Location: West Side
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10 Things to do in West Side That You Shouldn't Miss
The windy city is a cornucopia of modern art, fine dining, cutting edge comedy, and die-hard sports fans. Snap a photo of your reflection in the silver Cloud Gate sculpture at Millennium Park before heading to Grant Park to get hit with the refreshing spray of Buckingham Fountain. There are dozens of museums and theater companies in Chicago, so a cultural experience is never hard to find. You’re sure to laugh your head off at the Second City Theater, the professional launch pad of many famous comedians.
Restaurants in Chicago
1. Ukrainian National Museum
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 22 reviews
A collection of artifacts and archives relating to 1,000 years of Ukrainian culture.
Reviewed By 866TaylorB - Chicago, United States
Founded in 1952, the Ukrainian National Museum in Chicago is home to thousands of artifacts, artwork, musical instruments, weavings, agricultural tools, folk arts, embroidered folk costumes, rare books, manuscripts, photographs, newspapers, periodicals, memorabilia and exhibits that focus on the history and heritage of the Ukrainian community. Located at 2249 West Superior Street in the Ukrainian Village neighborhood, it also contains souvenir materials from the former Soviet Union, artwork by Ukrainian immigrants, Ukrainian embroidery and an exhibit dealing with Chicago's unique Ukrainian community. One of the most interesting displays highlights decorated Easter Eggs or "Pysanky," a Ukrainian staple folk art. The oldest designs are called ideograms but the painted eggs share a common theme--the sun, a rose and stars in various patterns. Also a fascinating and highly educational exhibit called "Ukrainian Genocide-Holodomor of 1932-1933," which showcases photographs, documents and newspaper articles dedicated to informing the public about the little known forced famine in Ukraine.
2. Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 21 reviews
Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art promotes public awareness, understanding, and appreciation of intuitive and outsider art through education,exhibition, collecting and publishing. Intuit defines ‘intuitive and outsider art’ as the work of artists who demonstrate little influence from the mainstream art world,and who instead are motivated by their unique personal vision. Thanks to our members, we are free and open to the public.
3. Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 46 reviews
Founded in 1892, Holy Trinity Cathedral is home to the oldest Orthodox parish in Chicago. This beautiful church was designed by the famous American architect, Louis Sullivan. It was consecrated by St. Tikhon of Moscow in 1903 and built under the leadership of St. John Kochurov of Chicago, who was martyred in the Bolshevik Revolution. Located in the heart of Chicago’s historic Ukrainian Village-Wicker Park neighborhood, Holy Trinity has been a vital part of the community for more than a century. It’s an official City of Chicago Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today, it’s the center of religious life for many Orthodox faithful and their families. We are dedicated to serving the people of God in the spirit of Christian love, and we invite you to come and worship with us whenever you are in the Ukrainian Village-Wicker Park area. Tours are available by appointment and on Saturdays as indicated on the website, or worship with us during services.
Reviewed By 866TaylorB - Chicago, United States
Chicago is a city of architecture, from Louis Sullivan to Daniel Burnham to Frank Lloyd Wright. The Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral, the cathedral church of the Orthodox Church in America Diocese of the Midwest, is one of only two churches designed by Sullivan, one of the seminal architects of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Located at 1121 North Leavitt Street, in the Ukrainian Village neighborhood, it was built in 1903, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 and designated a Chicago Landmark in 1979. Curiously, construction was partly financed by a donation of 4,000 roubles (or $2,700) from Tsar St. Nicholas II of Russia and $1,250 from Sullivan, who also donated the priceless Healy & Millet manufactured chandelier that is one of the highlights of the interior. The church, which was elevated to a cathedral in 1923, retains many features of Russian provincial architecture, including an octagonal dome, frontal bell tower, cupolas, window and roof framing and Art Nouveau decorative design over the western entrance to the church.
4. Holy Trinity Polish Church
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 8 reviews
Reviewed By SusanK998 - Dayton, United States
This is a huge beautiful Catholic Church where we attended a beautiful mass. Many dressed in authentic homeland costumes wonderful celebration in a stunningly ornate church All liturgy and songs in Polish. After mass was a welcoming group cooking authentic polish foods and sharing all with us. Thank you and many blessings ????
5. United Center
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,481 reviews
This modern arena replaced the old Chicago Stadium as home court for the NBA's Bulls and the NHL's Blackhawks.
Reviewed By ToleyTheTolerBear - Chicago, United States
I watched Tool perform here this past Sunday night 11/3/19! I was lucky to have scored 5th row seats! They were mind-blowingly awesome!! What a great time and a great venue! The view/sight lines and the sound quality were both excellent! Also, the food and drinks here are also great! I’ve previously watched Black Hawks and Bulls games here and have had GREAT times watching both teams WIN whenever I was here!! Definitely 1 of my FAVORITE places to watch live events!!
6. Pilsen
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 59 reviews
Chicago's Mexican-American community.
Reviewed By 866TaylorB - Chicago, United States
Pilsen is a historically working class, residential neighborhood and gateway for immigrants coming into Chicago. Bordered by West 16th Street to the north, Interstate 55 to the south, the Dan Ryan Expressway to the east and South Ashland Avenue to the west, it is rich in Latino culture and overflowing with award-winning restaurants, iconic music venues, sensational murals and exotic nightlife. The first thing a visitor notices is the colorful street art and buildings covered in massive paintings. It is a haven for offbeat boutiques, hip eateries, cool music venues standing alongside bodegas, panaderias and family-owned restaurants serving authentic Mexican cuisine. Pilsen was originally inhabited by German, Norwegian, Italian and Czech immigrants in the late 19th century. It emerged as a largely Latino community in the 1960s and 1970s. Mario Castillo painted Peace or Metafisico in 1968, the first Mexican and anti-Vietnam War mural in Pilsen. Benito Juarez Community Academy, which opened in 1977, has a 94 percent Latino student body and once was the largest high school in Illinois with more than 5,000 students. So walk through the Pilsen neighborhood, see the street carts doling out tamales and paletas, marvel at the 16th Street murals, visit the National Museum of Mexican Art, Thalia Hall and St. Procopius Church, take a break at Dusek's Board & Beer or Simone's or Kristoffer's Cafe & Bakery or Panaderia Nuevo Leon or Punch House or La Vaca Margarita Bar or Pollo Express.
7. National Museum of Mexican Art
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 237 reviews
Enjoy one of the country's largest collections of Mexican art and culture, including a vibrant textile collection including indigenous outfits and weavings, folk art including masks and Día de los Muertos artifacts and ephemera documenting the Chicano Movement. Open daily 10am-5pm, closed Mondays.
Reviewed By bettyc552
This museum is small but there is a lot to see. It is a great way to learn the Mexican heritage, culture and history. There are lots of artwork ranging from painting, sculptures, pictures and photos. We went in early November and they had amazing artworks for Dia de Los Muertos on display. The museum is free and there are donation boxes in the hallway. The gift shop is worth a visit. There are beautiful home decorations, toys and jewelry. They do not have a parking lot but there are plenty of street parking
8. Jane Addams' Hull-House Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 66 reviews
This museum honors Jane Addams, the first American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize for her social work with immigrants and affecting national public policy. Explore the National Historic Landmark settlement house including the residents' dining hall and an arts and crafts building. Closed Mondays and Saturdays.
Reviewed By 866TaylorB - Chicago, United States
Chicagoans know more about Al Capone than Jane Addams. That scenario should change. Every elementary school student should be required to take a field trip to the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum and learn about the social reformer who became the first American woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, whose work changed the lives of immigrant neighbors and national and international public policy. She is every bit as important and as significant to the development of the United States as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The museum, located at 800 South Halsted Street on Chicago's near South Side, near the University of Illinois-Chicago campus, is housed in two of the original settlement house buildings--the Hull House, a National Historic Landmark, and the Residents' Dining Hall, a beautiful Arts and Crafts building that has welcomed some of the world's most important thinkers, artists and activists. Founded in 1889 as a social settlement, Hull-House played a vital role in redefining American democracy in the modern age. Addams helped to pass critical legislation and influenced public policy on public health and education, free speech, philanthropy, racism, women's movements, civic affairs, fair labor practices, immigrants' rights, recreation and desegregation. The museum's collection features more than 5,500 artifacts relating to the vibrant work of the Hull-House Settlement and the surrounding neighborhood, including life on Chicago's Near West Side at the turn of the 20th century. Highlights of the collection include intricate textiles woven in the Hull-House Labor Museum, portraits and drawings of neighbors and settlement life by Hull-House residents, pottery produced by artists at the Hull-House kilns, period and folkloric clothing from neighbors on the Near West Side, artifacts from the nearby Maxwell Street market, furnishings from Jane Addams' collection and oral histories from Hull-House residents and neighbors. A stroll through the museum is an exhilarating educational experience into the life of one of the most important figures in the history of our country.
9. Wicker Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 120 reviews
Wicker Park is the former meca of the Chicago art community and location of the bi-annual "Around the Coyote" art festival. The area has experienced massive economic growth over the past few years and is now home to many boutiques, thrift stores, bars and restaurants and known for its “hipster” vibe.
Reviewed By 866TaylorB - Chicago, United States
Wicker Park is all things to all people. One of the fastest rising and trendy neighborhoods in Chicago, it has been recognized as one of the hippest hipster neighborhoods in the country and widely known for its local culture, art community, nightlife, high fashion boutiques, cutting-edge gourmet restaurants and bakeries, European-style cafes, upscale independent grocers and artsy businesses. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated as a Chicago Landmark District, Wicker Park is a convenient place to live for downtown workers due to its proximity to public transportation and the Loop. The area stretches from Ashland Avenue on the east to Western Avenue on the west, from Division Street on the south to the Bloomingdale Trail (or the 606) on the north. Historically, Wicker Park was founded in 1868 by Chicago alderman Charles Wicker. The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 spurred the first wave of development and homeless Chicagoans looked to build new homes. At the end of the 19th century, it became a destination for German and Norwegian immigrants. Many of Chicago's wealthiest brewers built mansions on Hoyne Street, which became known as Beer Baron Row. Today, Wicker Park is home to such trendy restaurants as Dove's Luncheonette, Small Cheval, Big Star, Schwa, Handlebar and Cafe Istanbul, from fine dining to tacos to Ramen to sushi to Cajun. Stay at the Robey Hotel or Wicker Park Inn or Ruby Room. Visit the 606, Farmers Market or Flat Iron Arts Building.
10. Auditorium Theatre
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 153 reviews
Reviewed By Bentleymama - Waukegan, United States
Loved the old charm of the Auditorium Theatre. Lots of stairs to climb if you were seated anywhere in balcony. Not all floors have bathrooms, make sure if you go get back before intermission ends or you might not be allowed to get back to your seat. Theatre is small enough that all seats are good. Drinks are expensive, but that’s expected.
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