Frommer's Chicago 2004
Chapter One
The Best of Chicago
Has Chicago finally gotten over its "Second City" inferiority complex? Sure
looks like it. The city is booming, bursting with restaurants, hotels, and shops
in every price range. The heart of downtown, formed by the "Loop" of elevated
train tracks, was on life support a decade ago; now it beats with a new energy,
invigorated by the renovation of some grand old theaters and nightlife options
that keep office workers out well past sundown. In Grant Park, the massive Millennium
Park complex-Chicago's largest public-works project in decades-has
taken shape. Loft condos and trendy bistros have sprung up in formerly deserted
industrial areas, creating brand-new residential neighborhoods. Walk around
Chicago these days, and you'll feel an undeniable energy, a sense that the town
is on a roll.
This isn't the first time Chicago has reinvented itself. From the ashes of the
Great Chicago Fire in 1871, Chicagoans not only rebuilt-they reached for the
heavens with the first steel-frame skyscrapers. Before too long, a frontier trading
town was transformed into a center of international business, and Chicago
proudly showed off its new muscle by hosting the W ... read full excerpt from Frommer's Chicago 2004 ebook
