Chicago Theatre, Chicago, Illinois, USA

As we walked along the streets of Chicago by night, we came upon this famous landmark - the neon sign that lights up the Chicago Theatre. It is now a leading venue for concerts, plays, comedy and speeches. Built in 1921, it was the flagship theatre for a chain of over 100 theatres in the Midwestern United States. It was a joint collaboration between Abe and Barney Balaban and Sam and Morris Katz, forming the Balaban and Katz theatre chain. Best viewed by night!

Navy Pier, Chicago, Illinois

The "Windy II" is a boat docked at the Navy Pier in Chicago. It's likely this boat was named after Chicago's nickname of the "Windy City", which has a couple of backstories. The first reason is in relation to the weather and it being very windy, but with some research, I discovered that it was also likely referring to verbose politicians boasting about the city while they were bidding for the World Fair in the 1800's. Because New York was also in the running, a New York newspaper claimed that Chicago was a "windy city" because of all the "wind" coming from the politicians there - this nickname managed to stick. With views of downtown, the Navy Pier was a bustling area complete with rides, bars, restaurants, gift shops, along with the hustle and bustle of tourists and locals alike. The pier opened in 1916 and in 1927 it was renamed to the Navy Pier in honor of World War I veterans. We stayed at the pier until the night and were rewarded with a spectacular fireworks show over Lake Michigan. The city of Chicago was a fun city with activities to do around the clock!