Peace of Chicago
Walking through a more tranquil part of downtown Chicago
In “The Solitary Stroller and the City,” Solnit writes, “Cities are forever spawning lists” (p. 202). Why do walking, lists, and cities seem to go together?
Lists, for me, are a way to organize my brain when it becomes too crowded with thoughts. I can empty every stress, reminder, and doubt onto paper, which not only makes me feel better and in more control, but it also allows me to explore everything that is on my mind. In that regard, walking is the same. It allows one to simultaneously explore his, her, or their thoughts and surroundings together. Cities support that idea by being diverse areas to walk. In addition, all three are continuous processes, note by note, step by step, and street by street. They can go on forever by following a single path, but one can choose to stop at any point as well. The three are streams of conscious. Changing as they go but always connecting, they are allowed to evolve and adapt on their “route.” I think that is what connects them: organization and continuation.
To better know downtown Chicago, I traveled to the Chicago station of the red line of the “L” on Sunday, September 10th, 2017 during the afternoon. These are the notes and pictures I took during that walk.
11:30AM→I begin my walk by hopping on the red line “L” at Fullerton with the intention of going south. The station is pleasantly cool with the wind and filled with people chatting. I catch a piece of conversation between a man and woman behind me, “That’s why skinny jeans are so hot,” and I am left to wonder if the context is with fashion or body temperature. In both cases, I tend to agree. When the train arrives, I find it fairly full, which I wasn’t expecting on a Sunday afternoon for some reason. A man walks past me as I sit down, and I catch a whiff of a sugary and fruity perfume smell that I quite enjoy. A small internal battle ensues about whether or not to ask the man what he is wearing. I don’t ask him. Shifting my attention to the rest of the car, I see most people are dressed in dark, neutral colors.
11:41AM→After getting off the “L,” I find myself at the intersection between State and Chicago. There is a surprising lack of car but a decent number of pedestrians (myself included). Most people I see are wearing casual clothes, and the most prevalent sounds are those of the city buses and off idle chatter.
11:43AM→Here, the air is cool, and it’s still sunny. I can smell flowers, but there aren’t any near me that I can find.
11:46AM→I see a group posing for a picture by a fountain, and I wonder if they are tourists. They’re dressed in comfortable clothes that are good to walk in. A little further along, I am struck by the juxtaposition of a young woman pulling her nice luggage walking near (what looks like) a homeless man carrying everything he owns. The amount of stuff they have is the same, but the man’s is dirty where the woman’s is pristine.
11:49AM→I find myself behind a cute couple dressed in neutrals except for the lady’s bright shoes. I’ve never seen shoes in that color before. Nearby, there is a busy playground full of parents and children laughing.
11:50AM→A little further but still next to the playground, I find a wide, empty sidewalk with solitary benches on each side. Some have separating bars set in the middle, which I find kind of funny. (If you’re sitting that close to someone anyway, the bar seems unnecessary.) The area feels friendly and secluded, but it’s not quiet. The sounds of sirens and people can still be heard. Speaking of, those that do walk by are young families dressed both in casual and semi-formal clothing. (I make the assumption that the latter came here after going to a church service.) After a glance around, I find the only people sitting on benches are two middle-aged women on their phones. There is also a ridiculous amount of pigeons as well, so I make a note to come back here someday with some bread to feed them.
11:54AM→Leaving the area, I see a cool statue of a horse. I make a note that I am near the intersection of Chicago and Mies van der Rohe.
11:55AM→There’s an art museum that I would like to come back and visit. In front of the steps, a woman sweeps up leaves that have fallen from nearby trees. (I’m not sure why, but I make a note that she’s black.)
11:57AM→Next to the art museum, there are trees sitting in a container with abnormally large rocks. A fit bicycler stops near me and checks something on his phone, and I think that this would be a good spot to sit and read. It’s cool and secluded-feeling with a “No Smoking” sign nearby. Before leaving, I touch some of the rocks and find they’re cold and dusty. I take one.
11:59AM→The rocks gradually become smaller and less colorful until there is just sand. I am near Pearson street.
12:01PM→I come upon a running track filled with mostly young and middle-aged white people. The iron fence surrounding the area has cobwebs on it, and I think that winter must be the only thing that cleans it. There’s another busy playground here as well as a large number of dogs. I see a “No Dogs on Track” sign.
12:03PM→Ahead just another block, I find the lake shimmering on the other side of a few busy roads. It’s much sunnier and noisier here, and there are far less pedestrians and birds around. There are less homeless-looking people as well. Looking up, I find I’m at the intersection of Lake Shore and Chicago.
12:07PM→Surprisingly, I stumble upon the downtown campus of Northwestern University. The area is much quieter walking even just half a block in, and I’m immediately attracted to a beautiful wild-like garden in front of one of the buildings. Strangely, the flowers don’t have any fragrance, though. There is a lot of areas to sit and relax, but the place is entirely empty except for me.
12:08PM→It must be empty because it’s Sunday. The weather is starting to get warmer, but the breeze is still there. I want to take a flower, but it feels wrong. Luckily, I find one that has recently fallen and take that. Continuing down the sidewalk, I again notice the lack of people. To my left, there is an empty, one-level parking lot. (It seems wasteful to not have a parking ramp in the middle of the city.) Expensive cars are parked on the street, though.
12:13PM→I see a crow in Chicago for the first time. He’s testing what looks like a berry.
12:14PM→I pass a private area surrounded by ugly, plain buildings. It’s cold and empty.
12:17PM→If coal could be porous like pumice, I found it surrounding trees lining the street. Sitting on a bench, I pass a homeless-looking lady. A couple spots down, two female coworkers are enjoying lunch together in their scrubs. A man in a wheelchair smokes a cigarette across the street. The cars on the street seem to be moving slowly.
12:19PM→I see a place called Stan’s Donuts on the intersection of Fairbanks and Erie. More people now surround me, and I make a note to come back and try a donut.
12:21PM→There’s cool red wall across the street, and I think I am near a graphic design school. The people surrounding me are now nicer dressed, and I see a fancy hotel up ahead.
12:24PM→The road becomes suddenly, but the smell of exhaust is obvious in the air. Pedestrians generally become younger, more racially diverse-looking, and more fashionable as I walk. I catch my first jay-walker of the day. He’s an older and thinner white man with weird sunglasses and earbuds. It’s windier here again, and I can here cars long before I see any. Parked on the side is one from Oregon, and I wonder why they are here.
12:27PM→I see a lady wearing what I think are the same purple-pink shoes the other woman was wearing earlier. I trail her for a bit to try to get a good picture. (Unfortunately, the shoes are not exactly the same.)
12:28PM→I find a corner office with a bunch of baseball bobble-heads in the window. It makes me think I want an office with that big of a window someday.
12:29PM→I see another Stan’s Donuts, and realizing I am hungry, I decide to go inside and try it. Immediately, the interior strikes me as very cute and friendly.
12:35PM→I try a “pistachio glazed” donut because I like pistachio muffins. It cost me three dollars, and I am not entirely sure if that is a good or bad price for a decent donut. Sitting inside, the bakery has a sweet and bread-like smell, which I appreciate. There is never too long of a pause between customers, most of whom seem a part of a younger and healthier demographic. Looking at my paper bag, I find that the place is a chain that also sells gelato and coffee. Other people (from myself) come in to take pictures of the shop, and I assume they are tourists. My donut grows on me the longer I eat it, and as I leave, I realize it was very warm and dark inside. Easy music follows me until I shut the door.
12:43PM→I see a path to Navy Pier and decide to come back to take it someday. Except for the smell of chicken nuggets (I assume there is a McDonald’s nearby), the area I’m walking is surprisingly clean. I come across a woman who asks me where Michigan (the street) is, but I am unable to help her.
12:47PM→I arrive again to a red line stop, but this one is at Grand. A few kids with a couple of men head down the stairs into the station that goes towards Howard with me, and they make me wonder if there is a Cubs game today. (I also assume it is a gay family until I see another man is with them.) In the tunnel, there is an oppressive silence even though the people around me are chatting. It is only broken by one of the trains coming.
12:50PM→Looking down the tunnel, I want to jump on the tracks and follow them to see where each path leads. More people have joined me on the platform with more conversations; I am much warmer now. I also recognize that because most of the crowd around me is white and nicely dresses, I feel safer. The train arrives late and is packed, making me wonder again about the possible Cubs game.
12:56PM→I see a woman holding baseball tickets, and my suspicions are confirmed. Unfortunately, that means that train will not empty until after my stop, so I am stuck standing. A woman in a cute, yellow dress enters from the next stop holding a box of donuts “leftover from work.” I want to become her friend. The augmentation ad I see bothers me the longer I am on the train, and I wish for it to be switched out soon.
1:04PM→I get off at the Fullerton stop and find it pleasantly cool and sunny outside on the empty platform. Overall, I decide I am satisfied with my walk.
