हैप्पी न्यू एअर 2008

When the clock strikes twelve on December 31st, people all over the world cheer and wish each other a very Happy New Year.

For some, this event is no more than a change of a calendar. For others, the New Year symbolizes the beginning of a better tomorrow.

So, if you look forward to a good year ahead, spread happiness with these wonderful New Year wishes.

Chicago River

Chicago River is the only river in the world that flows backwards ... It's an ENGINEERING MARVEL ... [btw the colour of water is indeed green]

Before 1900, the river flowed into Lake Michigan ... but ... Since 1900, the flow of the river has been reversed and now ... Chicago River begins from Lake Michigan and empties into the Mississippi River System.

WHY??? This growth was of the city was accompanied by real costs in terms of pollution ... as large amounts of industrial wastes and domestic garbage was dumped into the river. It often resulted in deadly water-borne epidemics like cholera, typhoid and other diseases. In 1889, The "Sanitary District of Chicago" was created to find a solution to these problems. It planned to reverse the river's flow ... to change it from emptying into Lake Michigan to emptying into Mississippi River System. On Jan.16, 1900; the job was accomplished.

Now River Chicago is the only river in the world that flows backwards. This engineering feat has been compared to the building of Panama Canal. A 28 mile canal has been built from which more earth and rocks has been removed than from the Panama project. There are 52 movable bridges, one of the highest in the world!!!

Harry Caray's restaurant –“Holy Cow”

Talk about diverse architectural styles ... This is Harry Caray's restaurant –“Holy Cow” ... It’s famous for classic Italian cuisine.

It's designated a Chicago Landmark building, one of the last remaining examples of "Dutch Renaissance" architecture ...

It was built in 1895, nationally renowned architect Henry Ives Cobb ...

Distinguishing features are stepped gable, steeply pitched tiled roof and contrasting red brick and light stone masonry. The building was originally constructed as a distribution plant for the products of "Chicago Varnish Company".

The company produced glosses for railroad equipment, coaches, carriages, pianos, and furniture in its nearby factory ... However now it's a restaurant...

The Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art

The Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art located on the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus in Minneapolis, Minnesota has been a teaching museum for the university since 1934. The museum's current building, designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry, was completed in 1993.

It is one of the major landmarks on campus, situated on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River at the east end of the Washington Avenue Bridge. The building presents two faces, depending on which side it is viewed from. From the campus side, it presents a brick facade that blends with the existing brick and sandstone buildings. On the opposite side, the museum is a playground of curving and angular sandblaster steel sheets.

The most stunning views of the building are from the pedestrian and highway decks of the adjacent bridge. Some locals critical of the radical architectural style frequently point out that the building's design could unexpectedly reflect the light of the sun into the eyes of motorists on the bridge. Studies commissioned by MNDOT have found that the museum is not hazardous to motorists.

Often called a "modern art museum," the 20,000+ image collection has large collections of Marsden Hartley, Alfred Maurer, Charles Biederman, Native American Mimbres culture pottery, and Korean furniture.

McCormick Freedom Museum

Here's full view of the two storied sculpture at McCormick Freedom Museum...

One fundamental question that was a theme at the museum was ... "What does freedom mean to you?"

Visitors have the opportunity to enter the recording booth and record their own views about freedom ... and also have a chance to listen to what other visitors have to say!

BP Bridge

BP Bridge is a 925-foot long and winding pedestrian bridge, designed by Architect is the world renowned Frank Gehry, who also designed the Pritzker Pavilion as shown in the first image.

The pedestrian bridge connects two parks, The Millennium park and the Daley Bicentennial Plaza, It gives visual continuity to the Pritzker Pavilion and also works as an acoustic barrier to the noise coming from the traffic for the musical performances here.

Millennium Park is a prominent civic center of the City of Chicago in Illinois and an important landmark of the city's lakefront. A redeveloped section of Grant Park, the 24.5 acre (101,000 m²) landmark is bounded by Michigan Avenue and its Chicago Landmark Historic Michigan Boulevard District, East Randolph Street, Columbus Drive and East Monroe Drive.

It was Mayor of Chicago Richard M. Daley's ambitious idea to realize that which was originally designed as part of Daniel Burnham's Plan of Chicago, a plan for the future of Chicago created in 1909. It is historically the site of the Chicago Cubs' (then known as the White Stockings) first home field in 1871, Union Base-Ball Grounds.

The Milwaukee Art Museum

The Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM) is located on Lake Michigan in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The museum's history began in 1888 when the Milwaukee Art Association was created by a group of German panorama artists and local businessmen; its first home was the Layton Art Gallery.



In the early 1900s the Milwaukee Art Institute was founded. Alfred George Pelikan, who received his Masters in Fine Arts (MFA) from Columbia University, was the Director of the Milwaukee Art Institute from 1926 to 1942.



The Milwaukee Art Center (now the MAM) was formed when the Milwaukee Art Institute and Layton Art Gallery merged their collections in 1957.

Lincoln Gallery

Lincoln Gallery The modern and contemporary art collection is located in the Lincoln Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

The Denver Art Museum

The Denver Art Museum is an art museum in Denver, Colorado located in Denver's Civic Center. It is known for its collection of American Indian art, and has a comprehensive collection numbering more than 55,000 works from across the world.