Chicago's Gold Coast

Chicago is the third largest city in the United States.  It has the second largest skyline trailing closely behind New York.  It is cleaner than New York, and it seems to have an extra sparkle as the thousands of windows reflect the blue glow of Lake Michigan.  I love spending time in the city.  Yesterday, I walked around a neighborhood called the Gold Coast with my new friend Katie.  Katie and her husband Chris go to Grace (our new church).  The Gold Coast dates back to the 1880s when Potter Palmer built his mansion in the midst of what was then wild marshland.  Many prominent families of the time followed leaving a wealth of American Architectural history to explore such as Frank Lloyd Wright's "first modern house in America"(Frommer's Chicago).

Jason always points up at apartments in the city and says, "Could you live there?  How about there?."  My answer is usually "Yes!" if the apartment has a balcony, a way for me to step outside into the fresh air and breathe.  Maybe some day when children and dog are grown, we will.   The first three pictures below are from Katie's apartment balcony.  Drinking warm tea and eating her freshly baked cheese straws, I take in the stunning views of Lake Michigan and Chicago's Gold Coast and feel only a little twinge of jealousy :).

View from my left

View looking ahead

View to my Right

some leftover Halloween decorations and more beautiful architecture

Wrought Iron fences and more beautiful city living

We took an hour walk around the neighborhood and Lincoln Park.  One of the unique things about Chicago is the sense of SPACE created by the parks and the Lake.  Of course, with that space comes WIND.  Brrrrr.....

Katie in Lincoln Park

And below is Jess, our super extraordinaire church administrator.  She keeps Jason and Stuart organized and caffeinated.  Jess lives in Rogers Park, the neighborhood just South of Evanston, which is another place to discover.  More on that neighborhood in another post...