New York has Times Square, and Boston has the Commons and Faneuil Hall, but what would be considered the heart of Chicago?
Where is the ';heart'; of Chicago?
From a tourist standpoint - Michigan Ave. or Millennium Park.
Where is the ';heart'; of Chicago?
Frankly, we have lots of hearts, or none at all--just lots of arteries. There isn%26#39;t even one place everyone gathers on New Years Eve like TS in NYC. The actual, official, city center is the corner of State/Madison but that corner isn%26#39;t anything much now. As a resident, I wouldn%26#39;t consider north michigan ave the heart of anything except high end retail. Millenium Park is just a couple years old, so it certainly hasn%26#39;t been visited by alot of Chicagoans, let alone be the heart of the city. University of Chicago is the brain of chicago if you are interested in that. The expansive lakefront is very popular, but it%26#39;s really really big to be a heart. One thing that is very cool and unique to Chicago is the Chicago River. It meanders right through the center of downtown, the neighborhoods of River North and River West are named for it, the el rides over it, and it splits off going north and south of downtown, through industrial patches and it%26#39;s the backyard of many homes. It%26#39;s boated on and kayacked. It%26#39;s dyed green on March 17, it%26#39;s waterflow was even reversed opposite it%26#39;s natural flow, it flooded all the downtown office sub basements about 10 years ago giving many loop workers a couple days off (thanks, river!) It%26#39;s even got it%26#39;s own club, ';Friends of the Chicago River';.
Happy Traveler says it best below. First there are two Chicagos, one is the Lakefront, the other is the not Lakefront. But there is no single HEART. Everyone will give you a different answer depending on where they live. Obama would say UC and Hyde Park but there are neighborhoods, and each one has their own character. Downtown is very commercial, no real center other than as Happy says the river. But you cannot gather in the river. Come and explore.
ZB
I doubt the residents of NYC would consider Times Square the heart of the city or Boston residents Faneuil Hall, although those might be considered the center of tourist activities just as the Mag Mile (Michigan Avenue north of the River) or Millennium Park would be the center of tourist activities in Chicago. Do Chicago residents hang out there? Sometimes but more likely to hang out in their own neighborhoods when not working.
State and Madison would have been the heart of downtown Chicago back when the streets were renumbered back in the early 1900s,it had a period of decline but has seen a bit of a resurgence in the last couple of decades with the renovation of the major theaters in the theater district, the reopening of State Street to vehicle traffic and the opening of nearby Millennium Park.
As I like to read other Tripadvisor boards, I would agree that neither NYC residents nor Boston residents would consider Times Square or Faneuil Hall the heart of things for them, but they certainly can be for tourists. In Chicago, I would concur that Millenium Park/Grant Park/ North Michigan Avenue would be the heart of tourist country, as you go from the Museum Campus to Water Tower Place. On a hot summer weekend, I would say that the entire lakefront becomes the heart of Chicago, as anyone who has tried to bike it then could tell you! BTW, this native Chicagoan spends a lot of time in Millenium Park during the summer attending concerts.
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