Silent Row of Townhouses

I always take the Red Line to get to different locations along State Street all the time, but have never taken a scenic walk down State Street. Today I will take that walk. Right now I am in front of the DePaul Barnes & Noble. The sun is almost gone. It is fairly busy out front, but not many people walking. Many people are sitting on the benches talking with other people. A lot of these people don’t appear to be associated with DePaul, and I wonder why they picked the front of the DePaul Campus to hang out.

I am now walking under the brown line past the Harold Washington Library. I look at the Harold Washington Library and realize I’ve never actually been in it. I really need to check it out sometime. I wonder if the general public is allowed in there. The air smells kind of steamy and fresh around here. The sounds around me are usual honking horns and braking cars.

I am passing the ACE hardware store I got my paint chips from the other day. It’s nice to be here when I’m not getting poured on. I notice all these other restaurants around it that I never noticed before. There’s an awesome by the slice pizza place that I would love to try out sometime. I can smell the fresh dough be being baked from out here.

The sun fully gone now, all the street lights and business signs light up, almost simultaneously. There were a quite a few people out on the sidewalks closer to the Jackson stop, but here, past the Harrison stop, there is literally nobody. This is rather surprising. I can hear every sound clear as a day of distant sirens, cars, and trains. I can feel the air starting to transition to the chilly fall weather.

I look up at the tall buildings around me as they start to light up as well. Every night in this span of about 20–30 minutes, the whole city comes to life as it lights up the sky. I am passing many beautiful residential townhouses now. They are all a little different just like in Lincoln Park. They all have a bit of space between them and geographically it is the perfect distance from the busy city. This would be a fantastic place to live. I had no idea there were even homes on State St.

I am passing the Red Line stop for Roosevelt, it is amazing how much a single street can change with the difference of only 2 stops. I see more people on the sidewalk now which is comforting. There is a man in a tan jacket and dark pants with his wife or girlfriend wearing a floral shirt and jeans. As I walk to the next block I see a group of kids hanging on the corner playing Kendrick Lamar from their phones. I love hearing different kinds of music when I’m out.

I just came up with my Map Project idea — I will make a map with album covers and label the music that I have either heard somewhere on my walks or that represents an area in Chicago. It will take digital and hand drawn art combined. I will paste all the art on the map and make it up on a poster.

I am currently on W 16th St. and I just realized that there are no more Red Line stops on State St. I have to turn around and go back to Roosevelt. I could go to Chinatown, but I’ll save that for another walk.

In response to Malchik, is walking a luxury, a privilege, a necessity, or a right, and why? What are the threats to walking? How does where you live influence how you live?

I truly believe that no matter where someone is in the world, walking is a right. Of course, it is not a necessity, and there are alternatives to walking (for most of the journey), but I think it is important for people to keep in mind that they have this right and should use it more often. In this generation, we are led to believe that if you walk you are lower than those who drive a car. Then, if you drive a car, it’s all about who has the nicest car. Besides this idea of status, the only other threat to walking is safety. However, if you’re a smart walker, you will never have to worry about traffic incidents or being threatened by other people. Follow the walking laws. The area in which you are walking plays a big part in this as well. Due to where a person lives, they may not walk at all. Cars are a necessity in more rural or suburban areas, whereas it makes a lot more sense to walk in urban cities like London, Paris, or Chicago.