Living in Chicago, I found this pretty interesting. Dibs only kicks in during winter here, but Pittsburgh does this throughout the year.
Category Archives: Chicago
A trip to LinkedIn
I was lucky enough to visit LinkedIn’s Chicago offices (525 West Monroe Street, Chicago) last week, organized via DePaul’s Kellstadt Marketing Group. I got a quick tour of the offices, and then got to hear about the nature if their work from a panel of account executives, managers, planners, and consultants.
LinkedIn Presentation
Based upon the presentation, there are two areas of LinkedIn that I feel I need to investigate:
There were also some nice touches that I noticed touring the offices (which have a distinct Google vibe to them).
LinkedIn Vending Machine
A vending machine contains various computer accessories that a LinkedIn employee might need. The employee simply has to swipe their ID card to get the external keyboard, cable, battery, mouse, etc. that they need. A clever idea that allows for employees burning the midnight oil to get an essential item with a minimum of fuss.
LinkedIn Service Kiosk
The tech desk / help desk has a simple kiosk where you can provide feedback via happy and unhappy faces.
LinkedIn Chicago Decal
The halls have been decorated with murals and designs that incorporate Chicago iconography and places of meaning.
Lastly, all the employees have adjustable height desks. I did not take a picture here, as I did not want to alarm those happily at work. However, this particularly impressed me. I liked how LinkedIn employees could easily adjust the height of their desks and move from sitting to standing. I don’t know which type of desk they used, but it looks like they could be NextDesk Terras.
I had several questions that I wanted to ask that day (Lynda.com, certification, growth issues, etc.) but the questions were not the right ones for the panel. However, it was nice to meet some new folks and see how they work.
Exploring Chicago’s Art Institute: Part 5
Finished! I have visited all that I can visit at Chicago’s Art Institute. Definitely a museum that needs many days to explore. I now have a decent foundational knowledge of what is on offer and how to navigate the labyrinthian galleries.
Paris Street; Rainy Day – Gustave Caillebotte (1848-1894)
I realize that I am extremely lucky to have this museum on my doorstep (literally a walk of only five minutes from work). A good place to decompress.
Still Life with Dead Game, Fruits and Vegetables in a Market – Frans Snyders (1579-1657)
I will be heading back to look in more detail. The less-visited galleries are fun to walk through, lacking the hustle and bustle mainstay galleries. You also get to see artworks that just look a little strange… Such as “Still Life with Dead Game, Fruits and Vegetables in a Market.” The market trader looks like a precursor to Santa Claus.
Ryerson and Burnham Libraries
- Lower Level
- Photography (1-4, 10) – Visited
- Thorne Miniature Rooms (11) – Visited
- Paperweights (15) – Visited
- Architecture and Design (24) – Visited
- Textiles – Visited
- First Level
- Prints and Drawings (124-127) – Visited
- Indian, Southeast Asian, and Himalayan Art (140-143) – Visited
- Chinese, Japanese, and Korean Art (101–109, 130-135) – Visited
- Indian Art of the Americas (136) – Visited
- African Art – Visited
- American Decorative Arts 1920–1970 (162) – Visited
- Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Art (150-154) – Visited
- American Art before 1900 (161-179) – Visited
- Chagall’s America Windows (144) – Visited
- Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room – Visited
- Ryerson and Burnham Libraries – Visited
- Second Level
- Chicago Architecture (200) – Visited
- European Art before 1900 (201–248) – Visited
- American Folk Art (227) – Visited
- European Decorative Arts (231-234) – Visited
- Arms and Armor (235-237) – Visited
- Renaissance Jewelry (237) – Visited
- Impressionism (225-226, 201, 240-243) – Visited
- American Modern Art 1900-1950 (261-265, 271-273) – Visited
- Special Exhibitions (Regenstein Hall) – Visited
- Modern Wing
- Special Exhibitions (182-184) – Visited
- Photography (188) – Visited
- Film Video and New Media (186) – Visited
- Architecture and Design (283-286) – Visited
- Contemporary Art 1945-1960 (289) – Visited
- Contemporary Art After 1960 (288, 291-299) – Visited
- European Modern Art 1900 – 1950 (389-399) – Visited
- Contemporary Sculpture – Visited
Exploring Chicago’s Art Institute: Part 4
Still working my way through Chicago’s Art Institute. The current status of visited galleries is:
- Lower Level
- Photography (1-4, 10) – Visited
- Thorne Miniature Rooms (11) – Visited
- Paperweights (15) – Visited
- Architecture and Design (24) – Visited
- Textiles – Visited
- First Level
- Prints and Drawings (124-127) – Visited
- Indian, Southeast Asian, and Himalayan Art (140-143) – Visited
- Chinese, Japanese, and Korean Art (101–109, 130-135) – Visited
- Indian Art of the Americas (136) – Visited
- African Art – Visited
- American Decorative Arts 1920–1970 (162) – Visited
- Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Art (150-154) – Visited
- American Art before 1900 (161-179) – Visited
- Chagall’s America Windows (144) – Visited
- Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room – Visited
- Second Level
- Chicago Architecture (200)
- European Art before 1900 (201–248)
- American Folk Art (227) – Visited
- European Decorative Arts (231-234)
- Arms and Armor (235-237) – Visited
- Renaissance Jewelry (237) – Visited
- Impressionism (225-226, 201, 240-243) – Visited
- American Modern Art 1900-1950 (261-265, 271-273) – Visited
- Special Exhibitions (Regenstein Hall) – Visited
Portrait of Jeanne Wenz – Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901)
Only three more areas to explore (Chicago Architecture, European Art before 1900, European Decorative Arts), and then I am done. But not really. I know that the winter months will find me here at lunch, and I will also have to take a deeper look at the various apps that the museum has created.
Head of Pavlova – Malvina Hoffman (1887-1966)
Exploring Chicago’s Art Institute: Part 3
Sculpture Court
The exploration of Chicago’s Art Institute continues. Yesterday, I visited the Sculpture Court and American Art before 1900. That pretty much finished the first level.
The Cafe – Fernand Lungren (1859 – 1932)
This seems (along with textiles) to be one of the quieter parts of the museum. There is plenty of space to take in the art works, and is a good place to decompress when tired of the heaving mob in some of the more highly-trafficked galleries.
The Herring Net – Winslow Homer (1836 – 1910)
- Lower Level
- Photography (1-4, 10) – Visited
- Thorne Miniature Rooms (11) – Visited
- Paperweights (15) – Visited
- Architecture and Design (24) – Visited
- Textiles – Visited
- First Level
- Prints and Drawings (124-127) – Visited
- Indian, Southeast Asian, and Himalayan Art (140-143) – Visited
- Chinese, Japanese, and Korean Art (101–109, 130-135) – Visited
- Indian Art of the Americas (136) – Visited
- African Art – Visited
- American Decorative Arts 1920–1970 (162) – Visited
- Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Art (150-154) – Visited
- American Art before 1900 (161-179) – Visited
- Chagall’s America Windows (144) – Visited
- Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room – Visited
- Second Level
- Chicago Architecture (200)
- European Art before 1900 (201–248)
- American Folk Art (227)
- European Decorative Arts (231-234)
- Arms and Armor (235-237) – Visited
- Renaissance Jewelry (237) – Visited
- Impressionism (225-226, 201, 240-243)
- American Modern Art 1900-1950 (261-265, 271-273)
- Special Exhibitions (Regenstein Hall)
Today, Arms and Armor and Renaissance Jewelry were my galleries of choice on the second level.
Exploring Chicago’s Art Institute: Part 2
What May Come
Continuing my exploration of The Art Institute. Almost finished with the First Level, and wandered about:
- Indian, Southeast Asian, and Himalayan Art
- Prints and Drawings
- Chagall’s America Windows
- Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room
Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room
One more gallery to see on the First Level, and for this I will, see how well the museum’s guidebook apps work.
- Lower Level
- Photography (1-4, 10) – Visited
- Thorne Miniature Rooms (11) – Visited
- Paperweights (15) – Visited
- Architecture and Design (24) – Visited
- First Level
- Prints and Drawings (124-127) – Visited
- Indian, Southeast Asian, and Himalayan Art (140-143) – Visited
- Chinese, Japanese, and Korean Art (101–109, 130-135) – Visited
- Indian Art of the Americas (136) – Visited
- African Art – Visited
- American Decorative Arts 1920–1970 (162)
- Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Art (150-154) – Visited
- American Art before 1900 (161-179)
- Chagall’s America Windows (144) – Visited
- Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room – Visited
- Second Level
- Chicago Architecture (200)
- European Art before 1900 (201–248)
- American Folk Art (227)
- European Decorative Arts (231-234)
- Arms and Armor (235-237)
- Renaissance Jewelry (237)
- Impressionism (225-226, 201, 240-243)
- American Modern Art 1900-1950 (261-265, 271-273)
- Special Exhibitions (Regenstein Hall)
Exploring Chicago’s Art Institute: Part 1
Mother and Child
As mentioned earlier, my mid-year resolution was to properly explore Chicago’s Art Institute. I am slowly making progress. Phase one was the Modern Wing, which I fully explored last week:
- Special Exhibitions (182-184) – Visited
- Photography (188) – Visited
- Film Video and New Media (186) – Visited
- Architecture and Design (283-286) – Visited
- Contemporary Art 1945-1960 (289) – Visited
- Contemporary Art After 1960 (288, 291-299) – Visited
- European Modern Art 1900 – 1950 (389-399) – Visited
- Contemporary Sculpture – Visited
The Eventuality of Destiny
From my perspective, the third-floor gallery “European Modern Art 1900 – 1950” was the one that I enjoyed the most. There is a profusion of art there, but just enough space and light to prevent everything overlapping and distracting. This will probably be the gallery that I return to most.
Clown Torture
Whilst there, I did see a school group (kids about seven or eight years in age) mistake Bruce Nauman’s “Clown Torture” for something they would enjoy. They soon left, with a chastened school guide. Plenty of nightmare material…
Waka onna (young woman) No Mask
This week, I started to work my way through the “non-modern” museum. Visited the lower levels, and started on some of the galleries on the first level:
- Lower Level
- Photography (1-4, 10) – Visited
- Thorne Miniature Rooms (11) – Visited
- Paperweights (15) – Visited
- Architecture and Design (24) – Visited
- First Level
- Prints and Drawings (124-127)
- Indian, Southeast Asian, and Himalayan Art (140-143)
- Chinese, Japanese, and Korean Art (101–109, 130-135) – Visited
- Indian Art of the Americas (136) – Visited
- African Art – Visited
- American Decorative Arts 1920–1970 (162)
- Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Art (150-154)
- American Art before 1900 (161-179)
- Chagall’s America Windows (144)
- Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room
- Second Level
- Chicago Architecture (200)
- European Art before 1900 (201–248)
- American Folk Art (227)
- European Decorative Arts (231-234)
- Arms and Armor (235-237)
- Renaissance Jewelry (237)
- Impressionism (225-226, 201, 240-243)
- American Modern Art 1900-1950 (261-265, 271-273)
- Special Exhibitions (Regenstein Hall)
Mid-Year Resolution: Chicago’s Art Institute
The Modern Wing
My mid-year resolution was to properly explore Chicago’s Art Institute. The museum is only a few blocks from work, so the plan is to visit a gallery a day. This humble plan is a little intimidating, so phase one will be the Modern Wing. The collections there are suitably impressive, but there are fewer galleries to explore.
According to the floor plan my checklist is:
- Special Exhibitions (182-184)
- Photography (188) – Visited
- Film Video and New Media (186)
- Architecture and Design (283-286)
- Contemporary Art 1945-1960 (289)
- Contemporary Art After 1960 (288, 291-299)
- European Modern Art 1900 – 1950 (389-399)
- Contemporary Sculpture
Each day I will visit a new gallery, and take a picture with Instagram of something that takes my fancy.
Today I checked off Photography with a particularly impressive collection of the work of Josef Koudelka, a Czech-born French photographer with amazing pictures of the 1968 invasion of Prague, Gypsies, panoramas of the English-French Channel, and theatre performers.
Rabbits In The Back Garden
http://youtu.be/-WBuQjWIgvM
A doe and her three kits in the back garden. Fun to watch, and I hope they survive. Happy to give up some of the raised bed for them to make it through the spring.
Pedway Exploring: Part 7
Merchandise Mart Station
Monday was the final official day of exploring The Pedway. Now that I have a good grasp of where the underground/overground passages and pathways go, I will be sure to walk The Pedway as part of my regular travels through Chicago – and may discover additional features along the way. I believe there are some segments that are private, connecting buildings and businesses that are no longer open to the general public.
Stairs to Wells Street
I began this leg of the tour by stopping off on the Brown Line at the Merchandise Mart stop. Here the Pedway options are either a staircase to the Wells Street, or an enclosed walkway across the road to Apparel Mart.
The Loop 97.9
The Loop 97.9
I took the enclosed walkway. Walking through Merchandise Mart you pass a hub of fast food options to the north, but more interestingly there are radio stations along the passageway that runs east-west. The Loop 97.9 has its studio here, and you can peer in through the windows.
Bridge Across North Lower Orleans Street to Apparel Mart
A bridge spans North Lower Orleans Street to Apparel Mart, where weary travelers can check-in to Holiday Inn, and where The Chicago Sun-Times has its offices (after vacating the spot where the Trump Tower was built.
Bridge Across North Lower Orleans Street to Apparel Mart
Bridge Across North Lower Orleans Street to Apparel Mart
The bridge has some pleasant views of the river, but unless you live or work in the area there is little reason to venture far to this segment of The Pedway.
Chicago Sun-Times
Well, my little project is over. I am going to revisit my steps over the next couple of weeks and check off the segments based on Will Vaughn’s data:
| Segment ID | Name | Length (ft.) | Visted |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Renassance Hotel Concourse | 1956 | |
| 2 | Aon Center – Fairmont Hotel Walkway | 184 | |
| 3 | Aon Center – Lakeshore Athletic Club Concourse | 538 | |
| 4 | Aon Centre Lobbies | 433 | |
| 5 | Apparel Center Ground Level Walkway | 733 | |
| 6 | Apparel Center Upper Level Walkway | 271 | |
| 7 | Bc / Bs – Monroe Garage & Grant Park Concourse | 1182 | |
| 8 | Chase Tower Ground Level Concourse | 280 | |
| 9 | Chase Tower Lower Level Concourse | 935 | |
| 10 | Chicago Title & Trust Center Walkway | 270 | |
| 11 | City Hall – 120 North Lasalle Walkway | 283 | |
| 12 | City Hall & County – Cultural Center Concourse | 2836 | |
| 13 | City Hall & County – Thompson Center Walkway | 247 | |
| 14 | City Hall & County Building Hallways | 682 | |
| 15 | Daley Plaza – Brunswick Building Concourse | 813 | |
| 16 | Fairmont Hotel – Park Millennium Concourse | 833 | |
| 17 | Garland Court – R.R.Donnelley Walkway | 280 | |
| 18 | Grant Park South Parking Walkway | 921 | |
| 19 | Jackson CTA Subway Station Connector | 852 | |
| 20 | James R. Thompson Center Ground Level Concourse | 928 | |
| 21 | James R. Thompson Center Lower Level Concourse | 779 | |
| 22 | Macy’s – 25 E Washington Concourse | 630 | |
| 23 | Merchandise Mart Ground Level Concourse | 2079 | |
| 24 | Merchandise Mart Upper Level Concourse | 1119 | |
| 25 | Metra Millennium Park Station Concourse | 1660 | |
| 26 | Metra Van Buren Station Walkway | 748 | |
| 27 | Michigan Plaza – Illinois Center Concourse | 920 | |
| 28 | Michigan Plaza Walkway | 691 | |
| 29 | Millennium & N Grant Park Garage Walkway | 1814 | |
| 30 | N Leo Burnett – S Leo Burnett Walkway | 385 | |
| 31 | Ogilvie Ground Level Concourse | 845 | |
| 32 | Ogilvie Metra Station | 1723 | |
| 33 | Ogilvie Upper Level – 2 Riverside Concourse | 927 | |
| 34 | One Illinois Center – Columbus Plaza Concourse | 855 | |
| 35 | One Illinois Center – Two Illinois Center Walkway | 202 | |
| 36 | Prudential Plaza – Aon Centre Concourse | 665 | |
| 37 | Renaissance Hotel Walkway | 276 | |
| 38 | Smurfit Stone Walkway | 90 | |
| 39 | Thompson Center – Concourse At 203 Walkway | 203 | |
| 40 | Three Bank One Plaza – 33 N Dearborn Concourse | 879 | |
| 41 | Three Illinois Center – Swiss Hotel Concourse | 755 | |
| 42 | Two Illinois – Three Illinois Concourse | 990 | |
| 43 | Two Illinois Center – Hyatt Regency Walkway | 201 | |
| 44 | Two Prudential Plaza Concourses | 278 |
For those who want to explore, here are some resources that I picked up along the way: