A Squared: City Walk #17: Old Town Triangle District

Saturday, September 8, 2012

City Walk #17: Old Town Triangle District

What a beautiful weekend we had-- sunny and crisp like every fall weekend should be.  I've been dying to get to the Green City Farmer's Market all summer, but since they only hold it on Wednesday and Saturday mornings (when we are working and then when Alex is off on a long run) so we haven't been able to go until now.  Since it was such a beautiful day we decided to work a City Walk (or 2) into our morning.

City Walk #17: Old Town Triangle District

I love Old Town.  It's just north of busy downtown, but is a little quieter and feels more like a neighborhood with charming old houses, cute little restaurants and shops.  It reminds me a lot of what I loved most about life in Boston.



Shame alert: The first stop on the City Walk was the Chicago History Museum (1), yet another cultural institution that I have never set foot in.  It's supposed to be a fantastic museum and we even looked into hosting our wedding here.  I made Alex promise that we'll go here (and also the Field Museum... again, guilty) on some ugly slushy day in the winter when I know we won't want to be outside.










The next two buildings were obviously very exciting for two architecture nerds like us.  I'd never actually stopped and looked at how beautiful the first one was-- a row of elaborate Queen Anne style homes right on  W. Eugenie St. (2).  The following row of buildings was located on Crilly Ct. (3) and each one was named after one of the architect's children.  If you enlarge the photo below you can see "Isabelle" above the first doorway.














After that we walked down Eugenie to find St. Michael's Catholic Church (4).  What a beautiful space.  They were getting ready for a wedding, but we managed to sneak a peek inside.  If we had held our wedding in a church this is the one I would have wanted to do it at.  It's a big space and really breathtaking, but tucked away on a quiet street unlike the cathedral downtown.






















In a total departure from the Catholic Church, the next stop was the Midwest Buddhist Temple (5).  I definitely did not know that this existed, let alone tucked into Old Town.  Any Lost fans out there?  Check out my husband photographing the sign in front of the temple advertising "Dharma School."  I know it's a Buddhist thing, but he's a huge fan of Lost and was really intrigued by it.


 







Up next were 3 residential architecture landmarks located within just a few blocks of one another.  The first is a row of homes with some beautiful cornice and stained glass details designed by famed architect Louis Sullivan (6).   Around the corner is one of Chicago's last wood firehouses (7).  Alex and I both agreed that it looked like it belonged more in Charleston or somewhere down south than in Chicago.  And finally, the third was my favorite-- one of the last remaining cottages (8) built for homeless Chicagoans after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.  Isn't that the cutest little house you've ever seen?  I think it's made even cuter since it's surrounded by so many towering multifamily buildings.




And finally the Walk wrapped up at our original destination: The Green City Farmers Market (9).  I have to say, Chicago puts on a good farmers market.  Farms from all over the midwest are represented there with a huge variety of produce in addition to locally sourced/produced meats, cheeses, and breads. 


Our first visit this season did not disappoint-- we left with two big bags of produce.  Some highlights for me include fresh sweet hot cherry peppers and red cippolini onions. I'm not sure what exactly we will do with them yet, but stay tuned to What's For Dinner Wednesday to find out!



We actually continued on after this with a second City Walk (#18).  Click here to hear more about our adventures in Old Town...

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