Chicago River boat tours come to life with this guide to the city’s evolution from prairie outpost to vibrant world-class metropolis. The book details Chicago’s spectacular architecture, which offers a breathtaking display of imagination, innovation, diversity, and harmony on a grand scale. It shows unencumbered views of the achievements of renown visionaries in a city that rose from its own ashes to become a showcase of style and engineering feats.
See Chicago s Gems on Their Flowing Necklace
For millions of admirers every year, Chicago's spectacular architecture offers a breathtaking display of imagination, innovation, diversity, and harmony on a grand scale. With so much to see, what's the best way to experience the magnificence of the metropolis that rose from its own ashes to become a showcase of style and engineering feats?
Treat yourself to a ride on a Chicago River tour boat, and you'll enjoy unencumbered views of the achievements of world-renown visionaries who guided the city's evolution from prairie outpost to prominent contender to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. For 73 years, family-owned Wendella, the "granddaddy" of all Chicago boat companies, has provided a unique perspective on the architectural jewels gracing the Chicago River. Now there's a handy guide you can take along as a quick reference and as a souvenir of your excursion.
The Chicago River Architecture Tour by Phyllis J. Kozlowski, Ph.D. is a pocket-size book designed to help you capture highlights on your sightseeing trip. Filled with photographs, brief descriptions of buildings and their historical significance, and biographical notes on the architects and engineers behind the city's ongoing metamorphosis, this indispensable volume even includes space for your own comments.
Points of interest include:
--A timeline of Chicago's architectural heritage from the city's rebirth after the Great Fire of 1871 to its international reputation for architectural excellence.
--An informative overview of the styles and creative minds that have defined Chicago's stunning structures and environments, including Frank Lloyd Wright and the Prairie School, Art Deco, Mies van der Rohe's "less is more" International style, and Post-modern eclecticism.
--Photos and descriptions of 73 tour highlights, emphasizing classic and modern grandeur, thrilling ingenuity, and the graceful philosophy of "contextualism" that reflects and respects the environment.
--A history of Wendella Boats and its premier status in the tour industry--thanks to the efforts of the Borgstrom family, who have kept the business rolling on the Chicago River for 3 generations.
--Suggestions for other fun things to do on Michigan Avenue and additional reading.
Enhance the exhilaration of a Chicago River architecture tour with a compact reference that spotlights Chicago's most visible treasures and lets you record your own notes and impressions for a customized keepsake.
Phyllis J. Kozlowski, PhD, is the director of education and guest services at Wendella Boats, which as been providing tours on Lake Michigan and the Chicago River since 1935. For more than 20 years, she has led groups on Chicago River architecture tours for the Chicago Architecture Foundation and for a number of tour companies. She is a former chairperson of the fine arts and humanities department at Moraine Valley Community College, a watercolorist, and a traveler. She lives in Chicago.
Phyllis J. Kozlowski, Ph.D., is a native Chicagoan who grew up in the Back of the Yards neighborhood. She has always had a passion for the city and its architecture, and has lectured and escorted tour groups for years. For more than 20 years, she has led groups on Chicago River architecture tours for the Chicago Architecture Foundation and for a number of tour companies that operate boats on the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. In addition to escorting local groups, she has accompanied tours to more than 35 countries.
Retired as Chairman of the Fine Arts and Humanities Department at Moraine Valley Community College, she is currently the Director of Education and Guest Services at Wendella Boats, which as been providing tours on the lake and river since 1935.
With a Ph.D. from the Ohio State University in art education, Dr. Kozlowski continues to serve as an adjunct faculty member in DePaul University's School for New Learning, where she teaches a course called "Chicago: Emergence of a Metropolis," and at Elmhurst College, where she teaches art and architecture history. When not giving tours of Chicago, she exhibits as a watercolorist and continues to travel extensively.
