Day 25: Millennium Park's Crown Fountain - Chicago, IL

Eric Fredericks • Thursday July 26, 2007

Chicago is right up there with San Francisco as my two favorite cities in the US. And it’s not just because I grew up in Illinois and am a die-hard Chicago sports fan.

Chicago is a major, world-class city right in the heart of the Midwest. There is almost nothing Midwest about the city, except for the attitudes of the people. The skyline is spectacular and sophisticated, and far exceeds any other skyline in the US. Unlike Atlanta, which also has some beautiful skyscrapers, the skyscrapers at the street level are generally designed to pedestrian scale and are not oriented to the automobile. Outside of the urban core, there are many great walkable neighborhoods that have 2-5 story buildings and a more cozy feel.

I shot this photo at the Crown Fountain in Millennium Park, just one month after the park opened in 2004. The fountain displays the faces of Chicago and was very popular on this warm summer day. In fact, the entire park was swarming with people—but in the good way. It was a very mellow atmosphere.

I could write for days about Chicago and the park, but for sake of the series and my sanity, I won’t. However, I do want to point out one more feature about Millennium Park. The Chicago Bikestation is also located here, just a short distance from the Chicago Lakefront Path, one of the best shared use trails in the country. The downside of the Bikestation is that it’s now sponsored by McDonalds (Did I just write that? Oops.).

Per usual, I have many photos of Chicago and Millennium Park in the photo gallery, along with my photos of an architectural boat tour of the Chicago River.

This article is a part of the Exploring the Walkability of America in 30 Days photo series.

The Chicago White Sox Need A Cellville

Eric Fredericks • Wednesday November 16, 2005

The 2005 statistics are astounding: The Chicago Cubs, with the 19th best record in baseball at 79-83, averaged 38,753 fans per home game this year – a whopping 98% of capacity. The crosstown-rival White Sox were the World Series champions, had the 2nd best record in baseball at 99-63, and yet fell far behind the attendance levels of the Cubs – only averaging 28,923 fans per home contest and 71% of capacity. And this was one of the better years for White Sox game attendance. Clearly, the numbers are not based on team performance as demonstrated by this graphic (Data from ESPN.com ):

So, why do more people attend Cubs games? I think there are many reasons, but one major reason involves walkable neighborhoods.

The popularity of the neighborhoods around Wrigley Field in Chicago (where the Cubs play) has been well-documented, even on this site. The area surrounding Wrigley Field has been coined Wrigleyville and is full of walkable neighborhoods Рincluding yuppie bars, clubs, caf̩s, and restaurants and also high-density residential developments. Many of these developments are mixed-use. There are excellent connections to transit. Game days turn into mini-festivals and every game has a party-like atmosphere.

Around U.S. Cellular Field, home of the White Sox? Mostly just parking (although there is a nearby connection to the L ). I think the fact that there is not much to do around U.S. Cellular Field has a lot to do with the poor attendance. That, and the fact that the neighborhoods nearby U.S. Cellular Field have a bad reputation. The South Side of Chicago has still not managed to shake its image of being a dangerous place to go. The White Sox need a Cellville. This could not only help increase their revenue, but it could also help revitalize the South Side of Chicago. They could easily use up some of the surface parking lots to create mixed-use development with ample housing units, similar to what can be found on the North Side.

Of course, there are numerous other reasons why the Cubs have better attendance rates. They have generally had more All-Star caliber players on their roster (although the popularity of the Cubs probably adds to player popularity). And the Cubs are known for their follies and suppossed curses. Some even take pride in the fact that they are affectionately known as the Lovable Losers. The Cubs are also a nationally beloved team as their road attendance numbers are second to only the New York Yankees.

At least Sox fans can take solace in the fact that we finally won the big one!

Chicago White Sox, Partying, and... Walkability?

Eric Fredericks • Thursday October 27, 2005

Yes, I can find a way to correlate anything to walkability, even my favorite baseball team’s first World Championship in 88 years. Congratulations to the Chicago White Sox and to the City of Chicago, it has been a long and painful wait. As I sat back in my state of euphoria thinking about the win last night, I thought to myself that it would be wild to be in Chicago right now. But then it dawned on me, where would I go to celebrate? Perhaps the best place in Chicago to celebrate is Wrigleyville, but that would not seem right considering it is enemy territory. So, this ties in directly with an idea I had for an article about the White Sox and one major reason why they are not as popular as the Cubs. The reason I will focus on is stadium location. The Cubs stadium (Wrigley Field) is located in a very walkable and hip neighborhood, full of street life and activities. U.S. Cellular Field, where the White Sox play, is surrounded by surface parking lots, a massive wall, and a freeway. And the surrounding neighborhoods have a bad reputation. Expect a more in-depth future article on this topic. But for right now, just enjoy the moment Sox fans. Maybe someday we will have our Cellville.