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“You wake up in Chicago, pull back the curtain, and you KNOW where you are.”
-Anthony Bourdain

It seems appropriate to start this month’s posting by honoring the late chef and adventurer’s love for our great city.

And while construction and content development for the new CAC remain as works in progress, this week literally opens the curtain on programs originating from 111 E. Wacker as July 9 marked the inaugural run of the new “Chicago: City of Architecture” student field trip.

This field trip presents an evolved version of the previous “Student Loop” field trip led by our team of Education Guides. The route and content for the walking tour have been curated and scripted by Gabe Lyon, Angela Esposito, and Rebecca Millham from the CAF Education Department.

The official description of the new field trip is: “Chicago: City of Architecture is a 90-minute walking tour for 4th-8th grade students that explores Chicago’s history though the lens of the city’s architecture. The tour includes visits to iconic structures that showcase why Chicago is the city of architectural innovation and how it has grown into a world-renowned metropolis.”

The goals for the tour are to help students develop visual literacy skills and to use place-based learning to engage our guests in a conversation about the history and importance of our great city.

The itinerary includes seven specific stops and opportunities for conversation:-111 E. Wacker: Overview of why Chicago is considered the City of Architecture and learning how to “read a building.”

-North side of E. Wacker along the River: Brief history of the Chicago River, indigenous communities, early pioneers, Fort Dearborn, and the Michigan Avenue Bridge and their importance in the founding and development of the city.

-London House: Build an appreciation for how the exterior and interior ornamentation of a building tell stories. Discuss how a building’s purpose can change over time; introduce the concept of adaptive reuse.

-Marina City: Further practice on reading a building while discussing Goldberg’s concept of a mixed-use “city within a city”.

-Corner of Wabash & Wacker: Discuss how architecture contributes to the transportation infrastructure that allows a city to work, as we view the El, the river, bridges, upper and lower Wacker, bikeways, sidewalks, and the River Walk.

-Carbide and Carbon Building: Practice reading the art deco ornamentation on the outside and inside of the new St. Jane Hotel while discussing how architects’ decisions and, in this case, city laws, impact the design of a structure.

-Aqua: Build an appreciation for the unique aesthetic and functional features of this spectacular mixed-use building while stressing the importance of equal representation (gender, race, ethnicity, and nationality) in architecture.

A small group of guides has been trained and certified to host the initial “trial runs” of Chicago: City of Architecture, and the full Education Guide team will receive training for the portfolio of new student field trips in August in preparation for the peak Fall season which will debut in sync with the opening date of the CAC.

And speaking of training for all Docents and VEVs, if you haven’t done so already, please sign up now for one of the seven CAC orientation sessions scheduled for July 23-28.

Go Cubs, Bob