Journeys›Photograph

Evening at Navy Pier, Day by the Lake

·Navy Pier·#summer#lake michigan#chicago#navy-pier#urban-landscape
A brick tower and a Ferris wheel behind a red archway, digital sign, streetlights, and street signs under a blue sky.

Two parts to this one. The evening belonged to Navy Pier — in through the red steel arch off Streeter Drive, where the marquee was alternating between PARKING AVAILABLE and an ad for the Biggest Loser's Bob Harper, Sunday 12 to 2. The pier runs 3,300 feet out into Lake Michigan, six blocks of it, and we walked most of that before doubling back to the rides. The drop tower is dressed up as a red-and-white lighthouse, and it got the biggest grin of the night, right at the top before the seat let go.

Then the Ferris wheel, which is really the reason to stay until sunset. From the top you get the whole harbor, the carousel tent glowing below, the ballroom's glass roof, and the skyline going dark building by building — Lake Point Tower up close, the Hancock's antennas behind it.

The next day was the opposite of all that: a sand path down through dune grass to a Lake Michigan beach backed by tall bluffs. The bluff face is netted with erosion fencing most of the way up, and the trees along the top all lean hard away from the water.

A large white Ferris wheel with red gondolas fills the frame against a clear blue sky, partially obscured by a dark pole.A cityscape features skyscrapers and a white dome behind a "NAVY PIER" sign, with a bright sun flare.A smiling child sits in a teal platform attached to a red and white striped lighthouse under a blue sky.A city skyline stands behind a marina and an amusement park featuring a carousel and a large white observation balloon.A city skyline at sunset, featuring prominent skyscrapers, a large glass building, an amusement ride, and a river.A city skyline of many skyscrapers overlooking a river and parkland, with a white observation balloon, under a warm sunset sky.Wooden steps in the foreground lead to a sandy path through green dunes toward a bright blue lake or ocean.A sandy beach with waves meets a grassy dune showing erosion fences and trees under a clear blue sky.

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