Illinois - Chicago, Four Vintage Postcards, 1907-1966

Grant Monument, Chicago, Illinois 

postmarked in 1907

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Jackson Park, Chicago

postmarked in 1918

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Hello from Chicago, The City Beautiful

(This is from the vintage series Painters Pallet.)

postmarked in 1966

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Night in Chicago

 

Illinois - Chicago, Adler Planetarium and Astronomical Museum

Adler Planetarium and Astronomical Museum
Chicago Park District

Demonstration of the Planetarium instrument.  It projects into the dome a miniature universe.  So perfectly is this portrayed that one has the feeling of looking into the true heaven.  Here one can see the celestial host in its daily journey across the sky, can see the Sun, Moon and planets threading their ways among the stars, and can see the changing aspect of the sky due to change of position on the Earth or due to precessional motion.  The day, the year, and the precessional cycle can be shortened into minutes or even seconds.

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The Adler Planetarium opened to the public on May 12, 1930. It is America's first planetarium and part of Chicago's Museum Campus, which includes the John G. Shedd Aquarium and The Field Museum.

Illinois - Chicago, Entering the Chicago River, 1988

National Postcard Week
May 3 - 9, 2015

70 years of adventure beginning on May 26, 1945 - picture shows entering the Chicago River while circumnavigating the Eastern half of the United States in 1988

This postcard is number 31 of 50 and is from Jack and Marjorie Lamprecht. 

Illinois - Chicago, Skyline and Cloud Gate, AKA The Bean

Chicago
Cloud Gate

Photo: Laurence Parent
2015

Illinois - Chicago, Panoramic View of Skyline and Navy Pier at Sunset

Chicago
Navy Pier and Skyline Reflection
Photographer - Brad Cananaugh
2015

Illinois - Chicago, Cominskey Park

Comiskey Park
Aerial of Comiskey Park at Twilight.

Photo: Bob Horsch
2015

Illinois - Chicago, Wrigley Field, Home of the Chicago Cubs

Wrigley Field
Chicago

Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, is located just West of Lake Michigan and North of Chicago's magnificent skyline.  The Cubs have been playing in Wrigley Field since 1916.
2011

*Did you notice all the people on the roofs of the buildings?  I wonder if they paid to get up there? 

Illinois - Chicago, Soldier Field, Home of the Chicago Bears

Soldier Field
Chicago

Dedicated to the men and women of the armed services, Soldier Field, home to the Chicago Bears, originally opened in 1924.  Refurbished in 2003, the Chicago landmark and surrounding park land offers one-of-a-kind hospitality areas with breathtaking lakefront and city views.
2011

Illinois - Chicago, The Bean, from La Quinta

Greetings From Route LQ (Hotel chain La Quinta)

Like a Funhouse Mirror - For the whole city

The Bean
The artist, Anish Kapoor, called it "Cloud Gate." Chicago locals call it, "The Bean." Kapoor may be miffed, but we love this giant structure, which sits right in the heart of Chicago, reflecting the skyline from all angles.

Chicago Downtown
Nearest La Quinta: 7 blocks

With over 780 Locations, La Quinta Inns & Suites is everywhere you travel.
2010

(Click the 'La Quinta' tag below for more great postcards)

Illinois - Chicago World's Fair 1933, Havoline Thermometer

Havoline Thermometer
Century of Progress International Exposition
Chicago 1933

World's Tallest Thermometer

Twenty-one stories (218ft.) high.  Shows temperature by neon-light tubes.  Sponsored by Indian Refining Company, Lawrenceville, Ill., makers of Waxfree Havoline Motor Oil - best for all cars, winter or summer, because it contains no wax.  Wax turns candle-hard with cold, weather-thin with heat.  Keep wax out of your motor!  Waxfree Havoline Motor oil is sold at all Texaco Stations

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Originally, the fair was scheduled only to run until November 12, 1933, (it opened on May 27, 1933), but it was so successful that it was opened again to run from May 26 to October 31, 1934. The fair was financed through the sale of memberships, which allowed purchases of a certain number of admissions once the park was open. More than $800,000 was raised in this manner as the country came out of the Great Depression. A $10 million bond was issued on October 28, 1929, the day before the stock market crashed. By the time the fair closed in 1933, half of these notes had been retired, with the entire debt paid by the time the fair closed in 1934. For the first time in American history, an international fair had paid for itself. In its two years, it had attracted 48,769,227 visitors.

Illinois - Chicago, Willis Towers (Sears Building) Skydeck Ledge

Skydeck Ledge - I Was Here

The Ledge transforms how visitors experience Chicago.  At 1,353 feet up, The Ledge's glass balconies extend out 4.3 feet from the skyscraper's Skydeck on the 103rd floor.  The Ledge provides never-before-seen views of the city, from the tallest building in the western hemisphere.
2012

The sender writes:
I was here alright, but I was the person too scared to step onto the glass.  These ledges can be retracted into the building when wether turns nasty.  This is The Willis Towers, used to be the Sears Building.

Illinois - Chicago, World's Fair, Fountain 1933

Fountain, Chicago World's Fair 1933
Fountain
Magnificent lighting effects in five colors - green, red, amber, blue and white - will make the spectacle unlike everything else in the World.  40 feet high and 200 feet wide, at the south end, three single high sprays about the dome throw water 75 feet into the air.

Illinois - Chicago, A View from the John Hancock Center at Night

Chicago

The view from the John Hancock Center at night is truly spectacular.
2011

Illinois - Chicago, John Hancock Center

John Hancock Center
Chicago, Illinois
The sleek black lines of the towering John Hancock Center dominate the northern vistas of the lakefront city.

Photo by Jim Doane
2011

The sender writes:
Last night we ate by the window at 'The Signature Room' on the 95th floor of the John Hancock Building!!  yummy and excellent view!!

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John Hancock Center at 875 North Michigan Avenue in the Streeterville area of Chicago, Illinois, is a 100-story, 1,127-foot (344 m) tall skyscraper.  When the building topped out on May 6, 1968, it was the tallest building in the world outside New York City. It is currently the fourth-tallest building in Chicago and the sixth-tallest in the United States.

Fun Facts about the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Illinois

Did you know?
John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, opened in 1929, is the 2nd largest indoor aquarium in the world, with 5 million gallons of water and 20,000 fish.  The aquarium gets 2 million annual visits and contains 8,000 animals of 650 species including Beluga whales, sea otters, seals and dolphins.

In 1933, Chicago hosted its second World's Fair, during which, a Queensland Lungfish known as "Grandpa" was added to it's collection.  Still alive, Grandpa is thought  to be the oldest fish in a public aquarium.

In 1971, Shedd Aquarium added one of its most popular exhibits, a massive 90,000-gallon tank reproducing a Caribbean coral reef.

The equally popular "Wild Reef" shark tank, opened in 2003, contains 4000,000 gallons of water and attempts to recreate a Philippine coral reef based on the Apo Island Marine Reserve.
2011

Chinatown in Chicago, Illinois

Chicago
Chinatown is an example of one of the diverse ethnic neighborhoods in this great city.

Photos by Ken Raveill
2011

Aerial View of Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Illinois

Shedd
Aerial View of Oceanarium
Called the World's Aquarium, Shedd opened its doors in 1930 and is one of the oldest public aquariums in the United States.  It is committed to enhancing public understanding and appreciation of the aquatic world.

Photographer - Edward G. Lines Jr.
2011

Chicago River and Bridge, Illinois

Chicago River, Illinois
Boats heading out to Lake Michigan from the Chicago River to their summer moorings in one of Chicago's many harbors is a sign that summer has arrived.

Photos by Steve Gibson
2011

Illinois - Chicago, Wrigley Field

Wrigley Field
Chicago

Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, is located just west of Lake Michigan and north of Chicago's magnificent skyline.  The Cubs have been playing in Wrigley Field since 1916.

Photo by Walter G. Arce
Digital Imaging by Terrell Creative
2011

Illinois - Chicago, The Navy Pier

Chicago
The Windy City

Navy Pier designed for shipping and entertainment, was opened in 1916 and was, at the time, the world's largest pier.  Turned over to military use during both world wars, it slipped into decline for many years; but from the 1970's to 1990's underwent a dramatic transformation standing today as one of Chicago's finest entertainment and convention centers.
2011