The Magnificence of the Mile
The Magnificent Mile is easily one of my favorite places to go in Chicago. The street stretches for miles and is filled with every shopping store you can imagine. What makes this street so walkable is its liveliness. There’s people walking, cars honking, street performers dancing, and music playing at every corner. The endless shops are what keeps the street so busy, but the Mag Mile is much more than just a place for shopping. There’s churches, culture, and entertainment, not to mention the John Hancock Center, and that is why I like this street so much. It has variety and something new happens every time I’m there.
I walk out of the L and the first thing I notice are these flowers that are vibrant in color. These flowers did not remind me of seasonal decorations, but they were still beautiful and added to the Mag Mile’s variety.
It was gloomy outside and looked like it was about to rain, so mostly everybody brought out their sweaters and sweatshirts. People filled the streets and and completely disregarded every stop light. In fact, after the picture above was taken, an agressive man gets out of his car in the middle of the street to yell at a pedestrian who walked in front of his driving. Vulgar words and interactions came out from both of them that I will, however, not repeat.
Most of the excitement came from the area around the John Hancock Center and the Water Tower. I saw a man painted in silver and chrome, dancing to electronic music like a very sad robot. Down aways from the robot, a man wearing a tie dye shirt and a reggae hat played the guitar and sang his original songs. A crowed formed around him slightly moving their head back and forth to his melodic tunes. This is another reason why I love the Mag Mile so much. Even though this is a very busy place, people take the time to stop and enjoy what’s infront of them.
Here we have the Chicago Water Tower. Aside from The Fourth Presbyterian Church down the street, this building is architecturally different from all the other buildings on the Mag Mile. It’s old and castle like and has a mini courtyard area with a small fountain behind it. People can sit on benches and take a break from all the hustle and bustle. This is a great rest stop if you want see some interesting people go by. I saw a woman decked out in camo yelling at what appeared to be her boyfriend. She screamed, “How many times do I have to tell you Marcel…You’ll never be good enough for me.” She continued to bag on him and didn’t let him get in one word. Poor Marcel.
According to Jacobs, why are “punctuations” and “focal points” important to the life of the street and downtown? What are some “punctuations” and “focal points” around DePaul’s LPC and/or Loop campuses?
Punctuations and focal points are important to the life of the street and downtown because that’s what gives a street its uniqueness. According to Jacobs, punctuations are areas where there are churches, clocks, etc., filled with greenery. A focal point is on a wider scale and can consist of buildings, fountains, and squares. The Magnificent Mile has both punctuations and focal points, making it so diverse and interesting to visit. It has churches, major buildings, greenery, shops, and multiple fountains, making it one of my favorite streets (so far) in Chicago.
However, at Depaul, the punctuations and focal points of both the Lincoln Park Campus and Loop Campus differ greatly. In the LPC, there is a quad of greenery where people go to take in the sun and study or do activities. There is even an on campus Church in Lincoln Park that’s plays a big role in the school. LPC is more punctuality than Focal point becuase of how widespread the campus is and how more urban it is with all its trees, plants, and greenery. The loop campus on the other hand, is more of a focal point. It is located downtown and consists mostly of tall buildings. Although I haven’t been to the loop campus too often, I picture it more city like and feel that it is easily missed due to lack of punctuation.
