s founding and referred to as “Chicago’s front yard”. At its northern extent is Millennium Park, designed to provide Chicagoans a new town square, with a contemporary and varied design including striking soft landscape and sculptural installations, including two C21 Chicago sculptural icons: Cloud Gate (aka “The Bean”) and Crown Fountain: twin monuments featuring the moving faces of 100 Chicagoans, culminating in them projecting water from their mouths – to the delight of children (and plenty of grown-ups!) playing in the pool below. The most striking experiential characteristic of the park is the level of interaction that is encouraged: this really feels like a place that was designed as a gift to the city’s people to enjoy.

The most recent major landscape intervention is the Chicago Riverwalk, bringing accessibility on foot along 1.25 miles of the Chicago River. The design brought people down to the river for the first time, providing a new type of public space and a different perspective on the city. It includes four distinct districts: The Confluence, The Arcade, The Civic, and the Esplanade. It is a delight to walk along in the early evening, giving great views of the distinctive bridges and the wealth of architectural gems that define the riverside area.

2: An intelligently curated skyline

Chicago’s skyline is legendary for good reason. The city has had a bold vision to embrace the best, most innovative developments in architecture since the ‘Great Rebuilding’ that followed the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, which devastated an area of downtown measuring 4 miles long by 1 mile wide. As such, there are groundbreaking examples of tall buildings from the birth of the skyscraper right through to the present day.

What I found particularly interesting was the way the skyline appears from key views from around the city: something I was able to take in from the north, west and south over the 26.2 miles of the marathon – and appreciate from the east on watching the sunrise the following day at the Adler Planetarium (a welcome gift of jetlag). There is clearly strong view management in place within planning decisions, that has resulted in a curated skyline that offers variety, undulation and interest from all aspects around the city.

I was excited to take in a sky high view, so we ventured up the Willis (formerly Sears) Tower: at 442m the tallest building in Chicago – and indeed the former tallest building in the world, from 1973-98. Perhaps doing this immediately after the marathon wasn’t my brightest idea, but the view was phenomenal – plus I got to have a little sit down in the frankly terrifying glass protrusion of the Skydeck. Suffice to say it woke me up!

3: A multitude of vibrant, distinctive communities

Running the marathon gave an incredible perspective of Chicago’s diverse neighbourhoods. Confession time: I am a marathon addict. The thrill of chasing a new PB is a big part of that, but for me, the real joy is in connecting with a place in a new and special way – you feel differently about a place that you’ve donated blood, sweat and tears (and in my case a toenail) to!

That was certainly true in Chicago – and as much as I loved the dramatic cityscape views downtown, it was in the neighbourhood communities that I really felt the beating heart of the city, from the intactness of more historic streetscenes (outside of the area destroyed by the Chicago Fire), to the sheer numbers of people out on the streets. The huge pride that Chicagoans have in their city – and the support they were giving to runners was so evident that I actually turned my music off to soak it all up – unheard of in any previous race!

So, in summary – Chicago is an incredible city with a profound sense of place and life evident in its streets, skyline and public spaces, with much to inspire anyone with an interest in cities. I would love to return…plus I reckon I can knock 10 mins off my marathon time!

Next time… I’ll have a crack at summarising Route 66. Wish me luck!