Love Note in Photos to My Kind of Town
Me and my new camera, out and about on a boat on the Chicago River
Photography Pleasure Cruise
I’m straying from the local food beat for just one day. I don’t get out on a boat often, but when I do, I take lots and lots of photos.
Late in the day on Tuesday (September 12), I had the pleasure of cruising the Chicago River as part of an event by Naturally Chicago, for whom I do contract work. It was the biggest “assignment” for my new Sony a6600 camera, and I hope you’ll agree after viewing these pix that I chose well.
Having a cerulean blue, cloudless sky didn’t hurt either.
If you have never done one of the architectural tour boats that sail the Chicago River (or haven’t done it for a while), they are highly recommended. The beauty of Chicago’s natural and man-made environments is stunning.
The photo above of the iconic Chicago Theater sign on State Street was taken when I was walking to the bus stop for my ride home. The photos below were taken from the boat. Consider it my response to those who put Chicago down for their own political purposes. We have problems, yes, like any human endeavor, but I wouldn’t live anywhere else.
OK, I had to include one food-related thing. The statue of Ceres — the Roman goddess of agriculture and grain — stands atop the Chicago Board of Trade building in the Financial District. The word cereal is derived from Ceres’ name.
The Board of Trade building, at 44 stories and 605 feet height, reigned as Chicago’s tallest building from its opening in 1930 until 1965. Today it ranks as the city’s 54th tallest.
Willis Tower, in the center, is Chicago’s tallest building at 108 stories and 1,451 feet; it was the world’s tallest building from 1974 to 1998. Caution: Many Chicagoans are adamant about sticking to the building’s original name, Sears Tower; the once-dominant department store chain used the building as its headquarters, but moved to a suburban campus in 1995.
Another view at dusk from the South Branch of the Chicago River.
The cityscape looking east on the main branch of the river.
The Chicago riverfront was heavily industrialized when the Reid Murdoch Building — named for a food distributor that occupied the building as office and warehouse space — opened in 1914. A year later, an excursion boat named the Eastland capsized right across the river and 844 people aboard lost their lives, making it the worst maritime disaster in the history of the Great Lakes.
Today the Reid Murdoch Building is the last relic of the industrial heritage of the main branch of the river, now bordered by office towers, hotels and apartment buildings, with the Riverwalk inviting visitors to stroll and dine.
The Merchandise Mart is located near the confluence of the main branch of the Chicago River and its North and South branches. Though its 25-story height is modest, it covers two square blocks at the western end of downtown Chicago; it was the biggest square footage of any building in the world from its opening in 1930 until the completion of the Pentagon outside Washington, D.C. in 1943. [I worked for FamilyFarmed one block north of the Mart from 2016 until the COVID outbreak in 2020.]
Another view, at dusk.
Chicago is a city of bridges. A few, built for a particular industrial purpose but now obsolete, remain in a permanently open position. The bridge in the top photo is on the South Branch; the lower photo is on the North Branch just above the confluence.
I always take photos of the undersides of bridges when I’m on the river. I find a certain kind of art in the geometric designs.
A river cruise is a great way to catch a train… with your camera. In the top photo, a Metra commuter train catches the late afternoon sun. In the lower photo, a CTA Green Line train crosses the Lake Street Bridge.
Closing out the travelogue with some nature along the river.
Thank you for the gift of beautifully unique photos with descriptive accompaniment of these Chicago sights!
Great job Bob. Always fun to take a boat ride . Beautiful photography