Tip Toeing Amongst the Flowers

What’s up everybody?

A few weeks back our friend Steve invited us to go up to the Chicago Botanic Garden.  We kept on making plans to go there with him but something always seemed to come up and prevented us or him from going.  Finally the stars aligned just right and we made it up there.

Just a little background on Steve.  He attended school for Landscape Design and managed a floral shop for a time.  He has a real passion for horticulture.  He has a nice little garden of his own in his yard.  I’m sure if he had a larger yard he would have a mass garden in it.  I’ve tried to grow a little garden myself and failed miserably.  So it was nice to have someone, that actually knows what they are doing and has actual knowledge about what they are talking about, show us around the garden.

Chicago Botanic Garden is a 385 acre living plant museum.  Owned by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County and is operated by Chicago Horticultural Society.  It is located in the village of Glencoe Illinois, about 25 miles North of Chicago.  It boasts the largest membership of any U.S. botanical garden.  They have over 50,000 members.  The garden is free to all visitor, but with that being said you do have to pay for parking.  They have to get you somehow. Right?!  Parking is about 25 - 30 dollars depending on the day of the week and the size of the car (i.e. large passenger van).

I tend to be the type of person that likes to get to places early.  Mostly to beat the crowds that tend to filter in later on in the day.  With that being said we headed up there about 10 o’clock and found a decent parking spot relatively close to the front entrance with a little bit of a walk to the gate.  Once at the entrance we found nice workers passing out maps of the garden and ready to answer any question that we might of had. Inside of the entrance building lies the shops, eateries and information booths.

As soon as we passed through the entrance our senses were put into overload as we take in the sights and smells of the flora.  The Botanic garden is made up of 9 islands, of various sizes, and encompassed by 6 miles of lake shoreline.  As a whole the garden is separated in to 27 individual gardens and 4 wilderness areas.  Each garden has its own unique theme and flora to match that theme.  The two that stuck out the most to me were the Japanese Garden and the Plant Evaluation Garden.

I would have to say that the Japanese Garden was my favorite.  Surprisingly it was not overly abundant on flowers.  Maybe because of the time of the year.  I know that some of the plants that they have in there have a short blooming period.  This particular garden is actually made up of three of the nine island.  Two of which guest are allowed to traverse, while the third is only for the bird and garden staff.  You feel as if you have traveled back in time as you pass over the feudal style bridge into the garden.  Once there you are greeted with Japanese buildings and structures.  The main focal point is the pagoda, which was design by a famous Japanese architect.  It was full built in Japan.  Then taken apart and shipped to the U.S. where it was reassembled and put on display.  I would have like to have spent more time there but as it was getting later in the day our energy levels were starting to leave us, since we had been exploring the other garden throughout day.

The other garden that I found interesting was the Plant Evaluation Garden.  This particular garden is set up in concentric circles filled with flowers of various species.  In the middle of the garden lies a really cool sundial.  Here as the name implies, is where they grow plant and evaluate how they grow.  You can think of it better as a testing or proving ground for the plants.  The purpose of this is to test how the plants cope with the stress of growing in the Chicagoland area.  It is not a quick evaluation either as they typically grow them for four to six years and sometimes longer.  It is nice to know that they go through all this trouble to bring us the highest quality of plants that they can.  They don’t just throw them together and see what happens.

One thing I would like to add is that all of the gardens are wheelchair accessible and are fairly easy to navigate.  There is also a shuttle tram.  For a small fee they will take you on a tour of the gardens.  At designated stop they will allow you to get off, but if you get off you will have to wait for the next shuttle to come by to continue the tour.  I will let you now that it is not an in-depth tour, but you will get information from the tour guides that you may not get when you are on your own.  Of course, the tour guides are what makes the tour.  We had a sassy black lady that was pretty entertaining to listen to as she tended to repeat herself throughout the tour.  Just don’t get to loud, for she had a tendency to shush those perpetrators who got too vocal.  

There is truly a lot that the Chicago Botanic Garden has to offer.  If you want to have a serene walk through beautifully designed landscapes or even partake in the many class that are offered.  There is something for everyone.  There is a reason why over a million people visit the Garden annually.  We had a excellent time and appreciate having Steve invite us into his world and showing us around.

As always, thanks for stopping by.  Until next time.

Josh

Quickshot: The Leaning Tower of....Niles?

What’s up everyone?

A couple of weeks ago I happened to be flipping through an app on my phone and came across an article about roadside attractions in each state.  I knew of a couple that are here in Illinois, but I was quite surprised by the one they chose.  About 15 miles Northwest of Chicago lies the suburb of Niles.  Within the city you can find the Leaning Tower of Pisa.  Yes, thats right.  A scaled down version of the famous tower in Italy.  

The Niles Tower is about half the size of the original.  Standing 94 ft into the air with a 28 ft diameter base and a tilt of about 7.4 ft from plumb.  Of course they used modern materials to reenforce the structure.  Don’t want it to topple over.  Am I right?!  To compare, Pisa is about 186 feet tall with a 50 ft diameter base and has a lean of about 13 ft from plumb.

Back in the 1920s, a successful business man named Robert Ilg built a 22 acre recreation park for his employees of Ilg Hot Air Electric Ventilating Company of Chicago.  Wow! That was a mouthful.  The park had two giant pools within it.  Which posed a problem.  Two large pool obviously uses a lot of water, but where would they get the water to replenish the pools.  The choice was to build a water storage tower.  But if you’re going to build a tower, why not put a little twist on it.

In my research on the tower, there is not a clear reason why he chose to build the Pisa replica.  Most believe that it was to celebrate the Tower of Pisa’s 600th anniversary, but as I said, no clear reason.  Construction started in 1931 and was finished in 1934 and there it stands in all its glory.  Eventually a piece of the park was donated to the YMCA with the stipulation that they would maintain the upkeep.  This upkeep would soon swell past the agreed budget and the YMCA would not be able to properly take care of the tower.  

The city of Niles agreed to buy the tower from the YMCA and started to renovated the tower.  They add refection pool, lights, fountains, and beautified the landscaping.  In 1991 the Village of Niles established a sister pact with the city of Pisa.

To be honest it was kind of cool.  I wouldn’t suggest just going up there to see it, but if you are up in the area it is worth stopping by and taking some photos.  We didn’t get a chance to explore the Village of Niles as it was getting late in the day and we had to get back home.  So there could be more to explore there.  Maybe next time we are in the area we’ll check it out more in-depth.  All in all it was pretty interesting.

Thanks for stopping by.  Until next time.

Josh

A View From The Top

What’s up everyone?

Today we are going to the top of the world.  I’m talking about Willis Tower or better known as , and to me will always be known as, Sears Tower.  At the time of its conception, it became the worlds tallest building by surpassing the World Trace Center.  A titled it held for 25 years.  It currently stands 1450 ft with 110 floors.  It is still the ninth tallest building in the world and the second tallest in the western hemisphere.  One World Trade Center now takes that title.  Willis Tower is located in downtown Chicago.

In 1969 the Sears, Roebuck, & Co wanted to consolidate their thousands of works in offices they had scattered about throughout the Chicago area.  So they started the search to find the right place to built.  Looking through their option they settled upon a location just off the banks of the Chicago River.  With a location found they hired Skidmore, Ownings, & Merrill(SOM) to design their building.  SOM’s lead architect Bruce Graham and structural engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan came up with the idea to use the nine square “tubes.  Essentially they are 9 separate building all interlocked with each other.  Using the "tube method gave the tower stability and was more cost effective to build.  This method has become very popular in constructing the worlds super tall builds.  Even the current tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, use this method.

In April of 1971, the first pieces of steel were put into place and construction was underway.  It was completed in May of 1973.  There it stood as a beacon of American ingenuity.  In 2009, a London based insurance broker known as Willis Group Holdings agreed to lease a portion of the building.  With the new lease came the naming rights, as Sears rights expired in 2003, and Sears Tower became Willis Tower.  But for many it will always be the Sears Tower.

The biggest draw for tourist is, of course, the Skydeck.  When you first enter the tower the send you over to the elevators.  Ironically, the send you down into one of the basement floors.  Once there they take your picture and you purchase your tickets.  From there you walk through a couple of rooms that talks about the tower and a little bit about Chicago.  You make your way to another set of elevator.  They stuff you in and rocket you to 103rd floor.  When the doors open you are greeted with a 360 degree view of the city.  They say that you can see up to fifty miles in any direction.  Of course it all depends on the weather conditions.

The view is spectacular but the best park of the Skydeck is the Ledge.  The Ledge is a retractable glass box that extends a little over 4 ft from the building.  From inside the box you can look through the glass floor 1353 ft down to the Chicago River below.  It is said that the inspiration for the Ledge came from the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.  In the scene the trio are in the Skydeck.  Ferris convinces them to stand on one of the rail and press their heads against the window to look down at the ground below.  To prevent the many tourist from recreating this and for them having to constantly clean the windows, they tried to come up easier way to give you that experience.  In the end, the Ledge was born.

I can say that I’m not really scared of heights, but it was still a little intimidating to walk out on to it.  Poor Erin was quite the trooper.  For those who don’t know, Erin is really terrified of heights but it was something that she really wanted to do.  I will say it did take a little coxing but she did it and was happy for doing so.  It was definitely a weird feeling to be staring down at your feet and seeing what could only be describe as tiny ants scurrying about very far below.    If you are ever in the Chicago area it is something that you should at least try to see once.  Like I said the view of the city is spectacular.  Something that you don’t get to experience everyday.

Hope you enjoyed a brief look at the Willis Tower.  As always, Thanks for stopping by.  Until next time.

Josh