Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo by Mariiana Tzotcheva

Urbanized, the third film in Gary Hustwit’s design trilogy, shows the greatness and failures of city planning through vivid cinematography and informed speakers.  The film bounds from Bogota to Detroit and issue to issue giving viewers a background history of urbanism, while introducing the concept as a global issue.

For someone not familiar with the topics involved in urbanization, the film acts as a primer to begin the understanding of cities and urbanism.  It gives an introduction to topics such as sanitation, poverty, livability, transit, bicycling, participatory development, and historic preservation.  Enough of an introduction to spark ideas and conversation, but not enough that it makes the conclusions for the viewer.

For urbanists it covers the typical field while bringing a spotlight on the implications of worldwide urbanization, through stories of and by significant figures in urban planning and architecture.  It touches on the familiar history of Jane Jacobs and walkable mixed-use neighborhoods, and the legacy of Robert Moses’s age of the automobile that comes to an all too sad vivid conclusion in the City of Brasilia.  It then connects urban planning figures of the past to the modern day planning of Jan Gehl, as he eloquently explains the failure of not planning for humans.

In each city that the film stops in, it introduces a new idea or concept expanding the viewers understanding of urbanism.  In Bogota it brings the TransMilenio Bus Rapid Transit system to life, and shows how the building of dedicated bicycle facilities have helped connect the urban poor with the center city.  In Detroit the film puts a spotlight on urban agriculture, and how it is helping to turn neighborhoods around.   In Cape Town it exposes the viewer to the depths of poverty and the issues of crime and violence, while showing how a simple urban design project has already effectively reduced crime.   These were just a few of the cities the film stops in, and each city has a lesson and something to learn.

What might be the most valuable merit of this film is that it avoids the pitfalls of many of the films about urbanism, which come across to the viewer as preaching, and can be off putting to non-urbanists.  This film is informative, and although it never seemed to make a conclusion, it sparked conversation and generated ideas.  Well worth watching.

First, it’s important to examine what Target typically does in the Milwaukee area, as this should present a good indication of what they would likely do downtown if there were no restrictions.  The three Target’s nearest to downtown are on Miller Park Way, South 27th Street, and Chase Avenue. None are urban in form, in their locations they’re the standard suburban big box retail. The parking lots are the same size of the stores themselves, clearly not something fit for downtown.

South 27th Street, Miller Park Way, and Chase Avenue Targets.

Next, it’s worth looking at what Target has done in other urban locations to give an indication of what the Target-loving urbanist might aspire for Target to build in Milwaukee. To-date Target has always focused on building stores that were at least 125,000 square feet in size, but they recently unveiled the “CityTarget” concept of slightly smaller stores (60,000 to 100,000 square feet) for urban neighborhoods. Unfortunately no detailed plans are available for review of any of the proposed CityTarget’s. But it is worth looking at what has been built though, including stores in Chicago, Seattle, Stamford, Minneapolis, and St. Louis.

Chicago has an urban target located in the South Loop neighborhood. It is blocks from two rapid transit stops, on a bus line, walkable by design, surrounded by develop-able land, and contains no surface parking. It appears remarkably urban given that much of the land around is underdeveloped to-date. It is well-located for the future as the blank walls on the back of the building abut the railroad tracks.

Seattle has a Target located across the street from Northgate Mall. It is connected with a Best Buy and shares a parking garage with the electronics store. It is more walkable, but is surrounded by surface parking on an adjacent parking lot. Other retail spaces are part of the two buildings, making the facility a larger demand generator. UrbanReviewSTL has a good write-up on the development.The space appears more attractive at street-level.

Target built an urban store in Stamford, CT. It is in a multi-story, pedestrian-friendly building that includes an attached parking deck. It is connected to a number of other retail outlets. The building is big and box like, but delivers a far more urban big box store than Target typically builds.

The Target in this aerial view is the building with the round corner. It is walkable, incredibly urban and transit acessible, and located in the core of downtown Minneapolis. It is an outlier though because it is connected to the Target headquarters.

This is a new Target in St. Louis. It is a couple miles from downtown, and located in the heart of a residential neighborhood. It is more urban than the Schucks supermarket across the street, but is still quite suburban in nature. It is setback from the street quite a distant, and features a fair amount of surface parking. It's better than any Target currently in Milwaukee, but not urban enough in design to fit within the character of downtown Milwaukee.

Given a choice between all of the presented targets, it seems clear that the downtown Minneapolis best integrates with the urban fabric it occupies. Would Target build that urban of a store in Milwaukee though? It seems unlikely at this point. If Milwaukee is to land a Target, it would seem best to aspire for the Chicago and Seattle examples, while avoiding the not-quite-suburban-or-urban nature of the new St. Louis Target.

Landing a mixed-use Target with a housing or office component would be the holy grail of urban big-box development, and could theoretically be placed on any vacant parcel as a long-term demand generator. The mix of uses would prevent the building from becoming a black hole in the urban fabric at its off-hours.

For a Target to locate in the Park East, as Bruce Westling has proposed, it would need to be a pedestrian-friendly, multi-story building to comply with the Park East Redevelopment Plan. A Target in the Park East is an idea worth supporting, but only if it is a mixed-use building and works to eliminate the blank walls that plague big box stores. While the Park East Redevelopment Plan is about to be amended for the creation of the MSOE Parking Structure, it would be foolish to further amend it to allow a big-box store to be constructed adjacent to proposed parking structure that did not comply with the design guidelines of the plan.

A mixed-use Target faces an uphill battle though because of the currently diminished strength of Milwaukee’s downtown condominium, office, and retail markets. Furthermore there are a number of vacant parcels available for development. Putting together a mixed-use building for Target is going to be complex, and it seems unlikely that any developer would go through with it if they didn’t have to. RSC & Associates had discussions with Target about locating in a mixed-use development in their Park East parcel, but their parcel remains closer to an urban farm than a mixed-use building (with no public indications of that changing anytime soon). A proposal by Ghazi Company for 4th and Wisconsin could have included a large retail anchor as well, but that was a victim of the economic downturn.

If Milwaukee gets a Target downtown in the near future, it’s likely going to come in the form of a single-use building.

Where would a single-use Target fit well? Given that it would likely have a number of blank walls, and not-be a 24 hour demand generator it makes the most since to put it on the fringe of downtown where it would abut another blank wall. It would work even better if it could take advantage of existing parking assets. Given those constraints, a single-use building to house Target (or even Wal-Mart which is rolling out smaller urban stores itself) would best fit near Interstate 794 in Westown.

If Target were to locate on any of the surface lots near Interstate 794, it could be connected to Grand Avenue to breathe new life into the facility and share the parking garage.

The potential store should still be designed in a pedestrian-friendly nature for the sides of the building away from the Interstate or an alley, but allowing the building to have a few largely blank walls would reduce design costs and constraints making it more likely to actually happen should Target or another big-box retailer decide to open here.

A Target would be a welcome addition to downtown Milwaukee, but only in the right-form or location.

The Gateway Arch

For anyone that’s ever been to the iconic Gateway Arch in St. Louis, it’s quite apparent that the structure itself is worthy of praise. It’s imposing presence largely defines the image outsiders’ have of of St. Louis. And as much as riding up to the top of the arch provides a great view of the surrounding area, the grounds that surround the structure are extremely underwhelming.

The Gateway Arch grounds are separated from the city by roads on 3 sides, and the Mississippi River connection is an empty plaza and staircase. The grounds themselves are mere pathways leading to the Arch, lined with trees, devoid of place. Downtown, immediately west of the Arch, is a short, but uncomfortable walk away because of the trenched Interstate 70. Laclede’s Landing to the north is separated by the approach structure to the Eads Bridge. To the south, the Poplar Street Bridge, carrying Interstate’s 55, 64, and 70s separates the grounds from the city with the bridge approach and a large interchange. Because of it’s lack of connection to the city, if the Arch itself was to disappear, the grounds would be devoid completely devoid of people.

Enter The City + The Arch + The River design competition, with the goal of having much of the winning proposal in place by 2015.

The 10 design goals of the competition program are stated as follows:
1. Create an iconic place for the international icon, the Gateway Arch.
2. Catalyze increased vitality in the St. Louis region.
3. Honor the character defining elements of the National Historic Landmark.
4. Weave connections and transitions from the City and the Arch grounds to the
River.
5. Embrace the Mississippi River and the east bank in Illinois as an integral part of
the National Park.
6. Reinvigorate the mission to tell the story of St. Louis as the gateway to national
expansion.
7. Create attractors to promote extended visitation to the Arch, the City and the River.
8. Mitigate the impact of transportation systems.
9. Develop a sustainable future.
10. Enhance the visitor experience and create a welcoming and accessible
environment.

Overview of MVVA's Site Plan

While some of those aspects are a bit more abstract, five design teams submitted thorough bids with those 10 goals in mind. UrbanSTL has a breakdown of each entry, including links to their submitted materials.

Ultimately, the proposal by MVVA was selected as the winner (proposal review). Alex at UrbanSTL wasn’t overwhelmed by their proposal (nor does it seem others were in the site’s forum), but it appears this was the most feasible choice compared to others who had proposed gondolas and large concert venues.

A short video is included below that flies through the project details.

As an outsider looking in, I’m still excited about the redesign.  As much it is known as the Gateway to the West, it is really the Gateway to St. Louis through the eyes of tourists. It includes the a freeway cap over Interstate 70 to connect the grounds to the west of the city, something that seems feasible, more so than in Milwaukee. This should make the grounds more seamlessly connect with the city and introduce a much more welcoming pedestrian connection. The design should also encourage visitors and residents alike to explore the entirety of the grounds, instead of trying to get in and out as quick as possible.

Parking meter privatization has failed to deliver value to-date

It’s hard to argue that the Daley administration bargained for a good deal in exchange for giving up control of 36,000 Chicago parking meters for 75 years. The December 2008 deal netted the city a lump sum payment of $1.15 billion, but in exchange the vendor (Morgan Stanley, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Allianz Capital Partners) is budgeting to earning a profit of $9.58 billion. While a dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow, this deal appears to have short-changed future citizens. Worse yet is the flexibility Chicago gave up, the deal is nearly impossible to cancel, and although the concept of street parking is likely to last 75 years, it’s likely that Chicago is going to want to reconfigure or remove a number of the metered stalls along the way. However, each time a stall is removed the vendor must be financially compensated, a move that will make future public space changes for the city a  bit more costly. Chicago is undoubtedly a strong enough city to overcome a lopsided lease of its parking meters, especially given that they came out as winners in other deals. As Aaron Renn noted in his article “Parking Meters and the Perils of Privatization“, the Daley administration has had a number of successes with privatization, including earning a $100 million for a failed deal involving Midway Airport, but the parking deal wasn’t a winner for the city.

But I think it’s fair to say that it’s likely Morgan Stanley got a very good deal on these meters. They closed this deal about the same time the Midway one fell apart. The fact that financing was readily available in tight market for the parking meters while it was impossible for Midway tells you everything you need to know about the relative merits of those deals financially.But even if Chicago didn’t extract the last penny of value out of the parking meters, so what? It’s highly unlikely you are going to win huge in every deal. In fact, the more of them you do – and Chicago has done several – the more likely you’ll encounter a loser. Chicago got massively overpaid for the Skyway and Midway, and on a portfolio basis I feel confident the city is still a net winner from privatization on a cash basis even if it theoretically could have gotten more for the meters.

If one assumed the proposed deal for Indianapolis must be a much more balanced deal, knowing that Chicago got short-changed on their deal, they would be wrong. Aaron Renn, a former resident of Indianapolis, has broken down the proposed deal with 10 key findings in his article “Indy’s “Son of Chicago” Parking Meter Lease to Be a Disaster for City“.

This is the Chicago parking meter lease

The city has no right to terminate the agreement

Penalties are often higher than the actual meter value

The vendor gets the rights to collect parking ticket revenue and sell advertising and naming rights

Residential permit parking is coming to Broad Ripple

The vendor even gets revenue from tickets written by IPD or other city agents

The vendor automatically gets the right to any new meters, but the city has to pay to remove any meters

Temporary closure policies are worse than Chicago’s

Will festival and events organizers see new fees?

Even the city has to pay to use the spots

While the 3,650 stall Indianapolis deal would be 50 years, instead of 75, it’s still long enough to be debilitating. What does Indianapolis get in exchange for giving up its parking meters? The city would collect $400 million over 50 years (including $35 million up-front), while the contractor (Xerox-subsidiary ACS) will collect between $724 million and $1.2 billion.

To quote Renn one last time…

The deal Indy is signing with its vendor (ACS) is so bad and so one-sided, it almost defies comprehension.

There has yet to be a large city that has struck a good deal by privatizing its meters. And that’s understandably so, returning value for giving up control of meters is an undoubtedly tough thing to accomplish. When it comes to the public realm that is the street, parking meters are everywhere. A parking meter lease is essentially a massive land lease that, as the Chicago and Indianapolis deals show, makes it prohibitively expensive to adapt what is currently flexible space to other uses.

If such a lease was put into place in Milwaukee events like Jazz in the Park, Brady Street Festival, the East Town Farmer’s Market and Al’s Run would become prohibitively expensive to pull off as temporarily closing the meters would necessitate a cash payment to the vendor. Likewise, construction projects that utilize metered spaces as staging areas would increase in cost, all for the profit of the vendor. The recent conversion to two-way traffic on East State Street would have been complicated, as the daily peak-time closure of meters would have necessitated daily payments to a vendor.

If the Chicago and Indianapolis deals show what the market will pay for meter revenues, there is no reason Milwaukee should even consider a privatized deal for parking. The Mayor and Common Council have shown the political courage to raise rates and install new electronic meters (something apparently lacking in Indianapolis and Chicago), moves that have generated revenue for the city without compromising flexibility.

If cities are concerned about generating the most money possible from their parking resources they should look not to privatization, but to the market-based policies proposed by Donald Shoup.

Cincinnati's Planned Freeway Cap Park

For cost reasons, it’s most efficient to cover a trenched freeway rather than to replace an elevated freeway with a tunnel (as Boston did). In Dallas construction of a five-acre park over a trenched freeway (Woodall Rodgers Freeway) will connect downtown Dallas with the thriving Uptown neighborhood. The connection will be further enhanced with the expansion of the M-Line Streetcar through the park.

In 1976 Seattle completed Freeway Park, a 5.2 acre park that covered part of their newly completed freeway. The park has recently been reinvented following a 2002 murder and a number of other crimes. The park is adjacent to the city’s convention center in the heart of the city. Phoenix has a tunneled Interstate 10 and built a park on top (Margaret T. Hance Park).

A number of other cities have plans in place to cap freeways. Cincinnati has pilings in place to build a park over Fort Washington Way that would connect downtown with their redeveloping riverfront (UrbanCincy review of the proposal). The Los Angeles area has a number of plans in various states of completion to cap freeways everywhere from downtown to Hollywood. Oak Park, IL has studied capping the Eisenhower Expressway. St. Louis has a design competition underway to redevelop the grounds around the Gateway Arch, with a number of the designers recommending capping the freeway, and the City to River movement recommending replacing the freeway with a boulevard.

A Freeway Cap Park in Milwaukee

A cap over Interstate 43? It's an idea that's happening elsewhere in the country.

How could a freeway cap be utilized in Milwaukee? The most logical spot to build one is north of the Marquette Interchange over Interstate 43 connecting Westown and Avenues West. It could stretch as far north as the Winnebago Street bridge.

The benefits? A freeway cap park would finally make Marquette University feel like it’s part of downtown, instead of just outside of it. This might cause future Marquette student housing (be it built by the university or private interests) to be built in Westown. If the park cap was built far enough north, it’s possible that The Brewery redevelopment might cause a positive spillover effect onto the neighborhood west of it that’s currently underutilized. It also may encourage may infill development in the eastern portions of Avenues West as the park would eliminate the gorge that currently separates the neighborhood from downtown.

Taking the pessimistic viewpoint, a Interstate 43 freeway cap park might not produce much benefit for a number of reasons though. For one, they’re really expensive  to build (~$500 square-foot) so the city would need to recoup a lot of value from new development. Unfortunately, despite the park likely being an attractive space, there isn’t a whole lot of land for development in the area. The Milwaukee County Courthouse consumes much of the east side I-43 as it traverses downtown, drastically limiting the amount of higher value land for redevelopment. The land that isn’t the Courthouse east of the freeway is park land that is already underutilized that likely couldn’t be redeveloped because of it’s proximity to the courthouse.

On the west side of I-43 there is likewise a shortage of land for redevelopment. Aurora Sinai Medical Center occupies most of the land. The parcel north of the medical center that could be redeveloped is unfortunately located just across the potential park from the Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility (more commonly, “the jail”) handicapping it’s value.

Outside of the area where the capped park could be built, there is likely too much available land in downtown Milwaukee over the next 10 years to effectively return value on the park. The Park East Freeway removal has left a lot of land in county hands, which they’ve been unsuccessful in selling. The Milwaukee Intermodal Station has generated more demand in that area, along with the planned Milwaukee Streetcar and potential Post Office relocation, that’s a lot of land that is set to become available soon. The recently unveiled Downtown Plan also plans for more development near the lakefront and redeveloping MacArthur Square to include potential development sites.

There would be a large amount of value to be captured if the elevated Interstate 794 was to be removed or lowered east of the river, but the lack of political will to do anything other than redeck the Hoan Bridge appears to have doomed any discussion of that issue.

Cities like Dallas and Cincinnati seem poised to capture a lot of value with the cap parks, but they’re using them to connect two thriving neighborhoods. Avenues West, despite a highly laudable continued series of investments by Marquette is not as strong as Uptown in Dallas. Avenues West and Westown will be stronger in the future, and at that point there will be more value to capture with a park to bridge the gap, but until then it would be wise for the focus to be on infill development.

While there are benefits to building the freeway cap park, ultimately Milwaukee is best to invest elsewhere at this time. Building a freeway cap park will likely someday be a good idea, but it doesn’t seem economically feasible in the next 10 to 20 years. Investing and improving connection tools (the Streetcar, the Riverwalk) as well as generating more infill development in the areas outlined by the Downtown Plan appear to be the most promising way for the city to generate a solid return-on-investment with new development.

Chicago's newest piece of large-scale public art.

For a city that’s displayed to the world a giant bean, 25-foot tall American Gothic statue, and a massive Picasso statue, a three-story tall eyeball should really come as no surprise. Upon a viewer’s first impression the detail of the piece  seem almost overwhelming. The EYE appears quite realistic with red veins on all sides. From across the street, or when attempting to push the piece over, the EYE appears incredibly lifelike. Thankfully it does not blink.

Unveiled July 7th, the EYE was designed by Tony Tasset and fabricated in Sparta, Wisconsin. As is par for the course with public art, someone must dismiss it by claiming it’s barely art. In this case it’s urbanist author James Howard Kunstler, who has named it his Eyesore of the Month for August 2010. The EYE will keep a watch on State Street shoppers until October. After that it’s fate is unknown, but given Illinois’s track record it might be wise to use it to keep track of the Governor’s office.

Large pieces of public art like the EYE are a breath of fresh air in large cities. They’re often capable of evoking a sense of place on their own. When the right location is selected, a piece of public art redefines the space it occupies. In this case Pritzker Park, a fairly sizable pocket park within the Loop, has been transformed into a destination.

When it comes to large-scale public art, Chicago does it right. Big pieces of art, many of which invite controversy, encourage people by the thousands to go see them. Even if they’re critically-panned, Chicago’s public art installations create a sense of place and make you want to go see them.

Milwaukee has made some inroads on using public art. The controversial orange sculpture The Calling helps define the eastern edge of Wisconsin Avenue and serves as a gateway O’Donnell Park and Milwaukee Art Museum (which makes plenty of a statement on its own). Without the large sculpture, O’Donnell Park is nearly a surface parking lot, a massive piece of concrete. With the orange sunburst it’s at least a defined place, a mildly inviting pedestrian pass-through to the lakefront from downtown.

Coming in 2011 (and almost not at all), Janet Zweig’s Pedestrian Drama flip-sign animation kiosks coming to Milwaukee’s Wisconsin Avenue  will certainly make Wisconsin Avenue a bit more intriguing to walk down. The Milwaukee Riverwalk is adorned with jewelry and the Bronze Fonz (which despite criticism sees a steady stream of tourists).

Milwaukee would be wise to look to take advantage of large-scale public art with some of its urban parks. There are two well-located urban parks that would likely benefit the most, Cathedral Square and Pere Marquette.

Pere Marquette has the permanent gazebo, which functions well as a band shell and wedding photo opportunity spot. Beyond that though, the gazebo doesn’t draw many people into the park.

Cathedral Square has a great location, well-defined street wall surrounding it, and a layout that doesn’t make any sense at all based on park use. During the summer the park’s fountain is entirely covered by a stage for the well-attended Jazz in the Park. During the winter the fountain is turned off as the park is covered in snow and holiday lights. The holiday lights make the park a well-lit destination in the winter, but in the summer the park doesn’t encourage anyone to walk through it with the exception of one week. That one is Bastille Days, where MSOE’s miniature Eiffel Tower introduces a welcoming north anchor to the park and the roads are closed to traffic all around the park. Switching the stage location to the north end of the park would allow the fountain to return to summer operation, encourage more pedestrian activity, and open up the south end of the park for temporary art installations that invite more people into the area.

To take full advantage of public art, Milwaukee needs to start thinking bigger.

So, in case you haven’t heard, or intend on sending $800 million to Texas, Florida, California, or Illinois, then it is apparent that high speed rail service is coming to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Though, it will take a few years to built and get up to speed.

In the near term the Midwest High Speed Rail Association (MHSRA) is coming to Milwaukee.  They will be holding a brown bag lunch to discuss the soon to be built high-speed rail system.  There will be a presentation by MHSRA executive director Rick Harnish regarding the status of high speed rail in the Midwest.  The presentation will be on held at 12 p.m. Thursday July 22nd at the Milwaukee Public Market (400 N. Water Street, Milwaukee, WI 53202).

Our sixth profile is of Detroit, and is written by Patrick Cooper-McCann who runs Rethink Detroit.

Detroit

Detroit is called the Motor City for a reason. To get a full sense of the city’s sprawling grandeur, as well as the scope of what has been lost, you’ll have to get in a car and drive toward the suburban edge, weaving through the neighborhoods and industrial districts along the way. That said, most of Detroit’s iconic sights and sounds, from the glorious Art Deco skyscrapers to the growing urban farms, can be found within a walkable or bikeable radius of downtown.

Downtown

The natural place to start to any tour of Detroit is the People Mover. The elevated train loop has been derided as a boondoggle since it was built in the 1970s, but it’s a great way to get a panoramic view of downtown. (At 50 cents a ride, it’s a also a cheap way to travel between destinations.)

Once you’ve made the loop, you’ll want to see Detroit’s historic architecture close-up. Read up beforehand at BuildingsOfDetroit.com to know what to look for as you walk, or take a guided tour through Preservation Wayne or Inside Detroit. My personal favorites are the Book Tower, a beautiful but abandoned skyscraper on Washington Boulevard, and the Guardian Building, an Art Deco masterpiece on Griswold. The stunning lobby includes an outlet of Pure Detroit, a store that hawks great Detroit-themed apparel and other products.

For people watching, there are two obvious options. One is to head to Greektown, Detroit’s last bastion of uninterrupted urbanism downtown (and a great place to eat). The other is to relax in one of downtown’s redeveloped parks. Campus Martius, at the heart of downtown, recently won a national award for its revitalizing effect on downtown, and city officials hope smaller pockets parks like Harmonie Park will have a similar impact. Along the water, Hart Plaza and the Riverwalk offer great views and summer festivals. Oh, and that’s Canada you’re looking at — to the south.

Arts, Culture, and Food

Arguably Detroit’s most promising neighborhood, Midtown is just a short bus ride up Woodward Avenue. The area is home to Wayne State University, a half dozen museums, two major hospital systems, and a growing number of lofts, galleries, and local shops. The Detroit Institute of Arts is the undisputed jewel of the district (the Diego Rivera Court alone is worth the trip), but there’s far more to see. You might walk through the grand Detroit Public Library across the street, buy a graphic novel at the wonderfully curated Leopold’s Books, or see the latest exhibit at the contemporary art museum a few blocks south.

Also close at hand to downtown are Eastern Market, Corktown, and the near East Side. Eastern Market, located just northeast of downtown, is one of the largest and oldest farmers markets in the country. It’s not to be missed on Saturdays. Even if you have no need for fresh fruits or veggies, you can always get lunch at Russell Street Deli or Supino’s Pizza and people watch.

To go further east or west of downtown, you’ll want to rent a bike from Wheelhouse Detroit, the bike shop on the riverfront. If you’re intrepid, head out east to see the Mies van der Rohe-designed Lafayette Park, Earthworks Garden, the Heidelberg Project, Belle Isle, and the mansions of Indian Village. You’ll see some of the best and worst of what Detroit has to offer along the way.

If you’d prefer to stick closer to downtown, go west to Corktown, Detroit’s oldest historic neighborhood. Not only does Corktown boast three of the best restaurants in the city (Mudgie’s for sandwiches, Le Petit Zinc for crepes, and Slows for barbecue), it also has the largest and best used book store you’ve ever dream of, John King Books, and the city’s most iconic ruin, Michigan Central Station.

Entertainment

Detroit is a great sports town. The Wings, the Tigers, and (if you’re a masochist) the Lions all play downtown. Better yet, you can catch a bout of the Detroit Derby Girls at the Masonic Temple, or, if they move as rumored, Cobo Hall. The derby league is becoming a Detroit institution.

Detroit is an even better town for music. Check the Metrotimes or Model D for weekly listings. Solid bets include St. Andrew’s Hall, the State Theater, and the Majestic Theater Complex. Rather just head to the bar? Cafe d’Mongo’s on Friday night has no equal, in Detroit or anywhere else. You won’t forget the eclectic decor or the crowd. For a better selection of beer and more breathing room, there’s also Foran’s Grand Trunk Pub on Woodward, located in a former ticket station of a rail line.

Finally, when it’s time to end the night, there are only two options: Lafayette or American Coney Island. Located side by side, these 24-hour diners have been serving coney dogs and chili since the Great Depression. There’s no better place to be at 2 am on a Saturday.

Other Guides

• Chicago Urban Tour Guide
• Columbus Urban Tour Guide
• Indianapolis Urban Tour Guide
• Pittsburgh Urban Tour Guide
• St. Louis Urban Tour Guide

Our fifth profile is of St. Louis, and is written by Alex Ihnen who runs UrbanSTL and Matt Mourning of Dotage St. Louis. Alex is a member of the City to River effort and also runs Staying in STL.

St. Louis

City Garden in St. Louis (photo by Nick Schnelle)

Where you’re staying:

Drury Inn
711 North Broadway
St Louis, MO 63102-2106
(314) 231-8100
druryhotels.com‎

You’ll be staying in the historic Union Market building, the site of a public market beginning in 1866. The current building dates from 1924 and was built by the City of St. Louis as a public market. The top floor was added during renovation for use as a hotel. The Drury Hotel chain is a St. Louis local, affordable, well-rated and well-known for their free breakfast and drinks.

How to get around:

St. Louis is served by MetroLink and bus service. The light rail line has several stops downtown, connects directly with the airport and will get you to The Loop, Forest Park, the Central West End and near The Grove. The buses are cheap and reliable and can get you everywhere else. Visit the Metro website and find transit directions on Google Maps.

City Museum/Washington Avenue

City Museum in St. Louis (photo by UrbanSTL)

You may want to save City Museum for your last day in St. Louis. If you go there first you may never leave. And that would be a shame as the City has a lot to see. City Museum is the place you would have built if you could turn your dreams into a playground. There’s a ferris wheel on the roof, seven-story slide, aquarium, the outdoor MonstroCity and much, much more. Stroll Washington Avenue from your hotel to 20^th Street and you’ll see the heart of downtown revitalization and loft development in St. Louis. Loft District highlights include the Flamingo Bowl, the Washington Avenue Post (everyone’s favorite coffee shop-office supply store), and the London Tea Room (if you’re seeking tea leaves rather than coffee beans).

Soulard/Lafayette Square

Soulard in St. Louis

Soulard displays St. Louis’s French heritage. Home to corner pubs, jazz, and Creole/Cajun food, Soulard is true to its New Orleans/Louisiana roots. (In French, “Soulard” roughly translates to drunkard, fittingly). The Soulard Market, among the oldest public markets in the country, is located at 9th and Lafayette Streets. Try great “Jersey-style” pizza at Ferraro’s; Nawlins-style food at Molly’s; or grab some coffee and brunch at Soulard Coffee Garden. Seafood at 1860s Hardshell Cafe should be followed with cocktails.

Lafayette Square hosts the oldest public park west of the Mississippi, ringed with “Painted Ladies” and a picturesque wrought iron fence. Park Avenue is a small business district that’s host to Park Avenue Coffee, boasting more than 70 flavors of a local-only morsel, gooey-butter cake – don’t ask, just eat! Nearby you’ll find the 33 Wine Bar, and Bailey’s Chocolate Bar as well as Arcelia’s Mexican restaurant. For diner, explore 1111 Mississippi or the rooftop experience of Vin de Set.

Lafayette Square in St. Louis (photo by Jane Linders)

St. Louis Arch/City Garden/Broadway Blues District

Sure they’re on all tourist agendas, but they’re worth it. Eero Saarinen’s iconic monument to westward expansion is just blocks from your hotel. Visit the underground museum and ride a tram to the top, 630 feet above the city. The museum and Arch grounds may not be the most vibrant part of downtown, but that’s why you need to see it now. A design competition is underway to transform the grounds, its connections to the city and the east side of the river. Vast changes will be announced later this year and implemented in time for the park’s 50th anniversary in 2015.

Look west into the city from the Arch and you will see the Old Courthouse, site of the Dred Scott decision, now a free museum. Four blocks beyond that is City Garden. Two dozen remarkable sculptures and $40M have transformed two square blocks of the Gateway Mall. Water features, limestone bluffs, prairie grass and a serpentine wall mimic the Mississippi River landscape in what has already become one of St. Louis’s favorite picnic spots.

The Broadway Blues District has a lot to be blue about: all but a handful of historic building were torn down and became surface parking to serve nearby Busch Stadium. However, what remains is nothing less than stellar. The Eugene Field House Museum honors its namesake toymaker and poet (think “Winkin, Blinkin, and Nod”), while three blues bars (BB’s, Beale on Broadway, and the Broadway Oyster Bar) beckon St. Louisans from across the region to sample the city’s best food and music. Make sure to seek out Kim Massie, a soul singer if there ever was one, at Beale on Tuesday and Thursday nights.

Forest Park

Forest Park in St. Louis (photo by Phil Kamp)

At 1,293 acres, Forest Park is big. However, it’s not the size, but what you can do in the park that brings millions of visitors each year. You can visit the Missouri History Museum, St. Louis Art Museum, Science Center and Zoo for free. There is also 27 holes of golf, a professional tennis center, boat rentals (at the Boat House restaurant), bike rentals (visitor’s center), an 11,000-seat outdoor Municipal Opera Theatre (AKA the Muny) and a one-lap 6-mile trail if you’re looking for more.

The Loop

Delmar Avenue has been named one of America’s 10 best streets by the American Planning Association. Named for the streetcar that once looped around the west end of the street, the Loop has a bit of everything. You can see Chuck Berry perform monthly at Blueberry Hill, grab a locally brewed root-beer at Fitz’s, shop for records at Vintage Vinyl, catch a movie at the historic Tivoli Theatre and peruse the St. Louis Walk of Fame at your feet. Pi, President Obama’s favorite pizza, is here too. You can rent bicycles at Big Shark. If downtown doesn’t seem to cut it for you, you could try out St. Louis’s newest boutique hotel, the Moonrise, opened by Loop proprietor Joe Edwards. If you regret your decision, you can always hop to the rooftop bar and watch the moon rise over the Arch, 7 miles to the east.

The Hill

True Italy, the Hill is where baseball greats Yogi Berra and Joe Garagiola called home between seasons, and it’s still home to a flourishing Italian-American community. Visit the Missouri Baking Company for Italian dolce, Volpi for market fare and then visit Milo’s for a round of bocce. The homes are modest, but well-kept and you’ll see more Madonna statues in front yards than you can count. Markets and restaurants are scattered throughout the neighborhood while Marconi, Edwards, and Shaw are the primary commercial streets.

Cherokee/Benton Park

Cherokee Street is a little bit of everything – a progressive arts district, printmaker’s paradise, a Hispanic business district, a thrift store jackpot, an antique district, a microbrewery and coffee hotspot – in its one and a half mile run from Gravois Avenue to Broadway. Must sees are Firecracker Press, Cranky Yellow, and Apop Records, while must-eats are La Vallesana, Shangri-La Diner, and The Stable, one of the aforementioned microbreweries, is also a distillery.

Benton Park, just north of Cherokee Street, is one of St. Louis’s most revived neighborhoods and is nothing short of a foodie destination these days. Sidney Street Cafe, Niche, and Taste are among the best reviewed restaurants in St. Louis, while Frazer’s and Venice Cafe raise the quirkiness bar to new heights. For a brick version of New Orleans, stroll the residential streets, named for Midwestern states.

Crown Candy/Old North St. Louis

Old North Saint Louis (photo by Mark Groth)

No visit to St. Louis is complete without a stop at the city’s oldest soda fountain, Crown Candy Kitchen, est. 1913. Here, your willpower and stomach will be put to the test: consume five malts in a half hour, and not only does the house pick up the tab, they commemorate the experience with your name on a plaque! Old North is serious business, though. The neighborhood is the most astounding case of urban revitalization in a city that’s known for it. While there’s clearly an incredible amount of work remaining, dozens of once ruined mid-1800s row houses have been restored to their former grandeur. So too has the neighborhood’s centerpiece commercial street, North 14th, which has been re-opened to traffic after an ill-fated turn in the 1970s as a pedestrian mall.

CWE/The Grove

The Central West End is glitz of the St. Louis style. Multi-million dollar mansions line the residential streets (make sure to walk Lenox, Pershing and Hortense) while Euclid is filled with restaurants and boutique retail. Maryland Avenue marks the commercial center of the neighborhood. Coffee Cartel is a 24-hour hub of activity, while the Cupcakery is the go-to spot for its namesake. Upscale diners will enjoy Wildflower, Brasserie by Niche, and Herbie’s Vintage 72, while those on a budget will crave the Mediterranean St. Louis Coffee and Tea Oasis, The Majestic, and the Tortillaria. If you can find it, Maryland House is your hub of see-and-be-seen St. Louis. It’s part of Brennan’s Wine Shop, which also features a basement speakeasy. You don’t have to pious, or Catholic, to enjoy the outright splendor of St. Louis’s Cathedral Basilica on Lindell Boulevard – it has the largest collection of mosaics in the Western Hemisphere. Terrene and the Scottish Arms are further east, but worth a visit.

The Grove is south of the Medical Center and may be the city’s fastest-changing neighborhood. Storefronts vacant for decades are springing back to life and restaurants and other stores are starting to fill in. It may also be the city’s premier neighborhood for alternative lifestyles, but most places cater to everyone. Try the Nepalese-Korean-Indian fare at Everest Café and grab a drink at the Atomic Cowboy. The Grove is also home to the live music venue the Gramophone and White Flag Projects, an independent art gallery.

South Grand/Tower Grove/MOBOT

South Grand is the epicenter of ethnic cuisine in St. Louis, whether Thai, Ahfgan, Ethiopian or Bedouin, you’ll find it here. Try Black Thorn for pizza or Pho Grand for fast – and cheap – Vietnamese. You will also find some of the best gelato in St. Louis at the Gelateria. Then you can walk it off in 289-acre Tower Grove Park, a Victorian oasis featuring ornate pavilions dating to the 1870’s, and one of just four American parks deemed National Historic Landmarks. Adjacent to the Park is the Missouri Botanical Garden. Both were gifted to the city by Henry Shaw. The Botanical Garden, called Shaw’s Garden by locals, does charge a fee – one of the only major St. Louis attractions to do so. If you’re in town on a Wednesday from June 2 to August 4, pack a picnic and join a thousand others for live music at the Garden (Whittaker Music Series). Admission is free after 5pm and live music begins at 7:30pm.

The neighborhoods that surround Tower Grove are some of St. Louis’s most thriving, so make sure to explore by foot and you may just stumble upon the elegance of Flora Place or the funkiness of the Morgan Ford business district.

Washington Avenue in St. Louis (photo by UrbanSTL)

Thanks again to Alex Ihnen from UrbanSTL and Matt Mourning of Dotage St. Louis for putting this together.

Other Guides

• Chicago Urban Tour Guide
• Columbus Urban Tour Guide
• Indianapolis Urban Tour Guide
• Pittsburgh Urban Tour Guide

Our fourth profile is of Columbus, and is written by Walker Evans who runs Columbus Underground.

Walker Evans has spent the majority of his life in Central Ohio, and is one of the biggest fans of the city of Columbus. He currently lives in the King Lincoln District (located a short walk east of Downtown) with his wife Anne and their son Desmond. In addition to ColumbusUnderground.com, Walker is a freelance creative consultant specializing in online marketing, social networks, graphic design and digital communications

Columbus

First things first… welcome to Columbus! If you’re like most people who live outside of Ohio, you probably know very little about Columbus. I’ve found that actually works in our favor when hosting first-time visitors, as their expectations are a blank slate and it’s not too hard to leave them with a positive impression of our city. We’re home to the Ohio State University, the largest college in the United States, and serve as the capital of Ohio. Despite our location in the heart of the “rust belt”, Columbus was not founded as an industrial town and has managed to continue to grow and thrive. Our citizens are youthful, friendly, humble, creative and welcoming.

If you’re arriving in Columbus from Milwaukee via air travel, your best option to get from the airport to a Downtown hotel would be by taxi. There will most likely be several waiting for fares at the airport, and Downtown is a quick 8 mile highway ride away.

There are a wide variety of hotel options in the Downtown area, but I’m going to narrow my recommendations to four to keep it simple. The Westin Columbus is a recently renovated historic hotel located on the Southern end of Downtown. The Lofts is a modern luxury boutique hotel near the Convention Center where each of its 44 rooms have their own uniquely designed interior. The Downtown Hampton Inn offers one of the most prime locations being seated immediately adjacent to several main attractions. And last but not least, the Renaissance Columbus boasts the most centralized location in addition to a great rooftop pool and hot tub deck that offers some great up-close views of the cityscape.

Once settled into your hotel, it’s time to start exploring what Columbus has to offer!

The three easiest ways to get around the central part of the city are by bus, by bike, and by foot. The Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) runs the local bus system and everything we’re going to touch upon below can be reached with bus lines #2, #10 and #16. If you’re in the mood to bike, a relatively new bike sharing program called EveryoneBikes allows for easy short-term bike rentals in the Short North neighborhood. The majority of the things we’re going to touch upon are also easily walkable destinations as well. Columbus is a very flat city, which keeps it very easy to get around by bike and foot.

North Markets

Hands down, your first Downtown stop should be the North Market. This historic public market is home to a variety of micro-businesses that include bakers, farmers, butchers, ethnic eateries and more. Some of my personal favorite vendors include Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams (who’s operations are expanding rapidly and will most likely be available in Milwaukee in the near future), Kitchen Little (great options for a comfort-food lunch), Omega Artisan Baking (grab a loaf to go, or a smaller snack to eat immediately), and Taste of Belgium (seriously, forget what you know about waffles… these things will blow your mind). Keep in mind that every Saturday morning throughout the summer, the North Market hosts one of the larger regional farmer’s markets (try out a sample of Blue Jacket Dairy‘s “grilling gretna” cheese), and Sundays are home to “Artisan Sundays” an event where local artists and crafters display and sell their wares (you might want to take home a sweet screenprinted poster from Clinton Reno). Additionally, the market hosts a variety of festivals and events, so check their calendar before planning your trip if you want to experience the excellent Ohio Wine Festival, the Grillmasters Festival or the Fiery Foods Festival, just to name a few.

Arena District

Located in the north-west corner of Downtown, you’ll find the Arena District, home to Nationwide Arena and the Columbus Blue Jackets NHL team. If you’re not in the mood for hockey, the neighborhood has also recently added Huntington Park, a new award-winning baseball stadium (Voted Ballpark of the Year in 2009) for the Columbus Clippers, the Triple-A baseball affiliate team for the Cleveland Indians. Surrounding these sports venues you’ll find a beautiful urban infill mixed-use neighborhood that has been completely erected in the past 10 years on the site of a former condemned penitentiary. During the daytime you can stroll over to North Bank Park for a beautiful riverfront view of the Downtown Skyline and watch kids play in the fountain while cyclists zoom by on the bikepath. At night, the Arena District and Park Street nightlife scene provides entertainment ranging from the casual sports bars like the R Bar, to more upscale cocktail lounges like Mozaik or The Social Room.

Short North Arts District

Next up… The Short North Arts District is the neighborhood that is typically on the top of everyone’s list for visitors. This mile-long neighborhood is located immediately north of Downtown running along High Street, the city’s main north-south artery. Here you’ll find a a mix of art galleries, restaurants, bars, boutique shops, and more. Some great shopping can be done at stores like Tigertree, Loot, Milk Bar, Rowe, What the Rock?! and Rivet. If you’re hungry for a snack, check out Bakery Gingham‘s cupcakes, but if you’re looking for something more substantial, lunch at Betty’s or dinner at the The Rossi offers a great look at our independent restaurant scene. If you’re interested in some night-time bar hopping, don’t miss the rock-n-roll-cowgirl-themed Surly Girl Saloon or the cocktail selection at the MoJoe Lounge at The Cap (which is located on a one-of-a-kind retail highway cap that’s seated over top of interstate 670). It’s also worth mentioning that the first Saturday of every month is when “Gallery Hop” takes place throughout the Short North. If you can time your trip to visit on that busy weekend, you’ll be treated to a massive festival-like crowd of art gallery patrons, bar hoppers, people-watchers, outdoor musicians, pedicabs and sidewalk vendors.

Ohio State University

If you continue to venture up High Street, a few blocks north of the Short North you’ll find the Ohio State University‘s main campus. The southern end of the University District is anchored by the South Campus Gateway development, which is home to mostly student-oriented retail and restaurants. The OSU campus itself is home to some beautiful historic buildings worthy of a self-led walking tour, as well as a mix of more modern buildings including the Wexner Center for the Arts. Affectionally known by locals as “The Wex”, the venue hosts a constantly rotating schedule of modern visual art displays, performance arts, musicians, films, and other productions. Other notable University District points of interest include Buckeye Donuts (open 24/7), Used Kids Records and the Newport Music Hall.

Old North Columbus

North of the Ohio State University is a neighborhood called “Old North Columbus”. This area is home to a high population of students and recent graduates and is somewhat of an extension of the University District. The area is worth pointing out as it’s home to several great restaurants including Alana’s, which has been voted as best restaurant in Columbus two years in a row by ColumbusUnderground.com readers. Other popular eateries include the Blue Nile, Sage American Bistro, the Blue Danube and Hound Dog’s Pizza (another 24/7 establishment). For live music and entertainment, there’s the Ravari Room for rock and Dick’s Den for bluegrass and jazz.

You might want to catch a bus at this point (the #2 runs constantly up and down High Street to take you to all points along the route that we’ve covered so far) if you want to venture a little further up to the Clintonville neighborhood. It’s a great place to do more boutique shopping with stores like Skreened and Wholly Craft, and totally worth your while to pop into Pattycake Bakery for a treat.

Capitol Square

Heading back Downtown, the Capital Square area acts as the city’s Central Business District, which is alive from 9-to-5, but otherwise a bit empty during weekends and evenings. The biggest exception to that being the Gay Street area where you can find multiple independent restaurants like Due Amici (semi-formal Italian) and Tip Top Kitchen & Cocktails (Ohioanna comfort food) that both offer a great patio atmosphere. Other Gay Street businesses worth visiting include the new Sugardaddy’s Sumptuous Sweeties, which offers some of the best brownies in the nation, and Cafe Brioso whose baristas are some of the most knowledgeable and professional when it comes to making quality espresso drinks. If you have time, take a stroll eastward on Gay Street to check out the condo development under construction called Neighborhood Launch. It’s another great example of Columbus urban infill that is in the process of taking over nine blocks of parking lots and replacing it with a new residential neighborhood.

German Village

Located just south of Downtown, you’ll find the wonderfully preserved German Village neighborhood. This entire neighborhood is on the National Register of Historic Places and outside of a few modern touches like fire hydrants and parking signs, it looks almost entirely unchanged from when it was originally settled in the early 1800s: brick homes, brick sidewalks and brick streets. Walk down City Park Avenue to admire the homes and walk back up Third Street for the retail experience. Stop by Schmidt’s Fudge Haus for gifts and navigate the seemingly endless maze of rooms at the Book Loft. If you’re hungry, grab a bowl of Shrimp & Grits at the bar at G. Michael’s Bistro, a deli sandwich at the Brown Bag Deli, or a macaroon or two (or ten) at Pistacia Vera, a beautiful little dessert boutique.

Olde Town East, Woodland Park, the King Lincoln District

East of Downtown you’ll also find historic neighborhoods like Olde Town East, Woodland Park and the King Lincoln District. These areas aren’t quite as visitor-interesting since they’re more residential in nature, but one great spot worth visiting is the Franklin Park Conservatory. From Downtown, you can hop on the bus (the #10) to travel down Broad Street to get there easily. This indoor botanical museum features 400 species of plants throughout multiple climate-controlled rooms. On Thursday evenings, you’ll find the “Cocktails at the Conservatory” event where drinks, hors d’oeuvres and live music accompany your admission fee.

Easton Town Center

Last but not least, it’s worth mentioning the region’s premiere shopping destination: Easton Town Center. Located 10 miles north-east of Downtown, your easiest non-auto access is by bus (the #16). Easton opened in 1999 as one of the country’s first open-air “Lifestyle Center” shopping areas designed to be more mixed-use in function. Just about every standard chain mall store can be found here in addition to some unique regional stores including Puma, Burberry, Henri Bendel, The Lego Store, Roll, and more. A wide variety of restaurants also await, and some solid nighttime entertainment can be found at the Shadowbox rock-and-roll cabaret.

Hopefully that’s enough to keep you busy on your first visit to Columbus! There are plenty of other great places to go, things to do and foods to eat that aren’t on this list, but there’s always time to make a return trip in the future. If you have additional questions about the area, feel free to leave a comment below or ask for help on the messageboard on ColumbusUnderground.com. We’re always happy to help visitors have a pleasant experience.

Thanks again to Walker Evans from Columbus Underground for putting this together.

Other Guides

• Chicago Urban Tour Guide
• Indianapolis Urban Tour Guide
• Pittsburgh Urban Tour Guide

Our third profile is of Chicago, and is written by Aaron Renn who authors the excellent blog Urbanophile.

Aaron M. Renn is an opinion-leading urban analyst, consultant, speaker, and writer on a mission to help America’s cities thrive and find sustainable success in the 21st century.

Chicago

Chicago from the Signature Room

Chicago is a summer city.  I never understood the desire of some Chicagoans to have a country home or lake home for the summer.  A Florida condo in the winter perhaps, but why leave Chicago on the weekends during the short time of the year the weather is nice?  Of course, if you’re in Milwaukee, you already get this.

Entertainment

Summer is festival season in Chicago.  There are events literally every weekend, from the large scale to the neighborhood.  Most of these are frankly not that much different from what you can find in your own town, but a standout is the Pitchfork Music Festival (July 16-18)

The summer is the traditional vacation period for the arts, but a few things are going on.  One is the Grant Park Music Festival, which features one of the only free municipal orchestras in the US.  The Grant Park Symphony performs in the magnificent Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, designed by Frank Gehry.  Perhaps you can take in a concert after visiting Millennium Park and checking out the new Renzo Piano designed Modern Wing at the Art Institute of Chicago.  While famous for its Impressionist collection, the Art Institute also has the best modern art collection in the US after MoMA’s.

Of course summer is baseball season, and if you’ve never been, a visit to the friendly confines of Wrigley Field to see those perennial losers the Cubs is a must (Red Line to Addison St.)

I mentioned Pitchfork earlier. Chicago is deservedly well known for its music scene and has some of the best indie rock clubs in America.  Among them are Schubas at Belmont and Southport (Red Line to Belmont, then walk or use #77-Belmont west).  Further west on Belmont at Hoyne is the Beat Kitchen, which features punk and other acts, including many all ages shows (be sure to check listings first).  Newcomer Lincoln Hall (Red Line to Fullerton), from the folks behind Schubas, is just a few doors down on Lincoln from where the storied Lounge Ax used to rule Chicago’s musical roost.

For a full listing of the best events happening when you plan to visit, check out Flavorpill Chicago.  In particular, be on the lookout for what will be showing at the Gene Siskel Film Center downtown on State St.

Architecture

Chicago is known for its architecture, and that is the highlight of nearly any visit.  The first place to stop is the Chicago Architectural Foundation at 224 S. Michigan. They have a wealth of information about Chicago, and offer many, many guided tours.  The famous boat tour is a must, and in the summer advance ticket purchase is highly recommended.

One highlight is the campus at the Illinois Institute of Technology (Green Line to 35^th St./IIT).  The campus itself was largely designed by Mies van der Rohe, but there is also a student center by Rem Koolhaas and a dormitory building designed by Helmut Jahn.

Millennium Park contains not just the previously mentioned Pritzker Pavilion, but may other artistic and architectural gems, including Anish Kapoor’s Cloud Gate sculpture (aka, “the bean”).  Nearby is Studio Gang’s new Aqua Building at 200 N. Columbus, which is possibly the best contemporary skyscraper in the city.

And if you haven’t been in a while, it might be time to revisit the Skydeck in the Sears Tower.  It has been upgraded with “the ledge”, a glass enclosure that is cantilevered off the side of the building. Freaky.

Food

Chicago has more good restaurants than anyone could possibly hope to sample in a lifetime.  Chicago style pizza is of course a calling card, and my favorite is the stuffed spinach and mushroom at Bacino’s Lincoln Park, at Lincoln and Webster (#11-Lincoln or taxi).

In the greater downtown area, Avec on Randolph St. in the West Loop combines amazing décor with fabulous small plates and incredible value priced wines (no reservations).  It’s the sibling of next door Blackbird, which is also excellent if a bit higher end. Sushi Wabi is another favorite on the Randolph St. strip.  To the north is The Drawing Room at Le Passage on Rush just south of Oak St.  Amazing (and deadly) pre-Prohibition cocktails made from only the finest ingredients, with excellent food in swank surroundings.

Wicker Park has tons of places to choose from. Rodan is a sleek restaurant/lounge on Milwaukee (Blue Line to Damen). Tuesday nights at 10:30, a who’s who of Chicago’s most amazing jazz musicians plays, including people like Jeff Parker and John Herndon. A bit west in Humboldt Park is Bonsoiree (best reached by taxi), a small BYOB with five star tasting menus that just might be the best price/performance restaurant in the city, albeit still not cheap.

Shopping

The economy has done fearsome damage to Chicago’s retail scene, with many of its best boutiques biting the dust. So I’m hesitant to recommend any specific places lest I jinx them, but State St., Michigan Ave, and Oak St. will no doubt have many places happy to take your money.  Design aficionados may want to check out the high end furniture retailers along the greater Franklin St. corridor in the River North area. Even the ground floor stores in the Merchandise Mart are now mostly open to the public, though the upper floors are still to the trade only.

Accommodations

Since I sleep in my own bed, I’m perhaps not the best source of hotel info. But as a fan of architecture in a city known for it, I’ll suggest three ideas for you. The first is the Wit Hotel at the corner of State and Lake. This brand new tower features a signature zig-zagging streak of yellow glass projecting from its front facade and is also home to one of Chicago’s hottest rooftop bars. Hilton point collectors will be happy to know this is a DoubleTree property.

Just down the street at Washington and State is the Hotel Burnham, which inhabits Burnham’s fabled 1894 Reliance Building, one of the first high rises to feature large windows made possible by steel frame construction.  The facade is a terra cotta delight.  And at 230 N. Michigan Ave is the Hard Rock Hotel Chicago, housed in the imposing Carbide and Carbon Building, a black granite art deco gem.

Getting There

One word: Amtrak

Thanks again to Aaron for putting our Chicago guide together. Make sure to check out Urbanophile.

The Chicago River at night

Other Guides

• Chicago Urban Tour Guide
• Columbus Under Tour Guide
• Indianapolis Urban Tour Guide
• Pittsburgh Urban Tour Guide

Our second profile is of Pittsburgh, and is written by Cara Jette (who blogs under the name illyrias).

I’ve been working my way slowly west and south throughout the country – starting  in Boston, going to Albany for school, then Southwest Connecticut for my first job. For the last 3 years, I’ve been (mostly) in Pittsburgh, a city which has tons to offer anyone with a dream. I blog for both PGH is a City and The Green Agenda.

Pittsburgh

I recommend flying into the lovely and hassle-free Pittsburgh International Airport and taking the Airport Flyer (28X) from the airport straight to downtown. You’ll avoid most traffic because the bus runs on a special busway, a highway solely for buses, and it’s also the cheapest way to downtown. Buses run every 30 minutes. The trip takes about an hour.

Once downtown, check into the historic and opulent Omni William Penn Hotel. If you search around online, you can often find great deals on this hotel. Downtown Pittsburgh is also known as the golden triangle and compact enough to be walked on foot. However, if you need a cab, you’ll find always find one sitting outside this hotel. If you’re lucky enough to show up on a quarterly Downtown Gallery Crawl night, then settle in for a night of gallery hopping. Even if there’s not an official gallery crawl, check out the Wood Street Galleries downtown – they’re located directly above the Wood street T station and open until 8PM Friday and Saturday. This free gallery gets internationally reknowned artists to exhibit on a regular basis. Then, head over to the Andy Warhol Museum for “Good Fridays” where the iconic museum is half-off from 5 to 10PM and they have a cash bar. To reach the Warhol Museum from downtown, just walk across the Andy Warhol bridge and follow the signs.

Saturday morning, the place to be is the Strip District – also known as foodie and Steeler-fan heaven. It’s a hard call to say whether this neighborhood sells more pounds of freshly-roasted coffee, frozen shrimp, or Steeler’s tee-shirts, but it’s your source for all of the above and more. The Strip District is an easy walk from downtown, just head away from downtown on Penn Ave until you see the crowds. You can choose from any number of great greasy diners (including Deluca’s, Pamela’s, and Jojo’s) or you can nibble your way through Enrico’s biscotti, Korean pancakes, La Prima espresso, pad thai noodles, and Reyna’s tacos by walking down the street and stopping at the many outside vendors. If you happen to be there after 5PM, you may find the crowds have dwindled and some of the shops have closed up, but you will still be in for a treat if you stop at Embury, the pre-prohibition cocktail bar at 2216 Penn Ave.

One of the most striking buildings in Pittsburgh is the iconic Cathedral of Learning. This building is in Oakland, the university district of Pittsburgh. Oakland is home to the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, and many other schools. The Cathedral was built between 1926 and 1931 as the centerpiece of the University of Pittsburgh. It is open for tours daily between 9AM and 2:30PM, except for Sundays and holidays when the tours start at 11AM. The tour visits the 27 spectacular nationality rooms which represent Pittsburgh’s diverse cultural history. While in Oakland, take some time to admire (or stop in) the giant Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, the Carnegie Museum of Art, the Carnegie Museum of National History, and the Phipps Conservatory. Or just go for a stroll through the lovely Schenley Park. To reach the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh from downtown, walk over to 5^th Ave and Ross St and hop on any 61 bus or 71 bus. Hop off when you see the big tower – about 15 minutes. Buses run at least every 10 minutes during the day.

Sunday is your day to get outside in Pittsburgh – whether that’s enjoying a cheap baseball game at the scenic PNC park, renting kayaks to take in the view of skyscrapers from the river at Kayak Pittsburgh or going for a bike ride. Forgot your bike? Golden Triangle Bike Rental will take care of you with 3 convenient locations including 600 First Avenue downtown. Pittsburgh has a great network of riverside trails and dedicated bike bridges. Lastly, I’d be remiss in not mentioning the incline. Walk across the Smithfield Street Bridge skipping the tourist trap that is restaurants and shops at Station Square, then take the Monongahela incline up to the top of Mt Washington for the classic downtown Pittsburgh view. While you’re up top, stop for ice cream or a meal at one of the many restaurants.

Of course, the reason I love Pittsburgh is the random activities that pop up on a weekly basis. From Johnny Cash festivals to Pirate-themed triathalons to keg rides, you’ll hear about the weekend’s events on the Friday morning round-up on i heart PGH.

If you’re staying in a new city, finding a good meal can be the toughest parts of traveling. Here are some of the best bets for downtown food:

• Primanti Brothers – The most well-known restaurant in Pittsburgh where the fries come on the sandwich. (2 South Market Square, Pittsburgh, PA 15222)
• Sammy’s Corned Beef – A down-to-earth hole-in-the-wall for no-frills corned beef sandwiches. (420 Smithfield Street, Pittsburgh )
• Seviche – Latin-inspired tapas along with refreshing mojitos – also one of the most popular spots downtown if just because of their spectacular happy hour. (930 Penn Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15222-3734)
• Sharp Edge – Nationally known for their Belgian beer selection, this small local chain is in the process of  opening up their first downtown location. (922 Penn Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15222)

Thanks again to illyrias from PGH is a City.

Other Guides

• Chicago Urban Tour Guide
• Columbus Under Tour Guide
• Indianapolis Urban Tour Guide
• Pittsburgh Urban Tour Guide