chicagolandmuseandviews.com

The other day during lunch I was walking on North State Street and after crossing the bridge at the Chicago River, I saw The Gentlemen Statues. This sculpture has been at its current location at the AMA Plaza (formerly known as IBM Plaza), since March of 2015. Prior to that it was located at the Langham Hotel. The sculpture was designed and built by Taiwanese sculptor Ju Ming. It depicts a group of businessmen traveling to work. It is a minimalist design that highlights just the basics of these ordinary businessmen headed to work on an average day. All the men look similar as they go about their day. It looks like any group of businessmen you might see at a bus stop. And you know it depicts a gloomy day because most of them are holding umbrellas. To me, they fit their environment/location perfectly, since that area is heavily populated by big office buildings.; and the views of the buildings along the river there are awesome!

Plans are underway to establish the National Museum of Gospel Music right here in Chicago by the Fall of 2020. It will be located at 3301 S. Indiana in the Bronzeville neighborhood – on the grounds of where the historic Pilgrim Baptist Church once stood. The church was destroyed in a fire in 2006. It is completely fitting that the Gospel Music Museum should be located there, because the church played an important part in the history of gospel music. Pilgrim Church’s longtime music director, Thomas A. Dorsey was known as the Father of Gospel Music. He was a former blues pianist that created a genre of gospel music by blending jazz and blues with Christian hymns of praise. Famous gospel and blues singers like Mahalia Jackson, Staples Singers,  Aretha Franklin and James Cleveland performed at the church.

The project is being undertaken by Don Jackson, CEO of Central City Productions, Inc. Jackson is also the founder of Stellar Gospel Music Awards and has served as board chairman of the DuSable Museum. It will be a 45,000 square foot facility that is projected to cost $32 million to build. Architect Dirk Lohan said they will salvage the 127 year old limestone shell from the original structure of the Pilgrim Baptist Church.

The museum will offer exhibits, a research library, an auditorium, a cafe and a retail store.

Old Pilgrim Baptist Church

Future National Museum of Gospel Music

The other day I stopped by the Chicago Cultural Center and saw some beautiful art without even entering the building! This art was not an exhibit inside the Cultural Center, but rather it was on the outside painted on the side of the building itself.  The mural entitled, “Mount Rushmore” is 132 x 100 feet and features the images of 20 women that have had (and continue to have) a profound positive impact on the City of Chicago. It was painted by Chicago artist, Kerry James Marshall, and is a part of Chicago’s Year of Public Art. Mr. Marshall said he wanted to “honor women who have been important to cultural life in so many situations.” He also said, “the piece echoes the message of a 50 year old mural on the South Side entitled the Wall of Respect.” *That mural no longer exists. It was torn down after a building fire in 1971. While that mural honored important men, this one honors important women. The artist and honorees hope the mural communicates to young women the message that they can do whatever they choose to do if they set their minds to it……..they can even climb Mount Rushmore with the right drive, plan and tools!

The honorees featured on the mural are: Gwendolyn Brooks – Illinois poet laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner; Albena Joan Brown – founder of eta Creative Arts Foundation; Cheryl Lynn Bruce – actress and co-founder of Goodman Theatre’s Dearborn Homes Youth Drama Workshop; Margaret Burroughs – founder of Dusable Museum of African American History; Sandra Cisneros – author; Maggie Daley – former Chicago First Lady; Sandra Delgado – founding member of Collaboration Theatre; Barbara Gaines – founder and Artistic Director of Chicago Shakespeare Theater; Suzanne Ghez – director and chief curator of the Renaissance Societ; Joan Gray – dancer and president of Muntu Dance Theatre of Chicago; Monica Haslip – founder and executive director of Little Black Pearl; Barbara Jones-Hogu – founding member of AfriCobra artists collective; Harriet Monroe – founder of Poetry Magazine; Achy Obejas – Pulitzer Prize winning journalist; Ruth Page – dancer/coreographer and founder of the Ruth Page Center for the Arts; Jacqueline Russell – founder and artistic director of Chicago Childrens Theatre; Jane Saks – founding director of the Ellen Stone Belic Institute and Project&; Jackie Taylor – founder/CEO of Black Ensemble Theater; Lois Weisberg – longest serving commissioner of the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs; Oprah Winfrey – cultural icon, media mogul/Academy Award winner.

         

         

I hope you enjoy watching this short video of downtown Aurora Illinois

I hope you enjoy watching this short video of Chicago 2017

 

Sometimes as a family member of an elderly person you know that you’ve done all you could do to care for them, but that it’s not enough. At that time you realize they need more help than you can provide. Don’t feel guilty or punish yourself, because it can be incredibly difficult to care for an elderly person with illnesses, medical conditions and/or dementia. The average person is not trained to care for those needs. This is probably the time to consider finding assisted living or nursing home care at a good facility. Make sure you go and visit the facility and check ratings online before deciding on a facility. You will also need to provide verification of identity for the elderly person, through a birth certificate and/or passport. Local senior services will also need to do an intake evaluation before admitting. This process could take a long time, depending on the availability of rooms at the facility, so it’s best to plan ahead for this and try to get them on the waiting list as soon as possible.

My Aunt is 87 years old and has dementia and physical limitations. She’s currently living in a senior residence building where she has lived for over 20 years. Although she has managed with the help of Visiting Angels homecare providers that came once a week and me taking her shopping and doing her checkbook; her limitations are now more severe and she needs help with basic tasks on a daily basis. She was on a waiting list for an assisted living center for about one year. We were told last week that a room is available and she can move in within 2 – 4 weeks. I know she will miss her friends at the senior residence building, but I know she’ll make new friends at the assisted living center, because she is a friendly and outgoing person!

Yesterday I visited the Christkindl Market in downtown Chicago. For me, the opening of the Christkindl Market ushers in the official start to the holiday season (and I don’t mind that it opens a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving). This year especially, I think the earlier we start to celebrate the holiday season the better! It runs from November 20 through December 24th and is open daily from Sunday through Thursday 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. It attracts more than one million visitors a year!

This is the 22nd year of its operation in downtown Chicago. It started in 1996 and was held on Pioneer Court, then moved to the Daley Center the following year. It’s also in Naperville and a new Christkindl Market is open this year near Wrigley Field at the Park at Wrigley.

It was inspired by the Christkindl Market in Nuremberg, Germany which began in 1545.  There are now such Christmas Markets held all over the world.

I enjoy strolling around looking at (and buying) ornaments. I was so excited the first year I attended the market and discovered they had fruit ornaments. I’m German and grew up with beautiful fruit ornaments on the tree….I was so excited to get some more! This year I’m looking to purchase a Chicago ornament and bird ornaments. I saw a couple of nice Chicago ornaments yesterday and really cute owl and other bird ornaments. So, I’ll go back next week to purchase those. The bird ornaments are special to me because my Aunt has a Christmas tree that she keeps out all year – she calls it her bird tree, because she has mostly bird ornaments. This year, I’m going to pick out a special bird ornament as a Christmas gift for her. My Aunt is 87 years old and this will be her last Christmas at her senior apartment. By January she’ll be living in an assisted living facility. Even though she probably won’t be able to take her large tree with her, she’ll be able to take the bird ornaments and hang them on a small tree.

Besides the ornaments, I also really like the food. My favorites are German potato soup and brats with sauerkraut. I’m also told the herring sandwich is very good. Although I like pickled herring, I wasn’t quite ready to try a herring sandwich! When I used to take my son there when he was little, he always ordered the potato soup and he loves it to this day! Of course, they also have delicious desserts like apple strudel and chocolates!! And plenty of drinks to keep you warm – such as hot chocolate, hot cider, Gluehwein or beer. Enjoy!

       

    

      

 

This week I visited the Chicago Cultural Center to view the Chicago Architecture Biennial:Make New History exhibition that runs through January 7, 2018. It is the largest architecture and contemporary design exhibition in North America. The theme this year is, Make New History – and expounds on the notion that architects draw from the past and use the past as inspiration for current design.

I thoroughly enjoyed looking at the photos and installations of incredible contemporary buildings in beautiful cities from around the world! I plan to visit again next week to view the full exhibit. There are three floors to this exhibition, and because I was limited by time, I was only able to view one floor. It is definitely worth a trip to the Chicago Cultural Center to view this exhibit!

          

          

The Chicago Theatre is a Chicago landmark located in the Loop at 175 N. State Street. It was built in 1921 and was then known as the Balaban and Katz Chicago Theatre. It was designed by architects Cornelius and George Rapp in the Neo-Baroque French-Revival style, and is the oldest surviving style of this architecture in Chicago. The Chicago Theatre marque has become an emblem of the city itself and has been shown in TV shows and movies about Chicago.

From 1925 to 1945 the Chicago Theatre was famous as a classic movie theatre. It also hosted many jazz performances from the 1920s through 1930s. It is now primarily used as a venue for live plays, magic shows, stand-up comedy, live concerts and speeches. I’ve gone there to see Lilly Tomlin perform and we went there to see “Showboat”. And I once awaited the arrival of Jennifer Hudson, who was going to appear outside the theatre, but I never got to see her because she was running late and I had to go back to work (I was on my lunch break).

The Chicago Theatre building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 6, 1979 and was designated as a Chicago Landmark on January 28, 1983. The Chicago Theatre underwent numerous renovations over the years. It was completely redecorated in preparation for the 1934 Century of Progress World’s Fair in Chicago.

             

Yesterday was a beautiful day for a walk in downtown Chicago