Journeys›Photograph

A Couple of Summer Days on Chicago's Lakefront

·Navy Pier·#summer#lake michigan#chicago#navy-pier#urban-landscape
Aerial view of a city harbor with an amusement park, a colorful carousel, a white balloon, and a skyline.

Chicago, for a couple of summer days on the lakefront, and the first evening went to Navy Pier. Walked in under the red steel arch off Streeter Drive — the marquee out front was advertising a Biggest Loser event that Sunday — and rode the big Ferris wheel while the sun dropped behind the Hancock. From the top you can see how far the thing actually reaches: about 3,300 feet out into Lake Michigan, sitting on more than 20,000 wood pilings, opened in 1916 as Municipal Pier. The Navy used it as a training center during World War II; now it's 50 acres of shops, restaurants, theaters, and a wave swinger lit up next to a pool deck full of umbrellas. A tethered white balloon kept going up and down over the harbor the whole time. Sailboat masts filled the marina between the pier and the towers.

The second lakefront day traded all of that for a beach — sand, dune grass, low trees behind, and waves coming in steady off the same lake. Not another building anywhere along the shore.

City skyline, large glass building, and a swing ride overlooking a lake under a golden sunset sky.Panoramic city skyline at sunset with modern buildings, a river, parkland, and a white hot air balloon.A Ferris wheel and a brick tower rise behind a red 'NAVY PIER' gate, with an electronic sign and streetlights in the foreground.A large white Ferris wheel with red gondolas against a clear blue sky, with dark foreground structures and a palm tree.A cityscape with tall buildings, a white dome, a "NAVY PIER" sign, and a red bridge under a bright sun.Waves wash onto a sandy beach with green trees and grassy dunes along the shoreline under a clear blue sky.

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