Any worthwhile shops to visit in Chicago centre?

[RC]

I'm coming over to the states to a conference for a week in June to Chicago and was wondering if there are any worthwhile toolshops or other places to visit in the evenings after the lectures?

I'll be staying at the Marriott Downtown so preferably within either walking distance or reasonable public transport/taxi ride away from there since I can't expense car rental on the company  [sad]

Any chance of there being a Veritas or Bridge City reseller in the area?

 

[lumbajac]

Never been, but perhaps http://www.woodworld.com/

 

[mouppe]

The Art Institute of Chicago is one of the finest museums I have ever been to. They have a furniture collection- which I did not see when I visited- but the art collection is unbelievable.

Also the view at sunset from the Hancock Tower on a clear day is amazing- you can even see the curvature of the earth over the plains.

Why don't you arrange to have your Veritas purchases delivered to the hotel when you there?

 

[RC]

Don't know if I'm there long enough since I fly in on a Monday and check-out on Thursday to fly home in the evening... to me it feels a bit of a narrow delivery window... The local post office here couldn't guarantee a delivery within three days to save their lives.

 

[peter halle]

You are only 2 to 3 hours drive from Festool USA.  My guess is that might be a really cool experience if you can call in advance and arrange something.

Peter

 

[Holzhacker]

Only one festool dealer in Chicago, Woodworld. If you want to look at some cool different kinds of wood, they have lots.
No veritas or bridge city dealer that I am aware of. Lots of stuff to do and eat around the Marriott. Have to get dinner going and do paperwork. I'll send you a PM in the next day or so about stuff to do and maybe getting together for dinner or something.
Markus

 

[John Stevens]

Don't know if I'm there long enough since I fly in on a Monday and check-out on Thursday to fly home in the evening... to me it feels a bit of a narrow delivery window... The local post office here couldn't guarantee a delivery within three days to save their lives.

Lee Valley has great customer service.  I'd think it's quite that they could arrange to ship to your hotel while you're there.  It would be even more likely they could do so if you paid extra for 24 hour delivery.  Private shippers like UPS and FedEx could guarantee a delivery in three days or fewer, no problem.

Hope you have a safe, enjoyable and educational trip, and good luck if you're speaking.

Regards,

John

 

[greenleaf]

Neither is close to down town, but owl hardwood is very cool and Berhlands house of tools.

 

[woodworldchicago]

Our shop is located within the city and we would gladly welcome your visit. We've got plenty of wood & Festool (almost the entire US catalog in stock).

[attachimg=#]
Now over 1000SF of Festool

Hancock building is only a few blocks north of your hotel on Michigan Avenue - the best view in Chicago. Instead of the observation deck, you can check it out from the restaurant on the 95th floor or the lounge on the 96th.

Art Institute is not very far south from you & on Michigan as well. Museum campus gives you 3 world-class museums in one area.

No shortage of restaurants here & I'm sure Markus had some good suggestions.

Let me know if you are able to come by - we'll give you the grand tour.
Chip

 

[RC]

Thanks all for the offers to help me plan my free time in Chicago [smile]

Since it's not worth me to buy anything with electricity (US 110V vs. EU 240V) I might as well check if Lee Valley/Veritas/Incra tools are any cheaper there than here at web shops in Germany and see if I could organize hotel delivery within my visiting window. Can't haul too much weight with me anyway so anything heavy is also out of the question.

Another hobby of mine outside of woodworking is photography so if there are good camera shops around the city any hints are welcome since I could think of getting a new lens for my Canon. Last time in NYC I tried to visit B&H Photo and Adorama, but unfortunately they closed every day before I could get out of my course I was attending there...  [sad]

Thanks Richard for the hint to visit the Hancock tower and by the looks of it it's a must visit thing since I'm a sucker for heigh buildings... Done already the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Bank of New York building in London, the Stratosphere Tower in Las Vegas and the Empire State Building in NYC as well as our own little Näsinneula with it's revolving restaurant.

Nice idea Peter about visiting Festool US, but I don't have a full free day to go driving around - just a Monday afternoon/evening after a refreshing 18 hour flight and then Tuesday evening after 5 p.m., I think the conference had a coctail dinner on Wednesday evening so that's gone and on Thursday I'll be on the plane at 8 p.m. heading for another enjoyable 18 hour flight back.

My wife already generated a foot long shopping list on clothes & shoes for her & the kids so I guess I'll have to visit a mall with a GAP Kids & Crocks stores in it. Is the Water Tower Place ridiculously expensive since it seems to be the closest mall to the Magnificent Mile on Google Maps? They seemed to have at least a GAP store.

How is the local food in Chicago? Is fish the more local option since you are on a large lake? Any local specialities I should try while there? I eat just about anything so even rather special is fine by me [tongue] (maybe not honwy marinated ants and the Icelandic rotten fish thing though [eek])

How compact is the centre of Chicago? Is it worth getting the local unlimited ride public transport card or can one walk about like in San Francisco or Manhattan? Or is it more like Las Vegas with single blocks extending like a mile? How is the public transport in Chicago altogether? I noticed that one could get on a blue tube from the airport and change to a bus for transit to the hotel - how much would a taxi from O'Hare to down town cost?

Looking at the map I will probably pass on your kind offer to tour around your shop Chip.

 

[ericbuggeln]

The last thing you want to do in the Midwest is eat fish. Its traveled too far to still be fresh, save that for Atlantic or Pacific coast visits. You should definitely try the deep dish pizza, which they are known for. If you had a chance and like sports a Chicago Cubs game at Wrigley Field is legendary. Have fun Eric

 

[MarkF]

The last thing you want to do in the Midwest is eat fish.

I guess Eric has not eaten freshly caught Walleye, Coho, or enjoyed a fish boil with Lake Trout or a Friday Fish lunch at the corner bar.    There are great choices for fresh water fish in the area but definitely try the pizza. 

There's always Chicago Craigslist tools for sale.

 

[ericbuggeln]

Mark, when you live next to an ocean, you dont even consider fresh water fish as an option. If youre flying in to Portland ME, you tell him to get the lobster, but if youre flying into Chicago, you tell him to get the pizza, no?

 

[greg mann]

If you have a young daughter or granddaughter there is always the American Girl store very near the Hancock Tower.

Disclaimer: this was my wife's suggestion. :

The Shedd Aquarium is pretty cool, too.

Plus one on the Walleye.

 

[Holzhacker]

- Cab from O'Hare to downtown +/-$65 with tip, Limo to downtown +/-$100 with tip
- Taking the blue line is fine until you get down into the City. If you are a savvy traveler you'll be fine. If you have lots of luggage or aren't very savvy, it could be an issue. The blue line lets you off at various locations that are fairly close to the Marriott. A cab ride would run $10 or so depending on traffic, etc. Overall I would recommend taking a cab or limo. You can take the blue line back to O'Hare for the experience. The blue line and car will both follow the same path, along the Kennedy expressway, to downtown.
- We don't get much of our fish from the lake. However, Chicago has lots of excellent fish and sushi restaurants. We get stuff flown in daily. Fish in this town is not old or crappy.
- As far as restaurants, I could give you a plethora of places to go. Fish, Steak, Haute Cuisine, etc. Chicago is a food town. We have lots of great restaurants.
- Chicago is more like Manhattan or Paris in terms of walking the centre areas, i.e. downtown. You can easily walk all around downtown without any problem. Hopping on a bus or cab to get to a museum isn't a problem either. Don't worry about buying some card ahead of time. There are also some very nice and interesting neighborhoods close to downtown that you probably won't have time for but could be an option. In general you'll be fine downtown and where you will probably end up. However, there are dicey areas to avoid.
- Shopping ... for your purposes the Mag Mile and adjacent areas will likely be your best bet. Price wise things should seem like bargains coming from the Euro zone. The stores in Water Tower Place aren't anymore expensive that surrounding stores on the Mag Mile. The Ritz Carlton is in WTP and has a really good restaurant with a great view.
- Go to the center of downtown and check out the Macy's store for the store itself, shopping is fine too (not as good as the old Marshall Fields but that's another story), check out the Picasso in the Daley Center, the Chagall mosaic in Chase Bank plaza, see a classic, indie, international movie at the Siskel Film center on State street across from the Chicago Theatre; check out the 'Bean' in Grant Park and Millenium Park
- The Hancock is across the street from WTP and along the Mag Mile. The Sears Tower is in the south loop a bit off the beaten path but fine. Unless you have kids with or are really into fish, the Shedd is a pass. Consider going to the Field Museum instead or trekking down to the Museum of Science and Industry. Taking a cab down there will also give you a nice perspective of the City along the lakefront. You can take the train down to S&I but that requires a bit more explanation. If you like are into art, definitely check out the Art Institute.
If you want other info or need assistance, let me know
Markus

 

[Kev]

Things I liked about Chicago ...

I was staying a bit north west of Chicago CBD - consulting to Kraft for a couple of weeks, so I got to stretch my legs a bit.

Knowing I was "inland", I had a yearning to see water (the ocean is life to me), so I had a brief look at a map and taking the sun and the time into account, thought I'd look for the lake ... it's a BIG lake. All of these little separated beaches that you can sit on and look out to what seems like the ocean.

I had the opportunity to spend several days just walking about. I found the people very friendly and hospitable (mostly), but the food and the coffee were terrible.

I liked the Harley showroom

I liked the lake shore "beaches"

I liked the people

I liked the early NA summer

I liked the city skyline on approach

... but I'll take NY if I have to endure a NA metropolis.

Kev.

 

[RC]

Of the few NA places I've had the opportunity to visit I find San Francisco the most homely city (love the clam chowder) and Creemore (North of Toronto) a good second because of kin.

Other places that I've been to are Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Monterrey, Palo Alto, Hawaii Big Island and New York.

Vegas was interresting for the first 24h and after that 'Show must go on....' rang in my head constantly and all I was doing was play the 'spot everything made out of plastic' game.

LA was big and not very welcoming and I'm a bit biased with Hawaii since we stayed with family friends so by default it was a lovely stay.

 

[RDMuller]

Camera stores --- Calumet Photo is an interesting store.  Not too far from downtown -- need a car or cab to get there.

 

[nclemmons]

Helix Photo is another choice.  Good selection of 35 and large format plus a pretty deep used gear section.  A 10 minute cab ride from downtown.

Neil

 

[RC]

Thanks for all suggestions I've gotten - I think that I've got my "free" time filled very well indeed between your suggestions and Googlin' Chicago for locations and maps. 

I'm off tomorrow morning - Chicago, here I come  [cool]