Burnham Harbor

1559 South Lake Shore Drive. Empty now as all the boats have been dry-docked for the winter.

More Winter Fun

Ice skating at the rink on Midway Plaisance, 5800 S. Woodlawn Avenue. In the summer, it's a roller blade rink, concert arena and outdoor movie theater.The skate rental counter in the warming house. Skates are for rent at $4.00.

Lonely Boy

Crown Fountain in the winter. Click here for a summer view.

The Lasalle Street Canyon

In the South Loop. The canyon is made up of the row of famous buildings along South Lasalle Street and ends at the Chicago Board of Trade Building.

Last Customer

Have a Merry Christmas!

The Friendly UPS Guys

Still smiling despite a bazillion Christmas deliveries...

Art on the Wall

Fresh Choice, 1534 Wells Street. My favorite one is the bottom row, second from left.

One of the Basic Food Groups

Chocolate: The Exhibition was created and developed by the Field Museum to inform and educate us on all things chocolate: from the story of the cacao seed in ancient Mayan and Aztec culture, to the history of making and eating chocolate. Think you've got chocolate covered? Then take the Chocolate Challenge! (And the chocolate you see here? Check out The Fudge Pot in Old Town. Real. Good. Chocolate.)

Quiet Afternoon

At the public library, Near North branch.

Gold Star Families Memorial

Between Soldier Field and Burnham Harbor, this steel sculpture marks the landscaped five acre site dedicated to fallen police officers. The pattern on this structure is evocative of the badge worn by the Chicago Police Department. Unfortunately, the name of its creator is not marked, or perhaps I was unable to find it due to the two foot high snowdrifts surrounding the base. At any rate, here's a blog I read often called Second City Cop. Give it a go see and be enlightened and entertained. Cops have feelings too...

Winter Fun

What do you do when Father Winter dumps a foot of snow on everything while you were sleeping through the night? Well, first there is the big dig out of your house and then you go sledding down the hill behind Soldier Field!The hill is 33 feet high with a 220 foot slope--enough to make you feel like king or queen of the hill...at least before wiping out at the bottom...

Wreathing an Attitude of Defiance

The two bronze lions flanking the Art Institute on Michigan Avenue have been wreathed since November 23 in the annual wreathing of the lions ceremony marking the start of the holiday season. The lions, installed in 1893, were created by American scultpor Edward Kemeys who gave the unidentical lions their unofficial names: "an attitude of defiance" and "on the prowl."

The Chicago Fire Department

An engine returning to base on Division Street in the Near North Side. Here are a few interesting links in relation to the Chicago Fire Department: a brief history, a very interesting portal to The Great Chicago Fire, and a ghost story.

*an update: more photos of CFD trucks and firefighters filed under "The Chicago Fire Department" in the label sidebar.

Blue Sky on Glass

Reflection off the glass windows from a rooftop on Wabash Avenue.

The Season of Giving

A homeless man begged for change between traffic stops at Lakeshore Drive and 57th this morning. He held up a cardboard sign that read Merry Christmas and some other bits I didn't have time to read. After the woman gave him a dollar, the light changed and he got out from between the cars and hurried on to the side of the road.

More from Devon Avenue

I'm sorry but I just have to break the one-photo-a-day rule because yesterday's trip down Devon Avenue definitely had me feeling like I had traveled from my own city as Eliane (of NYC daily photo) mentioned in her comment on yesterday's photo of men's kurta fashions. I just have to share more of this wonderful neighborhood with you---so bear with me, and I promise to go back to the one-a-day tomorrow...
Beaded and embroidered ladies shoes inside a ladies clothing shop
Sancks at the grocery store...
A sign inside a beauty salon...
And lastly, a photo from the sidewalk...hope you enjoyed them!

Devon Avenue

Also known as the Indo-Pak Community or the Desi Corridor.

The New Cabrini

Cabrini Green, once Chicago's most notorious neighborhood, has undergone some changes starting in 1995, with the demolition of the housing projects for low-income and welfare residents. The plan was to create a "mixed-income" neighborhood, with rich and poor living side by side. Has it succeeded? Others talk about their own experiences, past and present.

Cobbler, Cobbler, Mend My Shoe

So goes the first line of an old Mother Goose rhyme (here's the rest of it). Gus of Hyde Park Shoe Rebuilders, is a genuine cobbler and I met him today at his shop. Here he is amidst his cobbling machinery and stacks of shoes awaiting his attention. Gus is originally from Greece.

Snow on the Prairie

Bobolink Meadow, Chicago.

KAM Isaiah Israel

The first Jewish settlers in Chicago organized Kehilath Anshe Maariv in 1847. Isaiah Israel is the second oldest congregation, founded in 1852. The two merged to form KAM Isaiah Israel Temple in 1971. The temple is on Greenwood and Hyde Park Avenue. The Weiss Museum of Judaica is also located here. Click here to find a better view of this byzantine-inspired building. Today is the first day of the Festival of Lights--if you celebrate, Happy Hanukkah!

The Bell Ringer

Nolen works for The Salvation Army's Red Kettle Campaign in my neighborhood grocery. Who's ringing the bell at yours?

Sunshine Elsewhere

Illinois Street. Walking downtown between the buildings where the sun always seems to be where I'm not...

First Snowfall

Jackson Park, Chicago.