Chicago is wedge - full of placeable , culturally significant watershed , many of which are probably also considered architecturally noteworthy on any given city tour of duty . But only an elect few can be considered " admiration - worthy . " From museums housed in building left over from a world ’s fair to entire infrastructure of the essence to city life as we have sex it – including one that defies Mother Nature – these are the seven coolest , man - made admiration of Chicago .
Chicago River
Built in : As former as 1816 , efforts to improve the sluggish flow of the Chicago River were made by labour a system of canal , which get in touch the city to other major waterway like the Mississippi River . The industrial boom chair to a public health crisis triggered by sewerage leaking into the city ’s clean water supply , so the Chicago River was diverted into the Illinois and Michigan Canal in 1848 . After a neglect attempt to reverse the river flow in 1871 , it was successfully lift away from Lake Michigan into the fresh completed Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal using a series of canal lock in 1900 .
Built by : River flow reversal was engineered by the Sanitary District of Chicago , then guide by William Boldenweck .
Why it ’s one of the seven wonder : Noteworthy for its natural and adult male - made history , the river literally put Chicago on the map . It attract a flood ( no pun intended ) of newbie to the metropolis , and turn back the river flowing kept citizenry from dying of Typhoid or allow in drove . In 1999 , the American Society of Civil Engineers deemed the system a ' Civil Engineering Monument of the Millennium , ' and its techniques even helped hone the Panama Canal . And to further test the law of nature , it ’s dyed greenish once a twelvemonth to commemorate St. Patrick ’s Day .
Flickr/mindfrieze
Union Station
Built in : Work start on the massive task in 1913 , and the post finally opened twelve years later in 1925 .
Built by : Architect Daniel Burnham started the project , and the house of Graham , Anderson , Probst & White completed the piece of work after he decease .
Why it ’s one of the seven wonders : replace an earlier post built in 1881 , the city ’s main terminal for commuter train trains is now the third - busybodied rail end in the US ( after Grand Central and Penn Station ) . Its unsparing , Beaux - Arts frontage , huge Corinthian pillar , and infamous Great Hall sort out by a barrel - vault skylight make it a premier terminus for architecture and people - watching . The station actually traverse about nine and a one-half metropolis block with most of its facilities beneath the street .
Flickr/yuan2003
The “L”
Built in : In 1892 , the first elevated rail – the South Side " L " dub the " Alley L " – hightail it from owntown Chicago to Jackson Park over running still used by the Green Line today . The subway system organisation did n’t come about until the 1930s .
Why it ’s one of the seven wonders : The present - day " liter , " which applies to the whole CTA rapid - transit organization ( not just the elevated trains ) has fostered the emergence of Chicago ’s slow city core . Plus , the Loop ’s tracks are a distinctive feature of the city ’s landscape . Part of its hole-and-corner electronic connection of tunnels were even hand - carved , the lines were n’t always color - coded , and there are probablymore thing you did n’t know about the ' L ' … like who ’s behind that automated voice telling you where to transfer ?
Lake Shore Drive/The Lakefront
Built in : When Potter Palmer build his lakefront planetary house in 1882 , he coerced the city to build a street for carriages next to his property ( in what is now the Gold Coast ) to amplify its value .
The Drive ’s birth , however , can be traced to the 1869 act , which established the Lincoln Park District and countenance an unnamed driveway to be build from the end of Pine St ( Michigan Ave ) to North Avenue along Lake Michigan . This half - international nautical mile stretch was complete in the eighties and named Lake Shore Drive . Lake Shore Drive was reconstruct in various stages , and complete as a modified - memory access highway in 1937 when the double - Thomas Decker Link Bridge over the Chicago River opened . In 1979 , Friends of the Parks urge for resurfacing and punctuate the 18 - naut mi Chicago Lakefront Trail from Hollywood Avenue on the due north to 71st Street on the south .
build by : The lakefront commons space and roadway has a complex account with Chicago - style controversy involve civil leaders , government activity organization , architects , and businessmen . Landscape architect Swain Nelson , who educate the first programme for Lincoln Park in 1865 , supervised construction of a lakefront drive between Wisconsin St and Diversey Ave with his partner , Olaf Benson . subsequently appointed by the Lincoln Park Commission , Benson oversaw the development of Lake Shore Drive in the south of the park , between North Ave and Oak St , and elaborate a park plan with a lakefront roadway link up the north and south sections . Before The Drive was fully developed , architect Daniel Burnham realized the value of a uninterrupted lakefront park from Jackson Park to the metropolis limits north of Lincoln Park in his " Plan of Chicago " bring out in 1909 .
Wikimedia/Velvet
Why it ’s one of the seven marvel : Still a work in progress , both Lake Shore Drive and its adjacent landscaped Lakefront Trail have forge Chicago ’s 26 mil of shoreline , and the city ’s repute in its quest to be the unripened city in America . Both the roadway and 18.5 - naut mi bike / running path supply well-situated access to public parks and beaches in a range of socio - economic communities alongside the lakefront for topical anaesthetic and visitor to appreciate .
Willis Tower
Built in : Completed in 1974 for Sears , Roebuck & Co ’s office infinite .
Built by : Architect Bruce Graham and structural technologist Fazlur Rahman Khan of Skidmore , Owings & Merrill contrive the building to be one of the largest authority edifice in the humans .
Why it ’s one of the seven marvel : The 1,450 ft Willis Tower ( still lovingly live by some as Sears Tower ) might not be THE tall skyscraper in the Carry Nation anymore thanks to One World Trade Center ’s ridiculous spire , but it still reigns supreme in Chicago ’s apparent horizon . Four commonwealth are visible from the top of the 110 - story column ( Illinois , Indiana , Michigan , and Wisconsin ) , and the elevators are among the firm in the world function at 1,600 ft per minute . The building ’s innovative bundle up underground structure ( it was made up of nine square " tubes , " each essentially a disjoined building ) later influenced the design of other skyscraper , including the world ’s current tallest construction – the Burj Khalifa .
Flickr/Adam Dooley
Museum of Science and Industry
establish in : Originally fabricate in 1893 as the Palace of Fine Arts for the World ’s Columbian Exposition , the edifice later opened as an synergistic science museum in 1933 .
make by : Burnham & Root architect Charles Atwood .
Why it ’s one of the seven wonders : With more than 400,000sqft of showing space housing over 35,000 artifacts , the museum is the largest science center in the Western Hemisphere . inspire by a misstep to Munich ’s Deutsches Museum with his son , philanthropist Julius Rosenwald pushed for an industrial museum with deal - on exhibits in Chicago . Its jimmy U-505 submarine from WWII has been around since 1954 , and is one of only five uranium - boat still in existence . The building is one of only two remaining from the 1893 carnival , which was an opportunity to show off Chicago as a center of culture and commerce . Arranged in the contour of a cross with a orotund dome rising above its center , the Beaux - Arts building is adorned with large column at the main entrance , serve up as an example of Daniel Burnham ’s vision of a classically inspired White City .
Flickr/Roman Boed
Millennium Park
Built in : Mayor Richard M. Daley ’s vision in 1997 to transform unsightly railroad runway and parking raft by extending Grant Park was quickly reconceptualized into a milestone park for the young millennium . The rarefied opening night ended up being a few years into the millennium in 2004 .
make by : Skidmore , Owings & Merrill crafted the Beaux - Arts captain plan unveiled in 1998 , but it underwent legion changes with designer like the park ’s appointed Project Design Director Ed Uhlir and Frank Gehry call for .
Why it ’s one of the seven wonders : Millennium Park is the urban center ’s latest modern - day wonder , and comes in just behind Navy Pier as Chicago ’s most visited tourist attraction . stretch nearly 25 acres just northerly of the Art Institute of Chicago , the Mungo Park covers a portion of rail yard and two parking service department as one of the world ’s expectant unripened roofs . pull out in by architect Frank Gehry ’s involvement with designing a sculptured music pavilion with a huge , sword trellis strait system and snaky pedestrian bridge , the ballpark is filled with the work of notable twenty-first century artists like Anish Kapoor ’s mercury free fall - inspired " Cloud Gate " sculpture mirroring the cityscape and Spanish artist Jaume Plensa ’s character , 50 ft water fountains with video projecting the font of casual Chicagoans . The challenging parking area ended up with eld of delays and a whopping $ 475 million dollar bill cost tag , but Grant Park ’s expansion continue with the nearby Maggie Daley Park riding on Millennium Park ’s success .
Flickr/Don Burkett
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Nicole Bruceis a contributing writer for Thrillist . She marvel why there can only be seven wonder . Find her on Twitter at@nicoleabruce .
Wikimedia/Museum of Science & Industry
Flickr/Adam Bernstein
