During my recent weekend in Chicago, I took one and a half hours out to go on a river tour with a professional architectural guide. Skyscrapers were invented in Chicago and not, as many people think, in New York City. I also discovered they were originally known as ‘cloud busters’, a Lovemark term if I ever heard one. If you’re ever in the city and have only two hours to spare, get yourself down to Chicago Line Cruises in the McClurg Court and take a boat tour. It will be the best two hours you’ve ever spent. For a start, you will see incredible examples of Mies van der Rohe and the incredible IBM building. You’ll also get to look at the more than 6 million square ft. Merchandise Mart which Joseph Kennedy bought for $3 million and his heirs sold a few years back for $700 million. The Sears Tower remains majestic – but my favorite sight is the rolling 333 West Wacker Drive, which reflects a dozen of the tallest skyscrapers in its fascia. Then there is the Wrigley building, built in 1921 in French Renaissance style. It’s a real tip of the hat to the past and well worth a look. All in all there are more than thirty brilliant examples of progressive architecture on the tour and the boat takes you up close and personal to all of them.
