Earth Hour was started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia with great results. Earth Hour 2008 spread to cities all over the world, including Chicago which had impressive results. The Chicagoland region reported an electricity savings of 7% which is the carbon emissions equivalent of taking 1 million cars off the road for one hour or planting 158 acres of trees.
What’s really awesome about this day is that there are a ton of restaurants/bars who are having a special events to coincide with Earth Hour so don’t stay in and wait for the hour to be done with, go out and enjoy it!
Even Google will turn the lights off on their homepage by changing their trademark bright white screen to black in order to save energy on everyone’s computer.
Kristoffer’s Cafe and Bakery has a menu that is already making me regret bringing my lunch to work. I’ve only had their Chocoflan cake which honestly fills you up after only one small piece. But most people, myself included, can’t stop at just the one slice. I’m one of those people who constantly eats to the point of discomfort so of course the same happens when I have the Chocoflan cake in front of me. Kristoffer’s is located at 1733 S. Halsted Street in the Pilsen neighborhood so check them out. Here’s a pic of one of their Tres Leches cakes which comes in a variety of flavors.
To go along with a couple more pictures of the Inland Steel Building from my tour de double decker bus, I figured I could do a little background on the building.
The Inland Steel Building was finished in 1957 and was the first high-rise built in the Loop after the Great Depression. Can you imagine no skyscrapers being built in the Loop for around 20 years? Insane. The building SHOULD be relatively safe from demolition because it was landmarked October 7th, 1998. But, you never know what will happen in Chicago, maybe someone has a bone to pick with the building…
Another picture taken from the double decker bus tour. I would honestly say that the bus tour was well worth the money, even though I can’t remember how much my friends and I actually paid. I’d go again in a heartbeat to tell you the truth.
Now that they’ve renamed the Sears Tower, Willis Tower, I’m pretty sure anyone who gives them as much as a Snickers bar will get naming rights. When was the building’s name supposed to be fully changed?
On the first Thursday of every month at 1215pm, Friends of Downtown holds a brown bag luncheon at the Chicago Cultural Center. Anyone can attend the luncheons and anyone can be a pay for a membership. The topics range from “the new vision for Navy Pier” to the “redevelopment of the old post office.”
Tuesday, March 31st will be the Annual Friends of Downtown Awards Event at the Palmer House Hilton for all members. Everyone will enjoy cocktails and appetizers and a behind the scenes tour of the recently renovated Chicago landmark. Hopefully I’ll remember my camera.
As you may know, the Lincoln Park Zoo is free to all visitors. With a friend visiting and the temperature going above 70 degrees on Tuesday, we had to take advantage of the weather by sporting t-shirts and exploring Chicago.
Wildlife
Not so wild-life
First on the agenda was paying a visit to The Contemporary Art Museum – free (on Tuesdays). We then walked to a bar to grab a green beer to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day – $2.00. Lincoln Park Zoo – free, and finally we went to The House of Blues for a Hollywood Undeadconcert – $22.00. It was a great, and really tiring day.
Last fall, some friends and I decided to be tourists for the day and take a double decker bus tour around Chicago even though all of us had lived in Chicago for some time. Here’s my favorite picture out of the bunch.
Hey guys! Just to let you all know, one of Belgravia Group’s newest developments, Union Row Townhomes, is partnering up with Lush Wine & Spirits to host a monthly wine seminar in our model home. The Union Row model is located at 644 W. 16th Street in Chicago. It’s a lot of fun and you get to eat some good food, drink some awesome wine, and you’ll even get schooled on all things wine.
This month’s complimentary wine seminar will be Thursday, March 26th at 7:00pm. SPREAD THE WORD…INVITE YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY!
A big thanks to Lush Wine & Spirits for their fun and really knowledgable staff. Check out their website for their locations and other info.
This picture was taken between Trump International Hotel & Tower and IBM Building. Crews are working on expanding the Chicago Riverwalk underneath the Michigan Avenue Bridge to make the riverwalk more continuous. The expanded riverwalk is expected to be completed around this June according to a recent Tribune article.
What’s cool about the riverwalk is that there are a couple restaurants that open up as soon as the weather gets warm enough. One restaurant is Cyrano’s Cafe & Wine Bar which seems like it’d be pretty sweet, especially given the location. Enjoy the picture!
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