BinnieCa

We are planning a trip to Chicago June 1-7 and are thinking of staying at a great condo at Michigan and Roosevelt Road. 1300 S Michigan Ave... since we are going to be there for that amount of time we do not feel the need to get everything in at once but am concerned that the area we are staying in is out of the "loop" shall we say. Are we too far away from the action or is it close enough for us to walk to. would appreciate any input.

TwoFatFeet

1300 S Michigan is very close to the Field Museum, Soldier Field, the Art Institute, etc.

Citylghts

While you will be outside the Loop, it's not a bad location. As the previous post says, you'll be across from the Museum Campus and the Art Institute is 1.5 miles north on Michigan.

To reach sights farther north, the Red and Orange Line trains are 2 blocks west as is a Jewel supermarket. Two blocks beyond Jewel is a Target. There are also a number of bus routes on Michigan Avenue.

You could also have wonderful views of the lake and Grant Park. Although, when I book a place thinking I'm going to get a great view, I wind up overlooking the dumpsters in the back alley.

You can judge distances by addresses. All addresses in the city begin at the intersection of State and Madison. Each 800 addresses is one mile. So, you're just over 1.5 miles south of the "center" of downtown. The Hancock Building is at 875 N Michigan, so it would be about a 2.5 mile walk.

BinnieCa

does this mean we are not close to restaurants etc. do you know if we walk out the condo there are places to eat or do we have to travel?

joethekay

Go to Chicago Metromix
http://chicago.metromix.com/
Search South loop restaurants and enjoy.

lizziea06

I think if I were staying in a condo, I'd prefer to be somewhere a bit more neighborhoody and residential. It's a great location for museums, but there's not a lot going on around there in the evening. I'm not totally familiar w/ this neighborhood, but this is my impression from having spent a lot of time at the museums.

joethekay

Hey DA MARE (Mayor Richard M Daley) lives in the neighborhood. There are many many new restaurants, clubs, stores, etc in the neighborhood.Good restaurants always follow people into neighborhoods.
These are basically new high rises built in the last 3-4 years with some still under construction. No, its not the Mag Mile but your proximity to many cultural attractions, Grant Park and Lake Michigan makes it a great choice.
And having a condo means you can do some meals in.

andrews98682

You're in a good location, with several lines stopping at Roosevelt Road and easy access to a bunch of good food neighborhoods (Greektown, Little Italy, River North). A little farther north, the red and brown lines go to Lincoln Park and Lakeview, and the blue line will get you to Wicker Park and Bucktown.

Brookside

It's not a bad area - I guess it all depends on what you plan to do while you're there. If you want to shop and eat at great restaurants, you will be a little removed from the action.

We stayed at the Hilton last summer (700 S. Michigan) and I noticed 2 things: it was harder to get cab, and the buses were *always* late (compared to the loop, NMA and other areas.) The subway (on State/Roosevelte St.) is about 1/4 of a mile away, but it seems longer. Maybe I'm just spoiled by having stayed in the loop so much, where the subway is right outside the door, practically.

You are close to one of my favorite breakfast places: Yolk, at 1100 S. Michigan.

BinnieCa

Thank you so much for all the input. We wanted to stay in the Loop but could not find anything in our budget. We would appreciate any suggestions for food (we are foodies) that we should not miss. Where to go for Chicago hot dog, pizza, seafood. Does not have to be expensive since we are there for 7 days. We were hoping to walk north on Michagan Ave. We understand Wacker street has lots to see?

Citylghts

The neighborhood just north of Roosevelt is called Printers Row. There are several restaurants around there including Bar Louie in the old Dearborn Street Station. Check Metromix for other possibilities.

For pizza, there are several options. Giordano's has several locations around the city. There's one at Jackson and Wells or South Water St and Michigan Ave. Pizzeria Uno and Gino's East each have two locations off North Michigan Ave and Lou Malnati's is on Wells 1 block north of the Merchandise Mart. There is great debate as to which is best, so I won't get into that. I doubt you'll disappointed with any of them.

You should definitely stroll Michigan Ave. Also, head into Grant Park. At Congress Pkwy, you'll find the Buckingham Fountain and in the NE corner of the Grant Park is Millennium Park.

I'm not sure if I'd say that Wacker Drive is really a tourist desitination. If you like architecture, it has several interesting buildings in a multitude of styles. But it can also be very confusing as it's an L-shaped street that has addresses in all four quadrants of the city. So, if you walk the whole street you'll see 1 East Wacker, 1 West Wacker, 1 North Wacker and 1 South Wacker.

exiledprincess

Binnieca, just in case you missed a point joethekay brought up: There has been a *lot* of renovation and construction in the South Loop during the past few years. Are you sure that there isn't any ongoing work in the condo building where you are staying or nearby? I'd check.

And, yes, there are some newer restaurants in the South Loop. That's because of the recent gentrification boom. Still, it isn't the concentration you will find in other neighborhoods around the city and you won't be getting the best choices Chicago has to offer. You usually see those located on the North Side and West Loop areas, besides those few which are in the Magnificent Mile, Loop and River North.

And, yes, you will have to do a lot of walking if you choose that area, unless you take public transportation. I'd really recommend that you invest in CTA visitor's passes for, if not all of your stay, at least the majority of it.

That being said, there is a second location of Oysy ("delicious") at 888 S. Michigan Avenue. This would be a little more than a 1/2 mile walk north from your condo. It is a Japanese Izagaya sushi (with grilled options) restaurant with inexpensive prices and a lovely architecturally-designed interior. Take a look at their website @ oysysushi if you are interested.

As mentioned, Yolk is very close to your condo building.

You might be interested in dining at one of the KDK Restaurant Group's options in the South Loop (Opera or Giocco). If you check their websites, you can find ongoing specials, such as prix-fixe options on certain days.

If you were looking for entertainment in the South Loop, there are several choices. For free entertainment, after you visit 1) Millennium Park (check the Grant Park Music Festival calendar for their free concerts on certain evenings) and 2) the Art Institute (usually free on Thursday evenings from 5-9 p.m. during the summer months, but confirm with their website), you could 3) go to the Spirit of Music Garden at 601 S. Michigan for the city's SummerDance festival. The City of Chicago will be posting the schedule for this dancing-under-the-stars event.

You could also visit 4) Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park for the night light show (on the hour, every hour until 11 p.m.).


*#5 is shown below.

For an inexpensive option, I highly, highly, highly recommend that you stop in at the Chicago Architectural Foundation's ArchiCenter at the historic Sante Fe Building - right across Michigan Avenue from the Art Institute and take one of their tours. The top banana of the bunch, though, is their River Cruise. Highly regarded and rightfully so.

You do know that the *5) Chicago Blues Fest will be happening in Grant Park when you are there (June 5-8)? So keep in mind that some of the streets around that area will be closed to vehicular traffic because of this and there will be crowds. Michigan Avenue most likely remain open but there will be the residual traffic from the others closing. The City of Chicago will post which street closings will occur then on their website and, if there are any reroutings, the CTA will post it on theirs. However, if you are a Blues enthuisast, forget the crowds, embrace the opportunity and do go to it. There is some really fine entertainment on the bill.

And, speaking of blues, Buddy Guys Legends is located there. Sometimes some of the acts from the Blues Fest end up there afterwards.

If the blues aren't your cup of tea, but jazz is...The Jazz Showcase will be reopening at Dearborn Station in the South Loop (on Polk between Dearborn and State) after their build-out is completed. (Supposed to be sometime in the spring.)

And, as stated, you are close to the Museum Campus. If you wanted a most picturesque walk, you could quickly cab over to the Museum Campus (to save your feet for later). Then, starting at the terrace of the Shedd Aquarium, walk north along Monroe Harbor until you get to Buckingham Fountain (to your left across Lake Shore Drive). Cross over to the Fountain at the light - you have to do it either just before or just after, though, because the City closed the actual crosswalk for it a couple of years ago.

Visit the Fountain and take some great photos there (try to get there exactly on the hour for the most glorious spray). Then you want to turn directly west from the Fountain, go down the few steps, and walk through the Rose Garden area.

Once you get to the street, you will want to travel northwest. You can see the steel ribbons of the Frank-Gehry Jay Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park above the trees ahead of you in that direction.

When you get to Millennium Park, go through the Lurie Gardens first. They should be lovely in early June. You might even want to do a little research on them on the Millennium Park's website - and they have tours as well. There is also a free downloadable tour (to a MP3 device) for Millennium Park on their website, as well as maps of the park.

Then, afterwards, if you wanted to tour the Loop area, you need only walk 3 blocks west. There are *3 free downloadable* walking tours on the Chicago Loop Alliance's website (landmarks, theatres and art) with interactive maps.

Or, if you wanted to take that Chicago Architecture Foundation's River Cruise, you only need to walk 3 blocks north from Millennium Park on Michigan Avenue. Look for their bright blue awning at the NE corner of Michigan and Wacker.

Finally, regarding your question of Wacker Drive...Yes, I think that walking Wacker Drive is a great option to do. You see a LOT. Everything from the Sears Tower to the Art Deco Merchandise Mart and the Wrigley Building and Tribune Tower. However, since the Chicago Architecture Foundation's River Cruise does exactly the same thing - on the River - for 2/3rds of their time...well, then, why not go boating? After all, you can walk the couple of miles - or sit in the sun, sunglasses perched on your nose, with a cool drink in hand while gliding by the famous buildings. Which would YOU choose to do?

Have fun planning your choices!

exiledprincess

Just a small clarification of my last post.

When I say above that Buddy Guys Legends is located "there", I mean in the South Loop.

Sorry, but when you go to edit these long posts, half the time you cannot, which means cutting and pasting corrections, which sometimes "take" and sometimes don't.

alyssabc

For hot dogs, let me recommend Superdawg. It's an actual 1950's drive-in that still has carhops, and great dogs. It's at the edge of the city, but fairly close to O'Hare, if you want to combine it with coming or going.

BinnieCa

Just got back from Chicago and wanted to thank everyone for their input. Ate at many of the restaurants that were suggested enjoyed them all. The area was great and our condo from VRBO was fabulous. Highly recommend VBRO site.