Tag Archives: Chicago

Pedway Exploring: Part 3

10 July, 2012Chicago, TravelChicago, exploring, pedway, Thompson Center, underground cityJames Moore

Pedway Entrance on East Washington

Today’s exploration of the Pedway began at 25 East Washington. A monolithic sign on the street indicates that the Pedway, retails shops, ATS Institute of Technology and more can be found be simply walking through the doors….

To The ATS Institute

A staircase and escalators immediately inside the building take you down to some decidedly unglamorous stores, offices, and mysterious rooms behind closed blinds. The Pedway heads north at this point through the basement floor of Macy’s (Barbara’s Bookstore, food courts, and InField Bar) and then joins the east-west stretch of the Pedway that parallels Randolph Street.

Yeh – A Pedway Map!

Although I could not find a more recent map of the Pedway than the 2008 edition on the City of Chicago’s website, more up-to-date editions certainly exist – there is one on the walls here (which helpfully even points out where you are.

The Glamorous Pedway

I walked east at this point. The Pedway tunnel here is low and wide. Not particular pretty to look at, and bare of all adornment. I am surprised that the City of Chicago does not attempt to charge for advertising along the walls. Parts of London’s Underground are similarly down at heel, but they are festooned with movie posters and adverts.

Red Line

The Pedway erupts into life a little further along where the Red Line (El) intersects at the Washington Station.

Block 37

Things get a little more upscale as the Pedway continues east into the Block 37 shopping complex. The Pedway passes through various fast food options and restaurants here (Au Bon Pain, Simply Thalia, etc.). The larger building houses CBS and Morningstar. Air conditioning here works incredibly well in the heat of summer.The Pedway passes through another El station here, this time Washington on the Blue Line, before arriving at the Richard J. Daley Center. This was where I felt less confident taking pictures – security guards and police have a significant presence, and I was worried about being targeted as trouble of some sort. The pathways here are more confusing – identical, under lit, and looking like straight out of the movie Brazil. This is probably the busiest part of the Pedway, with City officials, lawyers, City workers, and hapless citizens scurrying around.

Detour to LaSalle

A rather dingy corridor continues east to 120 North LaSalle Street, which I took and then doubled back and north to the James R. Thompson Center via City Hall.

James R. Thompson Center

Being a fan of the Blues Brothers I paused at the Thompson Center. There is a particularly sweet plaque dedicated to Chief Building Engineer Stephen T. Hynes on the ground floor (with a note indicating that today was “Hynes Day”) and a somewhat anonymous sculpture on the first floor balcony.

Aboveground Pedway

The food court on the lowest floor is best avoided, but there is a path north to a series of buildings running east-west along Lake Street. This was somewhere I had wanted to explore for quite some time. The enclosed bridges and outside seating areas can be seen from the train as I travel to and from work. Up close, probably not so exciting, but worth a visit.

The Manager

Doubling back to the Thompson Center, I took another path west to the Chicago and Trust Center where I snapped a pic of the 2006 sculpture “Manager” by Kerry Stewart. The Guardian has good things to say about her.

No Idea What This Does

I hurried back to work pretty much along the same route I had come earlier. Somewhat ominously there is strange device just off the Thompson Center that seems to monitor air quality. Or something.

Exit to Three First National Plaza

I exited at Three First National Plaza, where I was buffeted by the heat and the humidity.

Pedway Exploring: Part 2

9 July, 2012Chicago, TravelChicago, exploring, pedway, underground cityJames Moore

Chicago Cultural Center

Today’s exploration of the Pedway involved a little bit of retracing my steps, but rather than return to the depressing North Grant Park Garage I started at Chicago’s Cultural Center. I had to resist the temptation to dawdle in the galleries, as I walked towards the north of the building where a largely hidden elevator descends to the Pedway that runs east-west along Randolph street.

Beneath The Chicago Cultural Center

The décor here is pretty much anonymous, but gets very busy as you approach Millennium Station to the east.

Millennium Station

The floor has a train track motif, which induces a desire to hurry up and get out of the way. So I did. A plethora of fast food vendors ply their trade behind glass walls to the south of the concourse.

Goat/Numerically Inspired Sculptures

I choose north, and exited to above ground at Prudential Plaza (passing goat/numerically inspired sculptures) and crossed Lake Street to re-enter the Pedway at the Boulevard Towers complex.

205 N. Michigan Avenue

Food was hastily consumed at Mezza, and then I continued north and east below the Illinois Center and Hyatt Regency Hotel, then ascended to street level. The aim here was to explore the disconnected length of Pedway that connects the area where the BlueCross Blue Shield Tower sits and Grant Park.

Pedway

Here it gets a little trippy – the entrance is in a spacious skyscraper lobby, with an elevator down to the Pedway. Beneath everything seems normal until you cross Randolph Street through a glass and steel tunnel supported by luminescent yellow girders. The south exit onto Grant Park is pretty close to the BP Pedestrian Bridge that snakes its way across South Columbus Drive and into Millennium Park.

Art Institute

It was as hot as Hell outside, but the walk through the park and across the Nichols Bridgeway to the Art Institute was pleasant. The occasional oasis of air-conditioned buildings keeping me from melting into a sweaty mess.

Pedway Exploring: Part 1

6 July, 2012Chicago, TravelChicago, metra, pedway, underground cityJames Moore

Van Buren Street Metra Station Entrance

The first day of official exploring began fairly innocuously. I explored the less useful / less interesting part of the Pedway that begins at the nicely appointed Art Nouveau-style Paris Metro entrance on Michigan and Van Buren. From outside it looks like you are about to descend to a place that looks historic and pleasantly designed, but once underground it is ugly and functional – with a pathway east-west to the Van Buren Street Metra Station platforms, and north-south along the Grant Park South Garage.

Grant Park Garage South

The north most part of the Pedway here ends at Jackson Blvd., so I had to head up to street level and the blistering heat.

Grant Park Garage North

I continued walking north along Michigan Avenue, and ducked down into the Pedway again just north of Monroe Street. Again the Pedway was part of the underground parking garage, this time the Grant Park North Garage. It was a toss-up whether it was warmer underground or at street level, as the path was largely alongside air-conditioning vents, which nosily blasted hot air. Around Randolph Street things improved, with cooler air-conditioning and a more tourist-friendly décor as the Pedway became part of Millennium Station. I grabbed a very quick lunch at Market Creations Café (in Prudential Plaza – the Pedway exits here), and then rapidly got lost amidst the passageways below the Aon Centre and Hyatt Regency Hotel. Luckily there was a map to help me orient myself.

Pedway Map

Here the Pedway largely resembles an out-of-town shopping mall, with food courts, hairdressers and newsagents. Coming from the grungy parts of the parking garage it feels a little surreal.

Carbide & Carbon Building

I headed back south and exited at Boulevard Towers where Lake Street meets Michigan Avenue. A somewhat surreal, but fun lunch break.

Chicago’s Underground City: The Pedway

6 July, 2012Chicago, TravelChicago, map, passageway, pedway, underground cityJames Moore

Chicago Pedway (James R. Thompson Center)

An unfulfilled resolution (until now) has been to get a better understanding of Chicago’s Pedway – the near secret underground city complex of passageways beneath Chicago. Lunch breaks are now finding me starting to explore. The downside (or perhaps the challenge) of doing so is the paucity of accurate maps and information. The City of Chicago website has a very basic map from 2008 here, but this is not particularly helpful: However, Will Vaughn has a more useful overlay map which can be found here. Hoping to plug away at this before the year is out and get a good understanding….

At Roosevelt and South Lumber (Chicago)

2 December, 2011Chicago, Misc, MobileChicago, Chicago River, Roosevelt, South LumberJames Moore

Great view of Chicago along Roosevelt. Just had to take this picture with my cellphone.

Chicag River

Occupy Wall Street Has Come to Chicago

10 October, 2011Chicagobankers, Chicago, LaSalle Street, OWSJames Moore

Occupy

Occupy Wall Street has come to Chicago. The protest is not on the same scale as what is taking place in New York, but slowly seems to be growing. Today, the sound of plastic drums resonated up and down LaSalle Street.