Picture Daniel Burnham whizzing by on Rollerblades, mustache flying.
How about Daniel Burnham duck-jibing on a sailboard, in a Day-Glo wetsuit, damp mustache drooping? Or Daniel Burnham, visionary architect of the Chicago lakefront, humped over a triathlon training bike, in Day-Glo Lycra and helmet, cumbersome mustache shaved to cut down on drag?
Burnham himself probably couldn`t make head or tail of the high-speed uses to which his lakefront-the partial realization of his 1909 Plan of Chicago-is put these days. The author of the oft-repeated ”Make no small plans” most likely envisioned leisurely strolls and carriage rides up and down sections of the lakefront parks.
Instead, these days you can bike the nearly 20-mile length of the lakefront parks from Hollywood Avenue south to 71st Street in an hour, give or take a couple of mangled pedestrians and quarts of sweat. Take it much slower, however-with the aid of our handy-dandy guide to lakefront attractions big and small-and chances are, well, it will take you much, much longer.
At north, south and central points along the lakefront, the Chicago Park District`s Rainbow Fleet accommodates sailors from beginner to advanced. You can rent a little Barnett 1400 monohull boat or a Hobie 16 catamaran from Loyola Park Beach at Pratt Avenue, Burnham Harbor downtown and the South Shore Beach at 71st Street. Instruction is available at all three locations, and the Judd Goldman Adaptive Sailing program plans lessons and excursions for physically disabled sailors from Burnham Harbor. Call 312-294-2270 for more information.
Heading south from Hollywood Avenue, there`s not much to engage your attention initially-apart from sunbathers and fast-paced pickup games of basketball at Foster Avenue Beach-until you get to Montrose-Wilson Beach. On weekends from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., you can try your hand at windsurfing with the able assistance of Windward Sports, which rents sailboards and rigs out of its shed here.
The cost is $10 an hour, and equipment is doled out on a first-come, first-served basis, or you can sign up in advance at the company`s main store at 3317 N. Clark St. Beginners can request a mini-lesson on the onshore simulator for just $25, which also includes the use of a board on the water for an hour.
On the road again, or path as the case may be, it`s time for a round of golf at the Sidney R. Marovitz Golf Course, where the 48 traps represent the 48 states of the union extant when the course was constructed.
After all that windsurfing and golfing, you`ll have worked up an appetite. Sate yourself at Brett`s Cafe in the Waveland Fieldhouse, where you`ll hear the 25 chimes singing in the Jacob A. Wolford Memorial Tower. Restored, along with the tower clocks, to working order last year for the first time since about the end of World War II, the chimes can be played manually on a keyboard in the tower or by a paper roll similar to those used in player pianos.
Just south of the golf course at Addison Street, marked by the well-known replica of a Haidan Indian totem pole, are two of the least-known lakefront sites: the Waveland Bird Sanctuary and the archery range.
The sanctuary is surrounded by a chain-link fence, but bird-watchers should be able to spot numerous indigenous species nonetheless (see the Paul Douglas Nature Sanctuary below). The archery range is open to members of the Lincoln Park Archery Club; call Howard Chun at 312-465-0826.
From here, Lincoln Park narrows to a sliver until you`re south of Belmont Avenue and a chip shot away from the Lincoln Park Driving Range. If you haven`t had your fill of golfing frustration yet, a bucket of balls at Diversey Parkway and Cannon Drive will do the trick.
At Fullerton Avenue is Theatre on the Lake, which this weekend is presenting Alfred Uhry`s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama ”Driving Miss Daisy.” Normally, the small space is open only to subscribers, but intrepid theatergoers who get in line early enough may snatch up tickets left over from the no-shows; call 312-271-1759.
From this point to downtown, you`re at the center of the lakefront galaxy, and stopoff points are more numerous than stars in a globular cluster. The Adler Planetarium, the Shedd Aquarium and Oceanarium and the Field Museum of Natural History define its southern edge.
On its north end near Fullerton Avenue, the Lincoln Park Conservatory at Stockton Drive houses botanic gardens, with their floral displays and exotic plants, on 3 acres. Nearby, some 1,700 species of mammals, reptiles and birds reside at the Lincoln Park Zoo.
French fries in the shape of bears, elephants and rhinoceroses are just the thing for kids when you visit nearby Cafe Brauer at 2021 N. Stockton Drive. This National Landmark building recently got a $4.2 million facelift and looks great. The ground-floor cafeteria serves cheeseburgers, thick and doughy pizza and other items. Sit on the terrace overlooking the Lincoln Park Lagoon, where paddle boats can be rented for a lazy marine journey.
Not far away is the little cultural gem called the Chicago Academy of Sciences at 2001 N. Clark St., an ecologically oriented museum with life-size dioramas, natural history exhibits, tours, lectures and more from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Call 312-871-2668.
Behind the Chicago Historical Society at Clark Street and North Avenue is one of two monumental bronze sculptures of native son Abraham Lincoln by the renowned 19th Century artist Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Though this standing figure is widely regarded as Saint-Gaudens` masterpiece, the sculptor himself wasn`t so sure and sought to improve upon it with his seated Lincoln, in Grant Park north of Congress Parkway.
Beach volleyball has exploded in the last few years on North Avenue Beach; just last month, the jammed strip of sand played host to the Chicago Open, a $100,000 stop on the Miller Lite pro volleyball tour. Numerous local clubs make use of North Avenue and other beaches for league play and tournaments; call the Chicago Park District at 312-294-2317.
For the more cerebral, the chess pavilion south of the beach has four built-in chessboards.
Then it`s on to the flesh parade that is Oak Street Beach, a traffic-heavy miasma of strutting beefcake and stuff hanging out of those little thong bathing suits. Stop here for as long as you can stand it.
Olive Park and Beach are around the corner, on the way to Navy Pier. Tucked away at the base of the pier is our favorite snack spot, Rocky & Sons Fish House. A bag of fried smelts, a jug of non-alcoholic wine, and thou-recipe for bliss.
The pier was completed in 1916 and is in the midst of restoration that will bring restaurants, entertainment stages and other public spaces to the pier. Right now, special events are still staged at the East End auditorium nearly three-quarters of a mile out in the lake, and in the shelter building. The Chicago International New Art Forms exhibition will be at the pier on Sept. 17. Through Saturday, the Navy`s guided-missile frigate USS Samuel Eliot Morison is docked at the pier and free tours are offered.
From here, the bike and pedestrian path carries you over the Chicago River just southeast of the shops and restaurants of North Pier, the former lakefront warehouse. Then it`s around Monroe Harbor to Grant Park: the rows of flowers along Bicentennial Plaza south of Randolph Street; the Petrillo Bandshell and music from classical to jazz; the Art Institute of Chicago, whose current shows include ”Jacob Lawrence: The Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman Series of Narrative Paintings” (through Aug. 6) and master European paintings from the National Gallery of Ireland (through Aug. 9).
In Grant Park at Congress Parkway is the venerable Buckingham Fountain. Patterned on the Latona Basin at the Versailles Palace outside Paris, the pink marble fountain is a fine example of Beaux Arts design; its four pairs of 20- foot bronze sea horses won the Prix National in 1927 for sculptor Marcel Loyau.
Plus it shoots tons of water into the air.
Speaking of water, the Shedd Aquarium and Oceanarium this year passed the Museum of Science and Industry as the city`s most-visited cultural institution. More than 6,000 aquatic animals from all over the globe can be found in the aquarium, plus a 90,000-gallon coral reef exhibit. The oceanarium recreates a cool Pacific Northwest coastline; here you`ll encounter beluga whales, dolphins, sea otters and harbor seals.
In conjunction with its exhibition ”Eyes on the Sea: A Celebration of Lighthouses” through Dec. 31, the Shedd is sponsoring a family event Saturday and Sunday called Create-A-Lighthouse, where participants will do just that with stencils, construction paper and colored markers. Call 312-939-2438 for more information on the Shedd.
For those interested in heading out over the water on one of the many cruises, here`s a hint: If you want to see Lake Michigan and the Chicago skyline, forget about those that dock on the Chicago River, which routinely spend far too long in the locks to the lake. Pick up the Shoreline II, which docks at Monroe Harbor next to the Shedd during the day, and next to Buckingham Fountain in the evenings until 10 o`clock.
These days, in addition to its regular exhibitions such as ”Inside Ancient Egypt,” the Field Museum has been invaded by ”Backyard Monsters: The World of Insects.” Giant robotic bugs, more than a thousand real bugs and 14 interactive exhibits bring these innumerable, fascinating creatures to life.
Next to the Adler Planetarium is one of the smaller, least-known beaches and the one closest to the Loop: 12th Street Beach, whose proximity to the private planes flying in and out of Meigs Field provides a sort of daily Air and Water Show.
Passing McCormick Place, crank up the speed for a relatively uneventful 3 1/2-mile stretch between here and Hyde Park. At 53rd Street on the lake is the Promontory Point pavilion, designed by Burnham; from here, look back north from whence you came for a spectacular view of the city.
The vast Museum of Science and Industry is the only building left from the World`s Columbian Exposition of 100 years ago. For years the most popular cultural institution in the city, the museum holds its annual Space Day Saturday, when aspiring young astronauts can learn about lunar colonies, gamma rays, the hazards of micrometeorites blowing a hole in your spacesuit and more. For more information on Space Day and other exhibitions and events at the museum, call 312-684-1414.
Behind the museum is the Paul Douglas Nature Sanctuary, arguably the best spot in the city for catching a glimpse of Midwestern birds. Doug Anderson, one of the best local birders and chairman of the Chicago Audubon Society`s Education Committee, leads free birdwatching tours every Wednesday at 7 a.m. and Saturday at 8 a.m. Bring your binoculars and meet at the Darrow Bridge just south of the museum. Call 312-493-7058 between 5 and 6 p.m. for more information.
The Chicago Park District`s only 18-hole golf course, the Jackson Park links, is your penultimate stop on the way to the South Shore Cultural Center. At the center through July 26 is August Wilson`s play ”Fences”; other events include classical pianist Chris O`Riley on Wednesday and cellist Carter Brey on Aug. 20. For a complete listing of events and activities at the center, call 312-753-0640.
Here, Jackson Park stops short, as do the lakefront parks; another three miles or so and you`re in Indiana. The message should be clear: Sure, you can traverse the lakefront in 60 minutes, but why not stop and smell the flowers? Tribune photo by Phil Greer
