June 2nd - Architecture River Cruise Tour

On Saturday afternoon, Jim, Ann and I took the train into Chicago, this time to try out one of the highly-touted river cruises on the Chicago River. This particular tour focused on the architecture of the buildings alongside the river that runs through the center of the city.

We were a bit worried that the boat tours would be sold out since it was a nice Saturday afternoon and this is a popular tour. Luckily we had no problem getting tickets for the 5pm boat ride and we even had time to visit a local coffee shop for some icy treats and to get out of the hot sun for a short while.

The Chicago Architecture Foundation docent gave an excellent tour and even with the relatively slow pace of the boat ride there was almost too much information about the architecture of the major skyscrapers and converted factories/warehouses along the river. She did a great job focusing on the important aspects of the buildings but it would have been nice to have more information about the history of Chicago. She did provide some info but the focus of the boat tour was the architecture so it's hard to complain.

It was a quick hour and a half boat ride and a great way to see a portion of this city without fighting traffic or walking for miles.

The Start of Our Boat Tour

333 West Wacker

The Residential River City Building (right); Sears Tower (left)