Chicago's Playground

 “The idea was to impress visitors with what they saw both up close and at a distance” (17).

The Book   

Navy Pier: A Chicago Landmark by Douglas Bukowski is a well written, detailed, and interesting history of Chicago’s 3,000 foot pier. Bukowski includes many pictures from the beginning of Chicago up to the pier today.

Bukowski traces the idea of a pier from Daniel Burnham’s 1909 Chicago Plan to the renovation in the mid-1990s. Charles Summer Frost was chosen to design the Municipal Pier in 1913 and it was dedicated in 1916. The pier was used for military training in both World Wars. It saw the training of carrier pigeons in World War I and the training of Navy pilots in World War II. The name was changed to Navy Pier, in 1927, to honor those who served during World War I. In between the World Wars, the pier became a “place where people could enjoy themselves without fear of violence or moral corruption” (23). During this time, an emphasis was placed on the civic education of the people of Chicago.

Bukowski tells of the growing pains Navy Pier experienced after World War II. The University of Illinois used the pier as a satellite campus from 1947-1964. At the end of that time, the pier was in disrepair from so many different uses and alterations. The upcoming American Bicentennial brought about new restoration for the pier and a renewed interest. Bukowski defines the mid-1990s renovation as a close return to Daniel Burnham’s original plan. 

The Place   

Navy Pier is a place that all ages can have fun exploring. There are high-end restaurants, fast-food, and Chicago favorites. A children’s museum and funhouse can entertain children for hours. An IMAX theater shows new releases and documentaries. The Shakespeare Theatre is located on the pier, along with the Skyline Stage for concerts.

My favorite parts of the pier are the Ferris wheel and walking to the edge of the pier. The Ferris wheel is 148 feet tall and pays homage to the first Ferris wheel at the 1893 Columbian Exposition. It can carry 240 people in forty gondolas on a seven and a half minute ride. I think it provides one of the best views of the Chicago skyline. If you are on the pier you should also walk all the way to the end. You can look back and see the city from atop Lake Michigan or you can look out into the lake at the ships sailing past.

Designing the Capitol

“The city itself would be the American Paris, but better than Paris-a Paris reborn as a republican Rome, a seat of wisdom and power on display for the rest of the world” (14).

The Book

In Grand Avenues: The Story of the French Visionary Who Designed Washington, DC, author Scott W. Berg introduces the reader to Pierre (later changed to Peter) Charles L’Enfant. L’Enfant was born outside Paris and educated at the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture before sailing to America to fight in the American Revolution. After the Revolution, America became L’Enfant’s adopted country. He redesigned the temporary seat of government-Federal Hall in New York, before taking on the task of a permanent seat of government.

Berg walks the reader through the decision process regarding a permanent location for the young nation’s capitol. In July of 1790 one hundred square miles on the Potomac River were set aside. L’Enfant surveyed the land while he began to design the layout of the city. His plan was basically “a grid overlaid with a system of public squares linked by radiating diagonal avenues” (102). Berg unpacks the thought and effort L’Enfant put into his plan for Washington, DC. For example, in Versailles, the center was the king’s bedroom. In Washington, the center was the Capitol Building.

The design and building process was not easy. L’Enfant could be a difficult person to work with and often found himself at odds with the commissioners, surveyors, and even Thomas Jefferson. He resigned from the project in 1792. Berg transports the reader to the year 1900 when L’Enfant’s design was finally realized by a team of American architects. This focus on the city plan, as a whole, came after 100 years of focus on the White House and Capitol Building. 

The Place

The Capitol Building was the center of L’Enfant’s plan for the new democracy. The diagonal streets would shoot out like wheels on a spoke and the four grids (Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, and Southwest) would come together. The view from the Capitol Building would be of the mighty Potomac River.

Today, the Capitol Building is roughly the center of Washington, DC. There is a star drawn onto the floor that shows the center of the city. Close by the star is a scale model of the city; L’Enfant’s plan is evident from this bird’s eye view. You can no longer see the Potomac because of an expansion of the Potomac and the Washington monument. But, there is still a lot to experience within the Capitol grounds. Visitors must have a pass for a tour of the Capitol; tickets can be obtained through your US Representative or Senator. Included in the tour are Statutory Hall where many states are represented by historic figures, the Rotunda with paintings of significant moments in American history, and the old Supreme Court. An additional pass is needed to sit in the gallery of the House of Representatives or the Senate. I highly recommend including this in your visit, it is a rare chance to see the legislative process in person.  

Down the Shore

 

“Ocean City’s founders envisioned the resort as a community for families in particular to enjoy” (46). 

The Book

Ocean City: America’s Greatest Family Resort by Fred Miller traces the growth of Ocean City from an island used to raise cattle to a thriving family town at the shore. The book begins with the story of five founders (three of whom were brothers) that wanted a family resort rooted in their Methodist beliefs. For majority of the city’s history, stores and the beach were closed on Sundays. That tradition is no longer in place, but the sale of alcohol is still not permitted in Ocean City.

Miller traces the early stages to the city’s prosperity, to weather tragedies, to the present. Included are interesting facts, such as this: Ocean City was one of the first in the nation to pay the lifeguards (p. 41) and those lifeguards have always been quick to rescue swimmers. Miller also discusses the growth of the city and details various events and celebrations. At times the topics jump quickly between paragraphs, but the history is easy and fun to read.

The Place

For over half my life, I have spent part of summer vacation in Ocean City, New Jersey. I always looked forward to the week my family spent down the shore and several of the places we would visit are mentioned in Miller’s book. The boardwalk provides amusement rides, miniature golf, go-karts, shops, and all kinds of restaurants. My family would visit Playland's Castaway Cove, which first opened in 1930. Now Playland is home to amusement park rides: including a Ferris wheel, roller coasters, and a giant pirate ship over the entrance.

Shriver’s Candy Store is the oldest continuous store on the boardwalk and was founded in 1898. Shriver’s is known for their salt water taffy and visitors can watch it being made in the back of the store. Another favorite is Johnson’s Popcorn, who will ship their popcorn anywhere in the country.

The Parkmaker and His New York Creation

“Central Park stands as Olmsted’s sublime achievement, a calm and lovely oasis in the frantic heart of Manhattan Island” (126). 


The Book   

Throughout Genius of Place: The Life of Frederick Law Olmsted, author Justin Martin weaves the theme of restlessness. Olmsted spent majority of his life jumping from job to job and interest to interest. It wasn’t until he was forty-five years old that Olmsted fell into a career as a landscape architect. As you read the book, you have the sense that Olmsted would have fit in with today’s culture: his mind wasn’t set on one job for his entire life.  

Genius of Place is a biography of Olmsted’s entire life, not just the years spent working on Central Park. He was a sailor, a farmer, a writer, a newspaper correspondent, an administrator, an environmentalist, and a landscape architect. Despite all of this, Olmsted will always be known for the iconic Central Park. Martin spends several chapters describing the development and construction of the park, all 778 acres of it. Many of the features Olmsted, and his design partner Calvert Vaux, planned would take years to develop. In their plan, Olmsted and Vaux said, “twenty years hence, the town will have enclosed the Central Park. Let us consider, therefore, what will at that time be satisfactory, for it is then that the design will have to be really judged” (142). They would spend many years fighting changes in their plan and trying to stay true to the design. 

Olmsted also designed other prominent American projects: Prospect Park, Brooklyn; the suburb of Riverside, IL; the Buffalo park system; Washington Park, Chicago; U.S. Capitol Grounds, DC; Back Bay Fens, Boston; the Stanford University grounds; the Vanderbilt Biltmore estate; and the 1893 World’s Fair Columbian Exposition. 

The Place  

Central Park truly is a magical place. Nestled in the heart of Manhattan, it is sometimes easy to forget you are in one of the busiest cities in the world. A friend and I spent an entire day in Central Park and we still didn’t see everything. The best way to experience the park is to simply plan a day (or even two) to wander around. Entry is free, but the children’s’ zoo, boat rentals, and ice skating have a fee.

There are bridges to cross, boulders to climb, fields to run through, and lakes to row across. Olmsted’s trees have grown tall and provide a canopy over the walkways. Twists and turns take you further away from the noise of the city. Visitors will encounter carriages, but unless you walk along the outskirts of the park you will not see any cars. 

Despite Olmsted’s aversion to statues, there are several in Central Park that commemorate well-known figures and others that are long forgotten. My favorite statue is by the ice skating rink. It depicts a larger than life Hans Christian Anderson reading a story to the Ugly Duckling.

Small Town President

“[Reagan] really had the brand of small-town, Midwest America stamped on him” (Richard Norton Smith, xi). 


The Book   


The Essential Ronald Reagan: A Profile in Courage, Justice, and Wisdom, by Lee Edwards, is a brief biography that touches on all aspects of Reagan’s life. It is a great introduction for anyone that wants to read about the fortieth president. Edwards opens the book with a look at Reagan’s funeral in 2004 and then traces his roots and impact on American politics.

Ronald Reagan was born in Tampico, Illinois and his family later moved to Dixon, Illinois. He lived in Dixon until he graduated from Eureka College and became a sports broadcaster in Iowa. Edwards uses the chapters on Reagan’s early life to show the reader how Reagan’s later beliefs were shaped and changed by growing up in Dixon. The future president came of age in “a bustling town of about eight thousand built on gently rolling northern Illinois hills and containing several plants and factories” (8).

No biography of a president is complete without space dedicated to his time in the office. This book is no different and most of the chapters are focused on Reagan’s rise to political prominence: starting with his speech in support of Barry Goldwater in 1964 to his final days as president in 1989.



The Place   

Dixon, Illinois is two hours west of Chicago and much of the town looks as it did when Reagan was growing up. The RonaldReagan Boyhood Home is preserved for visitors to walk through and see what life was like for the Reagan’s. Some highlights of the house are: the Bible Reagan was sworn in as president is sitting on his parents’ dresser and a loose tile in front of the fireplace where Reagan hid his money as a child. Next door is a visitor center that presents pictures from each stage of Reagan’s life and a short video that documents the restoration of the Boyhood Home.

The Northwest Territory Historic Center is housed in the building where Reagan went to elementary school. When visitors first walk into the building they are greeted with a large portrait of Ronald Reagan made out of jelly beans. Reagan’s 6^th grade classroom is preserved and the exhibit includes Hollywood and Presidential memorabilia. There is also a well-done exhibit on the Black Hawk War and farming in the Dixon community.

Thomas Jefferson's Retreat

“A three-story farmhouse designed to look like a one-floor villa, Monticello is a masterpiece of architectural deception” (142). 


The Book 


In Twilight at Monticello: The Final Years of Thomas Jefferson, author Alan Pell Crawford writes about Jefferson’s time at Monticello after he left the presidency. The first nine chapters focus on the land Monticello sits on, Jefferson’s early life, the Revolutionary War, and Jefferson’s time as a public servant. Crawford includes just enough information on Jefferson’s life before retirement to bring the reader up to speed.


Jefferson moved to Monticello when he was 27 and spent majority of the rest of his life there. In designing and adding on to Monticello, Jefferson used half-octagonal shapes that stemmed from his interest in circles and squares (73). Several generations of Jeffersons lived with the family patriarch, which often led to tension. Crawford uses short chapters on specific topics to show the reader that Jefferson was a man just like everyone else. In his final years, Jefferson dealt with bad harvests, debt, family infighting, declining health, and weather damage to his land. The reader comes away with a personal look at the author of the Declaration of Independence, which includes his good and bad points.



The Place   

Monticello is a beautiful place to visit: full of history and views of the surrounding countryside. Just like Mount Vernon, I visited Monticello once as a kid and a second time when I was living in Washington, DC. During the two visits a brand new visitor center was completed to welcome visitors to Jefferson’s home. A video introduces visitors to Jefferson and Monticello before a walk up the hillside. From Jefferson’s front door you can look down the hill and see the University of Virginia. Inside visitors can take in artifacts from the Lewis and Clark Expedition, paintings and busts of family and friends, and a special clock that Jefferson designed.


Jefferson’s library is well stocked, just as it was when he lived there. As visitors file past Jefferson’s rooms they can see his bed that folded out from the wall, in order to conserve space. Outside are the extensive gardens, family cemetery, and walkways that extend from the house. Monticello is a two and half hour drive from Washington, DC and sits just outside Charlottesville, VA. James Madison’s home, Montpelier, is forty-five minutes north of Monticello. Constitution Highway connects the homes of these two Founding Fathers.

Washington's Home

“…Mount Vernon was far more than simply a house. It was an extension of [Washington] himself, a tangible emblem of his character, his personality, his hopes, his dreams” (xvi).  

The Book

George Washington’s Mount Vernon by Robert F. Dalzell Jr. and Lee Baldwin Dalzell is an unusual biography. Instead of focusing on the man, it focuses on the place while exploring the impact of and on the man. Mount Vernon was passed down through generations of Washingtons and the present buildings were designed by George Washington. Mount Vernon went through three major reconstructions while owned by Washington and majority of the time Washington was away from home. The Dalzells’s use Washington’s letters to show the reader how involved he still was in the construction. Washington was in constant contact with his managers, even as the commander of the Continental Army.

The Dalzells also introduce the reader to the architecture of the periods and the type of men who would have worked on the construction. Washington’s travels throughout the colonies introduced him to different ways to build a structure. He built an unusual house which is evident in the different types of architecture he was influenced by and the changes over the years. These sections can be hard to read at times, but they lend a better understanding to the eventual outcome.

The Place   



Mount Vernon is a place that combines history with hands on learning. I have visited Washington’s home twice: once as an elementary school kid and once after college. Both times I felt the same awe as I walked up the drive to the front of the house. Washington focused on a visitor’s first impression and that focus is still in place today. You can tour the house and spend some time sitting on the piazza (river front porch) watching the Potomac River. Down the road is a replica of Washington’s sixteen sided barn where wheat was threshed and the tomb where George and his wife Martha were laid to rest.

In the years in between my two visits, a visitor’s center and museum were added. These two add so much to the Mount Vernon experience. As you walk through the museum, you see Washington develop from a young surveyor to the President of the United States. Interactive videos explore the relationship of George and Martha Washington and the battles of the Revolutionary War. The Revolutionary War video includes cannon smoke and “snow” falling from the ceiling. Much time and effort were obviously put into Mount Vernon to make it, once again, a place for the people to visit.

 

Master List of Books

I thought it would be a good idea to pause this week and provide my readers a list of all the books and authors I have been writing about. I plan to update this list as I continue to post in Traveling through Reading.

The list is in chronological order as pertains to the blog. All books can be found at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or your local library. 

1. Signing Their Lives Away by Denise Kiernan and Joseph D’Agnese
2. Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne
3. Manhunt: The Twelve Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer by James L. Swanson
4. The Assassin’s Accomplice by Kate Clifford Larson
5. Bloody Crimes: The Funeral of Abraham Lincoln and the Chase for Jefferson Davis by James L. Swanson
6. Annie Oakley by Shirl Kasper
7. My Father, Frank Lloyd Wright by John Lloyd Wright
8. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
9. Murder in Mackinac by Ronald J. Lewis
10. Terror at the Soo Locks by Ronald J. Lewis
11. George Washington's Mount Vernon: At Home in Revolutionary America by Robert F. Dalzell Jr. & Lee Baldwin Dalzell 
12. Twilight at Monticello: The Final Years of Thomas Jefferson by Alan Pell Crawford
13. The Essential Ronald Reagan: A Profile in Courage, Justice, and Wisdom by Lee Edwards
14. Genius of Place: The Life of Frederick Law Olmsted by Justin Martin
15. Ocean City: America’s Greatest Family Resort by Fred Miller  
16. Grand Avenues: The Story of the French Visionary Who Designed Washington, DC by Scott Berg 
17. Navy Pier: A Chicago Landmark by Douglas Bukowski 
18. To Conquer the Air: The Wright Brothers and the Great Race for Flight by James Tobin
19. The Magic Kingdom: Walt Disney and the American Way of Life by Steven Watts
20. Murder at the National Cathedral by Margaret Truman
21. Nearest Thing to Heaven: The Empire State Building and American Dreams by Mark Kingwell
22. The Flag, the Poet, and the Song: The Story of the Star-Spangled Banner by Irvin Molotsky
23. Millennium Park: Creating a Chicago Landmark by Timothy J. Gilfoyle
24. A History of the Kennedy Space Center by Kenneth Lipartito and Orivlle R. Butler
25. Going Home to Glory: A Memoir of Life with Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1961-1969 by David Eisenhower with Julie Nixon Eisenhower
26. The Pentagon: A History by Steve Vogel

The UP

“It wasn’t going to be all fun, but they didn’t know it yet. This would be the beginning of an experience that all three would never forget” (48). 


The Book  


Terror at the Soo Locks by Ronald J. Lewis is a follow-up mystery novel to Murder at Mackinac. The characters are different, but there are slight nods to the characters and themes in Lewis’s first novel. The story follows Professor Bradley Kendall as he travels the globe and dodges international crime plots. Assassins follow him from Michigan to Hawaii to Singapore. Along with his friends, Professor Kendall works to stop a plot to bomb the Mackinaw Bridge when two high-ranking politicians are participating in the annual Labor Day walk across the bridge.

Once again, Lewis pays close attention to detail and proves that he has traveled to the places he writes about. Because the Soo Locks are one of the largest locks for international shipping, the reader learns a lot about the ships and shipping procedures in the Upper Peninsula (UP).



The Place   


Michigan’s UP has many attractions for visitors. The Soo Locks are a fascinating lesson in international shipping. When my family and I visited, we rode a tour boat into the lock and watched as the water lifted our boat high enough for the next lock. During the tour you can see Canada across the lake. There is also observation tower where you can watch the large international ships go through the locks. Farther north in the UP is Whitefish Point on the shores of Lake Superior. Whitefish Point is home to a lighthouse and the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum. The waters of Lake Superior are some of the most treacherous and the museum pays homage to the many shipwrecks. The most well known shipwreck is that of the Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975.

If you are looking for a fun place to eat after exploring the UP, The Antlers provides good food and an interesting atmosphere. The restaurant is decorated with stuffed wild animals like polar bears and lions. Hanging from the wall are mounted heads of deer and various antlers.