I took an afternoon ride on the Chicago River to see the
architectural high-rises that are along the river. The guide on the boat was an eighth grader
teacher who was returning to his classroom next week. This was one of his last weekday tours for
the sightseeing company.
I learned one interesting fact about the origin of
the name “Chicago.” The name comes from
the French version of the Native American word for “stinky onion.” The Miami-Illinois tribe used the word shikaakwa
(translates to “stinky onion”) for the garlic plant (allium tricoccum)
common along the stinky river. So, the
name of Chicago came into being.
Here are a few of my photos of the remarkable skyline of
Chicago from the river.
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| Not only does New York have a Trump Tower so do the folks of Chicago! :-( |
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| The Sears (or Willis Tower) is the symbol of Chicago. It was once the tallest in the world, but the Burj Khalifa now has that honor. I visited the Burj Khalifa in 2015 (click here). |
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| The Marina City Condos have a parking garage for its residents below the apartments. Note the brave folks who backed into the parking space. |
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| This unusual shaped apartment building was coined the "gigantic fidget spinner" by one of the guide's students on a fieldtrip. A creative and accurate description. |
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| Our guide says they lower this bridge once each year to prove it still works. |
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| It was cool that the glass on the skyscraper reflected the buildings from across the river. |
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| Our guide teaches 8th grade. He loves it, but uses his summer and weekends for this side gig. |
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| Waterfront apartments are very expensive, but at one time no one wanted to live downtown. |
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| This guy seemed to have a keen interest in the construction of a new apartment building. A future resident? |
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| You are here! This is a map of the river and canals. The red spot indicates the location of this building on the river. |
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| Again, a cool view of the buildings from the other side of the river in the reflection of these buildings. |
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| An interesting building that is cantilevers out. You also see the famous Chicago El or elevated train. |
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| All kinds of boats were in the river including kyaks. The Chicago river is green based on the type algae found in the river. It's Kelly Green on St. Patrick's day with a little help of city leaders. |
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| The tour started from the Chicago Naval Yard, and this is the first view of the skyline as we sailed toward the Chicago River. |
