Italian tile hand laid to make the intricate designs that cover most of the buildings lobbies. 

Because of "sinking" of the foundation, parts of the floors became sloped which caused some doorways and walls to crack.

During WW II the theater was converted into a bowling alley for the American soldiers, causing extensive damage to the original seats, floors, and windows. 

Chicago City Life

Chicago skyline. 

Layers and layers of history.

Merchandise Mart. Many old buildings are bought and reused for other purposes instead of being demolished, which saves money, energy and helps maintain culture.

The seven floor Merchandise Mart, now a Macy's department store taking up what feels like an entire square block. 

Deserving Chicago culture. 

Frozen river that cuts downtown Chicago. Moveable bridges were build over this river so that boats could enter but had permanent connections for cars and pedestrians. 

The bottom half of Marine City is parking (since there isn't possiblity of underground parking along the river) for the apartments in the top half of the building, making it sustainable in itself in terms of space. 

Multi purpose constructions. 

Marine City borders right along the river that passes through downtown Chicago.

Because of marshy land and costs, the subway was build above ground, running along the main streets of downtown Chicago. 

Church. 

Louis Sullivan made his mark with his distinctive style during his time which is seen everywhere in downtown Chicago. 

Architecturally mixed styles, view from the John Hancock Center Observatory.  

Stair case inside the Chicago History Museum. 

Beautiful stained glass natural lighting inside the theater of the Chicago Art Museum. 

The historical Van Buren train station.

The system of road cleaning is very establish in Chicago (snow plows, salt trucks, drainage systems), where temperatures can get to -20 C. 

After effects of typical snow storm. 

Evacuation plan. 

New buildings in the suburbs of Chicago. 

Modern solutions to protect against sun, rain and snow. 

The mix of architectural eras in one place is one of the things that makes Chicago's architectural landscape so interesting and astounding. 

Few people can stand the long, frozen Chicago winters.

Modern vertical pattern, typical in Chicago's downtown skyscrapers. 

Shore line architecture.

Interesting fire escape stair well. 

Top apartments of Chicago located on the famous Lake Shore Drive. 

Apartments along Lake Shore Drive with bay windows that overlook Lake Michigan and Navy Pier.

Chicago Ferris Wheel located on the Navy Pier that extends into the frozen coast of Lake Michigan. 

Night view from floor 94 of the John Hancock Center Observatory. 

Night shot of the downtown Chicago grid, almost directly above Michigan Avenue, otherwise known as the famous "Magnificant Mile."

Night shot of west downtown Chicago.

Night view of Lake Shore Drive from the John Hancock Center Observatory. 

Old among the new. After the Great Chicago Fire, it became mandatory to leave space between buildings for fire safety. 

New energy saving buildings bring downtown Chicago up to date with the changing times.