“Just look at that,” exclaims Harry Roccaforte, like a kid in a candy store, as he runs his hand over an exquisite bit of bronze detailing on the elevator doors of the Hotel Burnham, at State and Washington Streets.
Roccaforte, or Harry, as I came to know him, is one of the growing numbers of Chicago Greeters, volunteers who show off the city to tourists as part of a free program run by the Chicago Department of Tourism and the Department of Cultural Affairs. And if the rest of the Greeters are anything like Roccaforte, these folks are very happy to share their zeal with visitors.
Chicago Greeter, a free service that matches visitors with a Chicagoan who will show them around a particular part of the city, officially kicked off in April. The idea came from a similar, very successful program in New York. So if you’ve always wondered what to do with out-of-towners while you’re at work or just plain sick of ’em, Chicago Greeter has the answer.
Our task was a simple one: Take a tour and see how it works. If my time with Roccaforte is any indication, things will be great.
It’s tough not to share the enthusiasm of Roccaforte, a retiree who came to Chicago from Sicily when he was 18, about Chicago’s architecture. During our tour of the Loop’s notable buildings, his voice accelerates with excitement as he talks about the skyline, those critters sitting atop the Rookery building, the disappointment as he chats about buildings that couldn’t be saved.
“I’d like to start with this wonderful building,” the 68-year-old says as we sit in the Vistors’ Center of the Chicago Cultural Center, where all Greeter tours begin. He talks about the building’s history, its former life as the Public Library and how the building was saved from the wrecking ball by preservationists. “Many buildings have been saved by people,” says Roccaforte of the colossi that people the Loop’s concrete canyons. When asked how people could decide to destroy history, Roccaforte responded with the rueful shrug of a man truly enamored of Chicago architecture.
To schedule a tour, visit www.chicagogreeter.com or call 312-744-8000. Ideally, you should set up your Greeter visit 7-10 days in advance. You choose from a list of available neighborhoods such as Pilsen, Chinatown or Bronzeville, or areas such as the Loop and the Lakefront. Next, you are matched with a Greeter totake you on a tour. A free CTA card comes as part of the service so you can get around on public transportation.
Greeters come from many walks of life. Some are schoolteachers, some students. There are social workers, artists and real estate developers. Roccaforte is a retired package designer who is fond of showing off Chicago to friends and relatives from Italy. What Roccaforte and the other Greeters have in common is that they love this city and want to brag about it. The program has 140 Greeters and hopes eventually to add more. New Greeters go through an interview process similar to a job application to find out what they know, and how their knowledge might help a visitor to Chicago. Then they are taken on a tour with a more experienced Greeter to learn how it’s done.
The folks at Chicago Greeter suggest that visitors set up their tour for the first day they arrive, and the ease of the process depends upon how busy the program is. It took two e-mails and one phone call to complete the very smooth process. And to keep from getting the royal treatment that often befalls us ink-stained wretches, I set up my tour as Mike Ferguson, from Boulder, Colo.
If you think you know the city, think again. I am a lifelong Chicagoan, and as Roccaforte and I traipse through the Loop, I learn plenty. He talks about how Lower Wacker came to be, gawks at the Rookery, explains the wonders of terra cotta and reveals that the Standard Oil Building used to be called the “SOB” building.
We zip up to the top of the Helmut Jahn designed State of Illinois Center. “A lot of people have a lot to say about the design of this building,” says Roccaforte of the sprawling edifice whose looks are still controversial, before chuckling, “Well, we’ll see what you think.”
I ask Roccaforte if people ignore all of this grandeur.
“All that people do every day is go to work,” bemoans Roccaforte. “They don’t even look up. Can you believe it?”
I can, because I used to never look up. But I will from now on.
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Chicago Greeter
Phone: 312-744-8000
Web: www.chicagogreeter.com
