Chicago at Night, Finding Peace Amongst Chaos.
There is nothing better than a fresh perspective and some peace and quiet in my opinion. This is why I decided to write my field guide about the sounds of Chicago at night. Being a Chicago citizen can cause residents to lose sight of what is always around them, the hustle and bustle of the workday distract from the wonders of the city we pass by constantly without notice. The simple act of taking a walk during a different time of day can completely shift your experience in Chicago and spark a change in perspective. My field guide aims to take the reader on a journey through a familiar city, with a brand new perspective.
The first place mapped by my field guide is the lakefront trail. This trail is familiar to many and is often praised as one of the best in Chicago due to its scenic views. However, my favorite part about the lakefront trail is the sound of the water gently crashing and lapping against the shore. While many people come here to relax or exercise during the day, my favorite time to walk the trail is at night. The peaceful sound of the gently crashing waves against the shore provides one of the most therapeutic sounds in all of Chicago. Sketching the lakefront trail in my field guide is a proposition. Many Chicagoans frequent the lakefront trail, and for good reason, by sketching this in my field guide I provide a proposition that hopefully inspires the reader to venture to the lakefront trail with a new perspective.
The sketches in my field guide aim to propose that despite these sketches being common occurrences in our lives, we never really pay that close attention. By sketching the lake and centering my field guide around the sounds of the city at night, I aim to have my reader focus on the tranquility provided by the sounds of the night. The second sketch in my field guide is the ‘L’ train from the street in the loop.
Despite being a mainstay in many Chicagoans' lives, the ‘L’ is rarely given any thought besides being background noise. During the night, however, I find that I often enjoy the rush of the wheels over the tracks passing by through the dark.
The rush of the daytime often causes all the sounds we experience to take a backseat in our brains, my sketches aim to focus the reader on one specific sound of the night and how they can experience it in a new way, through the lens of my field guide.
I truly believe the night is the most overlooked part of the day, most people just want to sleep or stay inside. I argue otherwise, my field guide proposes that the night can be a time of self-reflection, peace, and discovery.
“Go for a walk outside, he advised, but make it a point to head out in the direction that seems the quietest. Keep going until you find the quietest spot in your vicinity that you can. Now stop and be in that place. ‘Take a moment to absorb it,” as his instructions put it.” (Walker, The art of noticing) In this section of the reading, Walker writes about the practice of following the quiet in order to experience a familiar city in a way, following the quiet is yet another of his methods to the art of noticing. This quotation is critical to my field guide, the whole point of my guide is to get regular Chicagoans to notice and experience the night around them. Walker also strives to notice, however, he only focuses on following the quiet, whereas my field guide focuses on many sounds of the night, not always running from them or towards quiet. “We’d spent six hours traversing streets I knew far too well — but only as background scenery to a hectic metropolitan life.” (Hollis, Cities belong to us) During this section of the writing, Hollis is reflecting on her “midnight run” around the city, this perspective of reflection and contemplation is exactly what I desire that my reader feel. This quotation ties perfectly into the heart and proposition of my field guide, as I aim to bring background scenery from everyday metropolitan life to the forefront of my reader's attention.
One of the main goals of my field guide is to propose a new perspective to walkers, specifically at night by choosing to notice and focus on the things we perceive as background every single day. The ability to reflect and contemplate on the complex lives we live every day is the reason I am drawn to the night. As soon as I started brainstorming I knew my topic would involve the night. The night has always provided an escape for me and I hope to provide my reader with the same escape. I have personally struggled with depression and anxiety for the majority of my life, the night is my escape. The world through my lens is absolutely chaotic, the night provides a calmness that can’t be found during the day in my opinion. https://youtu.be/aA1H7Qunvuk The shroud of darkness and lack of people on the street gives the city an entirely new feeling. Instead of the chaos all melting together into a senseless pack of sounds, the night allows us to focus on specific sounds around us, like the whoosh of tires on pavement, or even the familiar squeak of the L as it comes to a stop. My field guide contains a portion about specific things to notice during the night that we ignore every day during our lives. Many things we consider to be background are truly incredible and we don’t pay them enough attention.
The undesirable part of the night is the unfortunate reality of the dangers of the night. Despite being a straight white male, I still feel uncomfortable at night when by myself. The peace I attempt to guide my reader to seek can be obscured by the very real dangers of the night. Unfortunately, there are people who give the night a bad reputation, especially for women and minorities. The vast majority of women I know have a fear of walking alone at night, and it’s not superstition. Most women who live in Chicago have a story of someone doing something weird to them at night or feeling uneasy because of another person at night. “The constant threats and the few incidents of real terror transformed me. Still, I stayed where I was, became more adept at navigating the dangers of the street, and became less of a target as I grew older.” (Solnit, Ch. 14, pg 6) In this portion of the chapter, Solnit reflects on the warnings given to her as a young woman, and how throughout her years, her experiences walking or traveling at night transformed her. This quotation provides context and perspective to the dangers of the night that some people will never experience, and that others will constantly. My field guide is focused on the night, and therefore, must be aware of the possible dangers that accompany walking during the night. My field guide contains a section focused on this particular issue, as it unfortunately must. The dangers of the night are real and not being aware of them could land you in a less than ideal situation, therefore I had to include this portion of the field guide.
Walker, Rob. “The Art of Noticing: Five Ways to Experience a City Differently.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 9 May 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/may/09/the-art-of-noticing-five-ways-to-experience-a-city-differently.
Hollis, Leo. “Cities Thrive When Public Space Is Open to All: Aeon Essays.” Aeon, Aeon Magazine, 18 July 2013, https://aeon.co/essays/cities-thrive-when-public-space-is-open-to-all.
Solnit, Rebecca. “Solnit — Ch 14 — Walking after Midnight.” D2L, https://d2l.depaul.edu/d2l/le/content/832672/viewContent/8117026/View.
