Obligatory Blackhawks Reference

OK. Confession time. I'm not a hockey fan. I'm more a fan of summertime sports and those sports that typically don't involve major dental reconstruction work. This time of year, the only ice I'm interested in is that which is in my umbrella drink. But that's me. The rest of Chicago, however, is in the midst of a severe case of Stanley Cup Fever. Apparently it has been 49 years since Chicago won a Stanley Cup and the long-suffering Hawks fans ...

Wait a minute!

49 years is "long-suffering"?!?

I'm a Cubs fan.

One hundred and one years is long-suffering.

You're just scratching the surface of long-suffering

at 49 years!

Oh. Sorry. Back to the subject.

... the "long suffering" Hawks fans are lighting up the buildings in hopes of bringing the cup to Chicago.

Sun Lights

Yesterday's photo was of a building with artificial lighting. Last evening, though, the Amoco Building (or Aon Center or Standard Oil Building) was glowing with all natural sun(set) light.

June Theme Day: Feet

Happy Theme Day. June's theme, selected by vote of the City Daily Photo participants, is Feet. I found 12,652 feet in this picture. How? I picked several of the more recognizable buildings and looked up how tall they are.


Here are the buildings I selected, their names and heights.


A – Lake Point Tower (645 feet)
B – 340 On The Park (672 feet)
C – Water Tower Place (859 feet)
D – John Hancock Building (1,506 feet)
E – Palmolive Building (aka Playboy Building) (565 feet)
F – Amoco Building (aka Aon Building) (1,136 feet)
G – 900 North Michigan (aka Bloomingdale's Building) (871 feet)
H – Park Tower (844 feet)
I – Trump Tower (1,362 feet)
J – Chase Tower (850 feet)
K – Chicago Board of Trade (605 feet)
L – AT&T Corporate Center (1,007 feet)
M – Sears Tower (1,730 feet)


Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Confetti Tree

I don't know what these trees are called but the flower petals are small, white, and round. When they blow off the trees, as they did in the Aon Center Plaza, they look like confetti has been liberally sprinkled all over the ground and in the water fountains. It's rather festive -- though that is probably not an opinion shared by the groundskeepers who use leaf blowers to clear the "confetti" off the sidewalk.


Here is the culprit:

Wind Chimes

In the plaza area of the Aon Center (previously known as the Amoco Building and The Standard Oil Building before that), there is a Sounding Sculpture by artist Harry Bertoia. These thin brass rods create a musical hum when the wind blows.

If You Don't Like How I Ride ...

... stay off the sidewalk.

I missed the shot where the horse was blocking the whole sidewalk.
But, I liked this one, too, since the three women walking
down the street don't seem to notice the horse.

Bumper Deer

This deer family can be found by the Aon Center (also known as the Amoco Building and, before that, Standard Oil Building) in the Loop neighborhood. They are made of car bumpers by an artist named John Kearney. There are several of his bumper animals scattered throughout Chicago (perhaps I'll do a tour of them one of these days).

Winter Reflection

Sometimes you catch the sun at just the right angle
when it creates an interesting shadow.