Wandering Chicago: Connecting with the City
I started on West Webster Ave. It was an overcast Friday afternoon, 60 to 65 degrees with wind. Although the weather was droopy, the streets had a lively personality. Everyone seemed to be happy, enjoying themselves, and excited for the weekend. I saw children running home in groups discussing weekend plans. I also saw a lot of people out to eat or out shopping with friends.
On my walk I used the Dérive app. The deck I chose to follow was the Urban Base Deck. The first card the deck gave was to follow a straight line. This was at 3:05. So I followed the curve in the pavement on the sidewalk to the end of the intersection at North Clifton Ave and West Dickens Ave.
At 3:07 the next card I got was to move west. I remember being relatively bored walking down this street. It was mostly the same brick buildings with nothing to look at so I quickly flipped to the next card at the corner of West Dickens Avenue and North Seminary Avenue.
At 3:08 my next card was to turn right. So I turned down North Seminary Avenue. This was a residential street and I noticed there were a lot of pretty flowers and well kept yards. I also Noticed a lot of cool architecture. A lot of them are always brick instead of pavement. Also the architecture looked like it was made a long time ago giving the neighborhood more charm and character. One experience I had on this road was when I was talking a pick of this alleyway I thought was pretty cool. Well as I was standing in the hallway I didn’t notice that there was a car behind me trying to pull in. I turn around to see a woman in a nice car smiling and laughing. I quickly waved my hand in apology and also laughed. I was just relieved she wasn’t angry.
Turning left out of the residential area now, I clicked for the next card at 3:12. I was told to follow someone who is smoking until they are done. I was walking down the street for one or two blocks when I spotted someone across the street at the crosswalk who was smoking a cigarette. So I crossed the street to follow him. I followed him until he flicked his cigarette while walking by the Armitage train station.
At 3:15 I clicked for the next card which said look for something a child would notice. I decided to turn back onto a residential street because I thought I would have better luck finding something a child would notice if I went where children live. Not long after I turned I noticed a store that said big green egg. I was interested because we have a big green egg at home. So I took a picture and sent it to my mom and dad. My dad responded back and said he has actually bought stuff from their website before.
Walking deeper into the neighborhood I found a little park where children were playing. On the outside in front of the park was chalk on the sidewalk. Which is something I think a kid would definitely notice.
At 3:20 I click to get the next card which reads find a watering hole of some kind. I continue walking through the neighborhood in hopes it takes me out to a main road. At 3:23 I found another thing I thought a child would notice more than the call. It was Garden Quest — Willow St addition. At first I just thought that the owner of all the land was really into nomes or statues or something. It was super fun to look at. Then I walked a little further down the sidewalk and saw little slips of paper for this “garden quest”.
I assumed I was very deep within a residential area. It was peaceful and quiet and at while I was trying to find my way out to a main road I passed a huge church. As I passed it I saw an old couple linking arms as they were walking into the church. Walking deeper and deeper into this neighborhood I decided to flip to the next card because I was having trouble finding my way out to the main road. It felt like I was in a maze.
At 3:50 the card I got told me to turn left and look for something sweet. So I turned left and decided to keep an eye out for both a watering hole and something sweet. I made my way out of the residential area and was back on the main road. I soon realized I was in Old Town. At 3:56 I came across Dunkin’ Donuts, which is both a watering hole and something sweet. At this point I was done with the app and wanted to explore and get to know the area on my own.
Walking through Old Town, and then through Old Town Triangle I noticed a plaque with information about the Old Town Triangle. This is a ghost of the past because the according to the plaque this area is one of the earliest neighbors and how it has been preserved to keep its charm.
Not too long after I passed that I found myself in Lincoln park. I knew this because at 4:07 as I was walking down the same road with the Old town triangle plaque I saw a mural of Abraham Lincoln that said Lincoln Park underneath him. This looked very familiar to me and I realized that I have seen this before. That is because I saw this when we went to 360 Chicago at the top of the John Hancock Building.
Once I reached the end of that street I turned onto North Clark Street when I noticed a huge statue in the distance. It was of a man with a hat riding a horse. This was at 4:11. I decided this is what I was going to research. The resources I used to research this statue were the Chicago Park District , and Equestrian Statues. From those websites I found out that this was a Monument for Ulysses S. Grant. I learned that Ulysses S. Grant was a civil war general and in 1863 President Abraham Lincoln made him commander of all union armies. After learning that Ulysses S. Grant and Abraham Lincoln were both in command and working together to take down the confederate army it made sense that the Ulysses S. Grant monument would be in Lincoln park. When Grant passed away in 1855 thousands of Americans donated coins to help fund the production of a monument to honor him. Some other facts I learned about the monument are that it is 18 feet tall. It was put up in 1890 making it the “Oldest equestrian statue in Chicago”. I also learned that the horse that Ulysses S. Grant is riding in the monument is his real life horse, Cincinnati, that he rode into battle on.
At 4:15 I took North Lincoln Avenue till I reached West Webster Avenue at 4:40. Then I walked till I reached North Racine Avenue and reached my dorm around 5:00 PM. On the walk home I realized I have walked through many of these places before. Although boring I found myself reflecting on the past walks I have been on. For example I remember walking past the same places we walked to on the very first day of class. On the first day I would have never been able to find my way back on my own but now I see how much I have actually improved navigating the city. For example when I was on North Clark street I knew I could find North Lincoln Avenue, which I knew would take me to OZ Park, which I knew I could find my way back to campus from there. (1,247)
