Location: New East Side
Top Things to do in New East Side
Countries
The 9 Best Things to do in New East Side, Illinois (IL)
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. Urban Kayaks
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 487 reviews
Kayak Tours, Rentals, and Lessons on the Chicago River. Located on the Chicago Riverwalk. Enter Riverwalk at Columbus and Wacker. The second location on the lakefront at Monroe Harbor.
2. Lake Shore East Park
3. Steve's Segway Tours
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 473 reviews
The most educational AND the most fun tour of Chicago! Our extremely knowlegeable and fun guides instruct you on how to properly operate your own personal Segway or Trikke, making sure that you are comfortable and confident in no time! Explore Grant Park, Millennium Park, the lakefront, Buckingham Fountain, and Museum Campus. We'll discuss Chicago history, architecture and interesting facts at various stops. We have Trikke rentals available as well! Please see our website for much, much more information.
4. Aqua Tower
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 70 reviews
Reviewed By 866TaylorB - Chicago, United States
Just when you think developers and architects can't design anything bigger or bolder than Lake Point Tower, Jeanne Gang of Studio Gang Architects produces Aqua with its rippling facade of irregular balconies that has been praised by architecture critics for its fascinating visual impact. Located at 255 North Columbus Drive, north of Millennium Park and overlooking Soldier Field and the museum campus on Chicago's lakefront, Aqua is a mixed use 82-story residential skyscraper that rises to a height of 819 feet. It is one of the tallest high rises built during Chicago's skyscraper boom of 2000-2009. Completed in 2009, Aqua is noted for the unique design of its balconies, which give the building a remarkable silhouette. The pattern of undulating balconies, from the tower's base all the way to the top, make for an interesting facade. The effect is especially beautiful when viewed up close, when it looks almost like waves in the ocean, which explains the tower's name. It is a building unlike any other, as is Lake Point Tower. The balconies just don't create a stunning visual effect but they break up the wind streams so the tower needs less resistance against the persistent and strong Chicago winds. The balconies also protrude two to 12 feet outward, allowing for wide views of the area. The tower has received considerable critical acclaim and earned Emporis' 2009 Skyscraper Award. No, it doesn't offer a bird's-eye view of the Chicago Bears' games in Soldier Field.
5. Heald Square Monument
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 16 reviews
Reviewed By 866TaylorB - Chicago, United States
The Heald Square Monument became the first sculpture designated as a Chicago Landmark by the Chicago City Council on September 15, 1971. So why are so few people aware of it? Located at the intersection of East Wacker Drive and Wabash Avenue, across the Chicago River from the Trump Tower, the 11-foot-tall bronze sculpture by Lorado Taft depicts General George Washington and the two principal financiers of the American Revolution, Robert Morris and Haym Salomon. Following Taft's death in 1936, the sculpture was completed by his associates, Leonard Crunelle, Nellie Walker and Mary Webster. Heald Square was named for Captain Nathan Heald, commander of Fort Dearborn from 1810-1812. An interesting footnote to the sculpture is the little known bronze plaque on the back side of the granite base, showing a seated Statue of Liberty. In this depiction, Lady Liberty is stretching out her arms to welcome all persons of whatever race and belief. In all honesty, I wasn't even aware of the significance of the sculpture until I was informed recently by a friend who serves as a tour guide for historic sites in Chicago. Several years ago, for a 50th anniversary story, I directed a Chicago Sun-Times photographer to take a picture of members of Mount Carmel High School's 1950 football team with the sculpture as a backdrop. Little did I know at the time. The sculpture was the idea of Barnet Hodes, a Chicago attorney, who led an attempt to curb the rise of Anti-Semitism in Chicago when he created the Patriotic Foundation of Chicago in 1936. Of Polish Jewish heritage, Hodes had read about the financial contributions that Jewish patriot Haym Salomon had made to the American Revolution and planned to honor him. But he felt that a commemorative statue of Salomon standing alone would not deliver the message of inter-cultural cooperation as effectively as a sculpture with non-Jewish patriots like George Washington and Robert Morris. The sculpture was dedicated on December 15, 1941, on the 150th anniversary of the adoption of the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and eight days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
6. Wheel Fun Rentals
Overall Ratings
3.5 based on 11 reviews
Wheel Fun Rentals at Chicago’s Humboldt Park puts explorers in motion with a great selection of bicycle rentals, specialty cycles, Surreys, kayaks, and swan pedal boat rentals. Race along the park’s twisting pathways as you achieve low-to-the-ground glory with a Chopper, Quad Sport, or Deuce Coupe. Guests can also spend the afternoon on the lake in Chicago’s only iconic Swan Boats.
7. Bob Barrett Massage
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 1 reviews
8. Spa 42 at Swissotel Chicago
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2 reviews
9. Olga’s Day Spa
TAGS
