I Hope This Makes A Circle

This week I walked around Chicago starting on State street and making a circle to end on Jackson. I didn’t plan the route, I just walked aimlessly and tried to form a circle until I got to a street I knew. Here are my experiences:

9:06

I walk on State Street. I pass a cool leaf structure. It looks like palm leaves sprouting up from the ground. The street is very busy and a lot of trucks pass, making it very noisy. The noise is slightly overwhelming.

9:09

Still on State Street, I pass a man wearing very bright red pants with a white shirt. He is asking for directions and talking very loud. The traffic is still very loud so the other man, wearing a black track suit, cannot hear him very well.

9:10

I pass a local theater and I see Hamilton is playing. I stop to take a picture. As I am doing this a woman looks at me and shakes her head; apparently I am in her way though I am not standing on the sidewalk; I am standing in the doorway of a closed bar.

9:11

Continuing on State, I pass a pretty Asian woman in a blue dress. She seems to be on a date with a man and they are holding hands. She gets scared because she thinks she has dropped something but the man assures her she has not.

9:12

I come across a stand for a Christian bible school. The women seem to be speaking mandarin but I am not really sure. They offer me a pamphlet and I decline politely.

9:14

I turn onto Madison street. I see a very odd curving building. It is beige and looks like it slopes down form the top. I stop to take a picture and notice it is a little quieter here. Compared to State, there is much less traffic.

9:15

A band of school children walk by, wearing black dress shirts and black slacks with a big red bow tie. The all hold black stand and instruments. Some look excited, some look very annoyed and struggle carrying instruments that are bigger than their bodies.

9:18

I see a homeless man sitting on gold pipe. He looks like he is asleep and I can’t help but think how twistedly ironic this is. A man who has nothing sits on gold. I seem to be the only one who notices the irony though, as everyone else walks past without a second thought.

9:22

After a string of office buildings, I pass one with a cool black sculpture in it, reaching from the floor to the ceiling. It almost looks like very large question marks and squiggles all squished together and pointing different directions.

9:26

A block down from the cool sculpture, I pass a string of beautiful trees in front of an office building. They are surrounded by concrete made to form a circular bench. The trees are raised on top of the bench and tower above the ground. They seem to be sitting on little hills with greenery reaching up to them.

9:27

I come across a food truck that sells coffee and donuts. The scent is really strong and smells very sweet

9:28

I passed opera house cool vintage sign, I get excited about it for some reason and stop to take a picture. For some reason I feel self-conscious doing this, like people are looking at me thinking “What is that weird girl taking a picture of?” I look around and I don’t think anyone really cares that much, most people are on their phone.

9:32

I turn on Canal street. This street is very empty except for a man in a blue polo who walks across the street looking at his phone. He didn’t use the cross walk he J-walked. I’m pretty sure he didn’t even look.

9:40

A woman in vintage clothing passes me. She is wearing grey long skirt and white sweater with blue kitten heels. She is trying to find something on her phone and is looking at the street sign

9:45

I walk under the underpass on Lake street. It is filled with homeless people laying on cardboard with jugs of water. This makes me feel uncomfortable and sad because I knew at the moment I can’t really do anything for these people that will make a difference for them. A man on the ground says hello to me. I said hi back and he told me to have a blessed day. I smiled at this.

9:55

I turn onto Jefferson. No one on this street for a few seconds it is very weird but eventually I pass some construction workers planning on how they are going to do a job. One man is gesturing that they should use the crane by lifting things up with his arms. They are wearing grey shirts khakis and beige baseball caps

9:59

I turn on Randolph and go through the tunnel. It’s very dark divy bikes go past and their lights blink at me. Usually this tunnel is filled with traffic, but right now it is very calm. A group of men walk in front of me that are very animated, yelling at each other and waving their arms.

10:02

I pass over a bridge. The water is a blackish green. A tour boat goes by. Some people look interested, others do not.

10:09

I turn on Wacker and walk under the Civic Opera building. I see a woman struggling to carry water bottles. A man in a suit walks over to assist her.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcfdEtG5BuM

10:14

I turn on Jackson. I pull out my phone to use my HISTORYhere app. It shows the nearest landmark as the Willis Tower, formerly the Sears Tower, which stands 110 stories tall