CHICAGO: THE CITY THAT WORKS

CHICAGO: THE CITY THAT WORKS Story and photography by Margaret & Eric Anderson
	Chicago is America's greatest little town, say its exiles - and we have plenty of those in our fair city. They tell us the Windy City has 87 neighborhoods speaking 54 different languages, all with different needs, different pleasures, different cultures. Chicago, of course, had the most famous cow in America, the one belonging to Mrs. O'Leary that allegedlystarted the great Chicago Fire of 1871. One of the few buildings to survivethat event is the old Water Tower, now in the shadow of the Sears Tower,once the tallest building in the world.

Asked why Chicago is so special, JoAnn Bongiorno, a friend and long-time city booster, replies: "I think it's because, first, like Midwesterners in general, we're friendly: Stop on any street corner, open a map and someone will stop and ask if you need directions. Second, we've not only got all the business, cultural and recreational features of a major North American city but it's all so accessible. Look at the Drake Hotel: you can walk to the shops and the beach and it's a quick taxi ride to the zoo, theaters and sports facilities. You can get anywhere in Chicago in ten minutes. Unlike some cities, here you can always find a cab-and things to do." We are doing one of the classic Chicago things right now in this great traditional hotel -- having afternoon tea in the Drake's Palm Court, one of our favorite places ever since we brought an elderly mother here for tea many, many years ago. The hostess came over with a huge box of different teas and asked Mom, "Would you like, perhaps, English Breakfast?" and got the reply, "No thank you, I'm not that hungry." WHERE TO GO Even with its recent attraction, Navy Pier, Chicago is no Disneyland -- although Walt Disney was one of the city's most famous sons.

	Chicago's a wonderful destination for its own reasons. Here is where visitors, even children, can soak up learning the easy way, whether at the Adler Planetarium or the Lincoln Park Zoo. Parents wishing to endow their children with lifetime memories of wonder can tour the six acres of gems and fossils, polar bears and dinosaurs-and the largest collection of Egyptian mummies in the world -- exhibited at the Field Museum or watch Beluga whales and dolphins playing at the Shedd Aquarium, or continue on to experience all the wonders of technology-including walking through a 16 foot-tall human heart at the Museum of Science and Industry.

Visitors need only stroll amongst the great architecture and public sculptures by Calder and Picasso, or cruise on the river to realize what waterfront means to a metropolis. Or they can wander into some of the finest museums in the world, such as the Art Institute of Chicago , and maybe for their first time suddenly come upon a Van Gogh or an Edward Hopper, and understand how they may be preparing their children for life's great adventure.