Lost in the Loop, an Eventuality.
I chose the “getting lost” walk between the two options for walks. This choice was made with the realization in mind that I have not explored much of the immediate city around me, which has contributed to feeling stranded at times in the city. This was part of one of the readings in class, where it was mentioned that an individual who is unfamiliar with the city around them is stranded and isolated in their own world, never venturing out.
I walked past the Jackson/State intersection for the first time today, setting off on my adventure to get lost at around 5 PM.
Stop 1, 5:03 PM. I am currently at Ida B. Wells/State, sitting on the upraised stone seats near the entrance of the Chicago Public Library. I had to move away from a Bee for a moment, but all is well now. The foot traffic is inexplicably light today. I expected waves of people on the street today, yet streets often have seconds of space between pedestrians. The car traffic is starting to pick up; natural for the start of rush hour. The daylight still shines bright.
5:06 PM. Walking further down Ida B. Wells Street, I spot a few murals.
Stop 2, 5:15 PM. Now I am seated on the street, next to a building, down to the side walk. People pass by now and then, I hope I can finish writing soon so that I can stand up and move. I getup and move to the Harrison/Federal intersection. There are bikers and people on scooters or skateboards occasionally passing by.
I stumble across and odd alleyway shortly thereafter. The sun seems to miss one side of a building wall, casting a shadow onto the alleyway. There are zero people here, only a few cars. The are no stores or entryways on the side. Why is this the alleyway’s current state. It screams haunted. What was it like a few years ago? What lead it to its current state? I entered it, walking along the left side walk.
Walking down this alleyway is awfully silent. On the right, I see the the right building is a residential area, but a lot of the windows are either shuttered, or open with the rooms being empty. Is this street abandoned?
5:18 PM. Additionally, I found a small bottle of whiskey sitting on a pole’s base. Why was it there? Who left it there? Unfinished, at that.
I then proceeded upwards with my walk, onto Dearborn street on the other side of Ida B. Wells.
Stop 3, 5:23 PM. Taco Bell Cantina: I was thinking of buying food from a restaurant, but I did not find much around this area. I spotted this odd Taco Bell. It had the word “cantina” attached to it to signify something different, but the actual place inside was much the same, just a more modern aesthetic in interior design. Grey tiles and walls, rusted wooden tables, black chairs, brighter lights, and a seemingly slightly understaffed team.
5:58 PM. Shortly after finishing my food, a guy comes in without a mask on, briskly walking to the staff. Apparently, he lost his phone here. Poor guy.
Stop 4, 6:14 PM, Chicago Post Office: There are two people skateboarding here in this open space. I am sitting at this bench alone. The office is closed. The light in the sky is dwindling. A tint of blue overcasts my notebook. I saw newspapers on the floor walking by, swept around on the floor by the wind. I walked over here to see this abstract red sculpture. Not sure what it is, only that I wanted to see it up close.
At this point, I get onto Jackson street and go upwards back to my apartment. I did get lost for a brief moment, and I enjoyed it. I would like to travel further next time!
I filled out the field map throughout my walk at my various stops, since I failed to remember after my walk last week. The writing quality is poor, though.
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150–200 Word Response
Question: In “Paris, or Botanizing the Asphalt,” Rebecca Solnit quotes Walter Benjamin who writes, “But to lose oneself in a city — as one loses oneself in a forest — that calls for a quite a different schooling” (p. 255). What is the meaning of “losing oneself in the city?” Have you ever lost yourself in this sense? If so, describe your experience. What do you remember?
Losing oneself in the city could mean more than the words entail. There is the geographical sense, being lost between concrete pillars and walking through a maze at which you know no end to. There is merit in this, that getting lost in the city engages oneself in their surroundings, which is the city before them, presenting them all sorts of experiences.
Yet I don’t think the meaning is limited to just this. Being lost in the city is perhaps also being lost in what you’re experiencing. Taking in what you see, what you hear, and what you feel; taking in all that because it is unique, and it can’t quite be described or is simply new. That is what it means to be lost in a city’s experience.
I do not recall a time in which I have completely lost myself in this sense, but last week exploring Millennium Park, I did feel distant at times from home. That it would take a long path to get back home, so far out from home that I may as well be lost in the city.
