In a glass box on the 103rd floor

Crain's Chicago has a great article about the opening of the Ledge at the Sears (Willis) Tower Skydeck.

High above Chicagoland on the 103rd floor, this glass cube gives you the opportunity to step out among the clouds. It offers a different perspective on Joffrey Tower and all the other downtown buildings.




Check out the video of The Ledge:
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid28200935001?bclid=28210826001&bctid=28223913001

Time to take a walk - a river walk

The Chicago Tribune had a great article on the near completion of the river walk to State Street.

The Michigan Ave to Wabash section is complete. The above picture shows O'Brien's Cafe along with the new walking path.

The good news is that the Wabash to State part will complete in the next two weeks. When complete, it will end near the Vietnam Memorial and Joffrey Tower. You will be able to walk direct on the river level from Joffrey to the lake without having to go up and down stairs at each street and going under all the traffic.



The under bridge elements keep traffic debris off pedestrians and resemble the Cloud Gate (The Bean) exterior.



Just in time for summer!

Scale model of downtown Chicago on display

From Wednesday through Sept. 20, the Chicago Architecture Foundation has a great scale model of Chicago and Joffrey Tower on display. The Chicago Tribune has a great overview of the project.

The best part of the whole thing is that its only a 15 minute walk from our building and its free!

Chicago Architecture Foundation
224 South Michigan Avenue
312.922.3432 x240.

The new hotel The Wit opens on State Street

This past Wednesday The Wit hotel opened on State Street just down from Joffrey Tower. It is a pretty interesting design that is welcome over the construction debris and scaffolding. I have been watching its construction from my balcony at Marina City.




Govnor's pub, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Dunkin Donuts are gone, but in its place we have three new restaurants. The previous was shut down and ultimately condemned because of instability in its top floor. The new building includes a pretty interesting rooftop restaurant with both an indoor & outdoor area. With really great views that include much of the Loop.





Chicago Tribune's Blair Kamin has also written a review:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/travel/chi-0528-witmay28,0,2521186.story

Make no little plans...

"Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men's blood and probably will not themselves be realized." A phrase credited to Daniel Burnham, the architect of Chicago's 1909 Plan of Chicago.

Well, it looks like the city has another renovation plan its considering. In the Tribune, the Chicago Central Area Action Plan is outlined. Below is the proposed West Loop Transportation Center.


A four level, $2 billion transporation center under Clinton Street. It would connect Union Station and the Ogilvie Transportation Center served by Metra trains with CTA bus and rail lines, Pace buses, a proposed Carroll Avenue transit line and long-distance Amtrak high-speed trains.

Check out the Tribune article for some of the very interesting proposed changes.

Time for Cheese? Yes!

While waiting for my fiance Wednesday and killing time, I happened on a very interesting neighborhood shop. Pastoral Cheese, Bread and Wine at 53 E. Lake Street is right around the corner from Joffrey Tower.


Pastoral is a part time (lunch hour during weekdays) sandwich shop and full time specialty cheese, bread and wine shop. From their website, “In a world of mass produced products stacked high on shelves in supermarkets, superstores and wholesale clubs, there is still a time and a place for small bath, high-quality, handcrafted products sold in an intimate environment with the most attentive and thoughtful service. Somehow artisan products like cheese, bread and wine, which hail from the land in some of the most beautiful places on Earth deserve to be showcased, cared-for and sold someplace that reflects their special roots – PASTORAL!”

Service was definitely top notch when I stopped by. I got a tour of all the products with the majority of time spent on the huge and unique assortment of cheeses. What a great place! I am going to try two of the classes that Pastoral is offering:

Wines of the Southern Hemisphere on April 25 at 6:30pm.
Wine, Beer & Spirits for Cheese Lovers on May 9 at 6:30pm.

With all the chain stores & restaurants in the Loop, its nice to have a store that is locally owned & operated with some excellent products!

Loop U

The Chicago Tribune had an interesting article the other day about college students that make up a significant portion of the residents in the Loop.

"A sprawling urban campus has taken hold in the Loop and South Loop, with close to 60,000 students from 20 institutions of higher learning inhabiting a slice of downtown Chicago and making a significant economic impact."

Above is a photo of University Center located at the corner of Congress & State Street. According to it's developer, the building is America’s largest joint residence hall, providing housing for nearly 1,700 students attending Columbia College, DePaul University and Roosevelt University.

Chicago Riverwalk coming along nicely.

The Chicago Tribune reported today on the progress of the river walk: Chicago river walk extension keeps rolling along.

"The latest phase of work to connect existing sections of riverfront pathways is expected to be done in June."

The progress is great news for the neighborhood and our building.

I snapped a couple of photos from my balcony in the west tower:



















This shot is the section from Michigan Ave to Wabash. The area in front of O'Brien's restaurant has been extended further out and extends under the Wabash bridge.



















This photo is the section from Wabash to State St. This construction is not as complete as the previous photo. You can see the earth mover bringing gravel to fill in the area that still has water. The anchored barge and tug boat in the middle and left of the photo make quite a racket when they are running.

Balcony season is just around the corner

I was planning to go to the Chicago Flower & Garden Show to get some inspiration for my balcony garden. I had very good luck with marigolds & morning glories last year, but would like to incorporate more plants. My neighbor successfully grew tomatoes and jalapeno peppers last year. I don’t want to be jealous this year, so I am going to do both the flowers and a number of vegetables.

The Flower & Garden Show runs today through Sunday, March 15 at Navy Pier. Since it is a short cab ride away or a comfortable walk (when not raining), I have no excuse not to visit. Since now through about the first or second week in April starts the Chicago rainy season, it will be therapeutic to get a glimpse of summer in March.

Flower & Garden Show info is:
http://www.chicagoflower.com/

“From the intricately designed lush themed-gardens of the midway, to hands-on demonstrations and in-the-soil workshops, to realistic garden displays that can translate into your own yard or balcony and educate you about sustainable and achievable results, you will find Chicago's first blush with spring to be invigorating”

Dates:
March 7 - 15, 2009

Show Hours:
Monday - Saturday: 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Sunday: 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Tickets:
Weekdays...$12
Weekends...$14
discounts for groups of 15 or more

Navy Pier DISCOUNTED PARKING IS ONLY $14 per vehicle per day!
*Valid from 3/7/09 - 3/15/09 at garages located on-site at Navy Pier or at the Alternate/Overflow garages located at 460 East Illinois or 403 East Grand, located 1 block from Navy Pier. No purchase necessary. May not be combined with any other offer. Subject to availability.

Food

This being my first blog entry for the Joffrey Tower, I wanted to start with my favorite topic. That would be food. I am a frequent patron of Emerald Loop (216 N. Wabash) and Elephant & Castle (185 N. Wabash). I couldn't ask for better bar neighbors. Both have their own twist on bar food and have really established themselves as wonderful neighborhood watering holes.

Emerald Loop is owned by the same group as Mystic Celt and Corcoran's. The food is very good and the service is friendly along with the Irish decorations. The atmosphere is cozy, but does get crowded on Thursday and Friday happy hours. During lunch, the carvery is open with fresh roast beef, corned beef, or turkey sandwiches. Saturday and Sunday mornings offer a great buffet brunch and omelette bar starting at 9am. The outdoor seating during the fare weather days has me planted in a wire mesh seat at least two days a week.

Elephant & Castle is an English pub chain. Standard pub fare along with some wonderful English comfort food rounds out the menu. Many imported English beers are also available. In the winter, the gas fireplace really keeps things warm. The chicken pot pie is really one of the better ones that I have had.