The Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater for Music and Dance is Chicago’s primary residence for music and dance, connecting diverse audiences with outstanding artists from across the city, the nation, and the world.

Chicago has great brutalist architecture but this is one I pass by all the time. It has been burned into my mind and I'm pretty sure it can fly.

The South Gardens at the AIC are magical––go in the middle of the summer when the whole gardens are lush, the flower pots are overflowing, and the leaves have came in on all the trees to form a sun-dappled canopy. Make sure to look at the Fountain of the Great Lakes––each woman in it personifies one of the Great Lakes of the region, and when the water is turned on, their seashell basins flow into one another in the same direction of the real lakes.

The best new/used bookstore in Chicago––and with every sale, they put money towards buying books for classrooms in the neighborhood schools. Great selection, well organized, helpful staff, and they hold occasional events where they'll stay open late.

I am lucky enough to have one of the five Great Lakes of North America right in my backyard. How cool is that?