River North
River North
Restaurants, bars, and hotels can be found everywhere here. Bounded by Chicago Avenue to the north, Lake Michigan to the east, the Chicago River (not surprisingly) to the south and west, this area has a premier location, and it shows. Many of Chicago's most popular restaurants are in River North, running the gamut in every conceivable size, shape and flavor. The larger, more tourist related bars can be found here as well. Considering these attributes, it's no surprise that hotels are not too hard to find.
There has been a tremendous amount of construction in River North, perhaps even more than the rest of the city. The build up has come in the form of sky-scraping residential buildings, popping up on just about every corner possible. The warehouses that once crowded these streets have given was to stores, banks, and a wide variety of art galleries.
The one-of-a-kind Merchandise Mart, on the north bank of the Chicago River, is an amazing building. Spanning two entire city blocks and offering 4.2 Million square feet of space, this is the world's largest commercial building - large enough to command it's own zip code. Originally owned by Marshall Field and Co. (a landmark Chicago department store, both past and present), it was sold to the Kennedy Family in the 1940's, who held onto it for more than half a century. It continues to draw more than 3,000,000 visitors each year!
Another plan currently in the works is the Trump International Tower of Chicago. Earmarked to occupy the land that the Chicago Sun Times currently has, the Trump project will be a combination of commercial space, hotel rooms and condominiums with jaw-dropping views.
