Chicago Cultural Center

Look up ... off the ground ... or else you might miss something spetacular! This Tiffany mosaic stained glass dome forms the interiors of Chicago's first Public Library ... built in 1897. However as the city grew there was need for a bigger library ... Now this place is renamed as "Chicago Cultural Center" and has offices for the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs. Surprizingly, despite this being in the heart of downtown Chicago, I know of many Chicagoans who have never been to this place. The building has another dome, which is the largest Tiffany dome in the world.

Cloud Gate in Millennium Park, Chicago

Cloud Gate is a public sculpture by Anish Kapoor in Millennium Park, Chicago. The sculpture is shaped like an ellipse, and its legume-like appearance has caused it to be nicknamed “The Bean”. It is made of 168 highly polished stainless steel plates, and stands at 33 feet high, 66 feet long, and 42 feet wide, weighing 110 tons. From a distance it could be mistaken for a huge drop of mercury, while up close its highly reflective surface captures and transforms the skyline, the downtown cityscape and even the passers-by into a wonderfully warped new vista.

The artist, Anish Kapoor, has referred to the sculpture as “a gate to Chicago, a poetic idea about the city it reflects.” The 12-foot underbelly is called the "omphalos" or navel and multiplies reflections in a vortex.