An Immersive Week in Chicago
When I signed up for walking Chicago, it was originally because the class where you went to cubs games for a week was full. Naively, I thought walking was just for transportation, it being the last resort for when you did not have access to a car or the train. So bright and early Monday morning I laced up my athletic shoes and prepared to walk around a city and talk about architecture and other mundane subjects. What I received was a lesson about assumptions and an amazing amount of cardio.
We started our adventure in Lincoln Park. I have walked around campus a fair amount but I had seen things during our journey I would have completely missed if it was one of my normal walks, like a shirtless man in an eyepatch walking down the middle of the intersection. I have thought about that man at least once a day since I witnessed him. Lincoln Park is more of an experience than a place. When my group returned to the classroom, the entire classroom started to share their experiences in Lincoln Park and almost every single person in the classroom share a different experience. I heard about a bunch of old ladies having tea time, a park themed after the wizard of oz, a loose fire hydrant, and countless stories of adorable dogs, which just goes to show that two people can walk the same path and still have very different experiences.
The day after we explored Lincoln Park, we trekked from Hancock center to Humble Park. During our fifteen-mile adventure, I experienced a lot. We saw a multitude of different architectural styles and a plethora of friendly dogs. When I first visited Chicago, my dad said he found comfort in the number of dogs he saw because “dog people are usually good people.” However, the closer we got to Humble Park, the further we got from the gentrified areas and by the time we got to Humble Park, it was almost impossible to find any traces of gentrification. While walking through Humble Park, I saw a fridge that had a “free food. take what you need.” sign above it, and my first thought was that if that were in Lincoln Park it would have been empty and barren within a day.
The day that probably left the biggest impression on me was the last, when we walked through Pilsen. Pilsen has a very rich culture that radiates throughout the neighborhood and Pilsen natives are extremely proud of their heritage, which can be seen through the number of murals (like the one above) throughout the neighborhood. It was nearly impossible to walk a block in Pilsen without seeing a mural and it was clear our tour guide, Luis, actually cared about what he was talking about because when he wasn’t walking about the murals he was talking about the restaurants and the shops, making it clear that he truly cares about his neighborhood.
While immersion week has come to an end, my fascination with walking and discovering Chicago has only just begun.
