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I just read that tourism is better than ever here so why put up an eyesore
According to the articles I read, international tourism is down in Chicago. Also, wouldn't lighted cable cars along the river be the opposite of an eyesore?
According to the articles I read, international tourism is down in Chicago. Also, wouldn't lighted cable cars along the river be the opposite of an eyesore?
I read tourism is up but maybe they meant nationally only. To me those things would look silly in Chicago but that is just my opinion
I'd say no matter the negatives of City politics and the state in pension debt and schools etc.? The choices made to improve Chicago's Core in Aesthetics and infrastructure and adding new attractions TOURIST DRAW TOO. Planning and the RESULTS look AWESOME. NYC is NYC ..... but no other downtown and Core neighborhoods? Can boast soooooo many GREAT CHOICES Made that no matter what politics bashing and corruption claimed? Chicago's Core is a HUGE success.
Results of a clean, green and standout Loop and all the CBD from Navy Pier in the 80s Millennium Park of the 2000s, this decade Maggie Daley Park, Skateboard area and the ongoing RiverWalk.... with always improving the Lakefront and maintaining all that is built then.
There is a reason Chicago can claim the BEST CORE AND DOWNTOWN IN THE NATION.
As for a Gondola ride of some kind UPON the river? Yeah, ON it a gondola boat maybe. Not over it ... as it isn't wide enough. I'd say this flyway gondola concept ONLY could be a stretch from Navy Pier.... to above the smaller green lighthouse near the Old Yacht club building maybe? Out far enough perhaps?
Perhaps a thread seeking what Choices or Changes done in the Core or Lakefront was .... NOT ultimately a success as in a fail? Might be a good title for a thread? I can't think of any I'd call a fail? Realizing the State St mall concept of the 80s 90s was. But it surely was corrected.
Navy Pier, Millennium/Maggie Daley Parks and ongoing RiverWalk have been some Great Choices in adding to Chicago's high tourist favorability.... that the city got built. But winters don't help these kinds. But who would say their value today was a fail? Even those who planned Lakeshore East. Such a great addition to the skyline once called too dense. Seems like it worked well as its completion is near as the final 4 lots to have a skyscrapers has been proposed with a 80-story tower and 50. https://chicago.curbed.com/2017/7/11...-towers-hotels Who would call that a fail over 50-years?
Drone video on awesome day. Might have been edited better but still awesome to showcase part of the lakefront.
I'd say no matter the negatives of City politics and the state in pension debt and schools etc.? The choices made to improve Chicago's Core in Aesthetics and infrastructure and adding new attractions TOURIST DRAW TOO. Planning and the RESULTS look AWESOME. NYC is NYC ..... but no other downtown and Core neighborhoods? Can boast soooooo many GREAT CHOICES Made that no matter what politics bashing and corruption claimed? Chicago's Core is a HUGE success.
Results of a clean, green and standout Loop and all the CBD from Navy Pier in the 80s Millennium Park of the 2000s, this decade Maggie Daley Park, Skateboard area and the ongoing RiverWalk.... with always improving the Lakefront and maintaining all that is built then.
There is a reason Chicago can claim the BEST CORE AND DOWNTOWN IN THE NATION.
As for a Gondola ride of some kind UPON the river? Yeah, ON it a gondola boat maybe. Not over it ... as it isn't wide enough. I'd say this flyway gondola concept ONLY could be a stretch from Navy Pier.... to above the smaller green lighthouse near the Old Yacht club building maybe? Out far enough perhaps?
Perhaps a thread seeking what Choices or Changes done in the Core or Lakefront was .... NOT ultimately a success as in a fail? Might be a good title for a thread? I can't think of any I'd call a fail? Realizing the State St mall concept of the 80s 90s was. But it surely was corrected.
Navy Pier, Millennium/Maggie Daley Parks and ongoing RiverWalk have been some Great Choices in adding to Chicago's high tourist favorability.... that the city got built. But winters don't help these kinds. But who would say their value today was a fail? Even those who planned Lakeshore East. Such a great addition to the skyline once called too dense. Seems like it worked well as its completion is near as the final 4 lots to have a skyscrapers has been proposed with a 80-story tower and 50. https://chicago.curbed.com/2017/7/11...-towers-hotels Who would call that a fail over 50-years?
Drone video on awesome day. Might have been edited better but still awesome to showcase part of the lakefront.
Chicago is a nice city but it all breaks down like this:
The Chicago metro area has a huge number of people, so of course the majority will travel to the near by city of Chicago when visiting a city instead of driving further to a lesser city in Detroit, Indy or Milwaukee. However, their attempts at improving Chicago's existing good features (lakefront, parks, river walk, skyline, pier) hasn't and is not going to draw significantly more international tourism. In order to meet that goal they will need to come up with something(s) huge, exciting, extraordinary and/or fairly original/unique.
I'd say no matter the negatives of City politics and the state in pension debt and schools etc.? The choices made to improve Chicago's Core in Aesthetics and infrastructure and adding new attractions TOURIST DRAW TOO. Planning and the RESULTS look AWESOME. NYC is NYC ..... but no other downtown and Core neighborhoods? Can boast soooooo many GREAT CHOICES Made that no matter what politics bashing and corruption claimed? Chicago's Core is a HUGE success.
Results of a clean, green and standout Loop and all the CBD from Navy Pier in the 80s Millennium Park of the 2000s, this decade Maggie Daley Park, Skateboard area and the ongoing RiverWalk.... with always improving the Lakefront and maintaining all that is built then.
There is a reason Chicago can claim the BEST CORE AND DOWNTOWN IN THE NATION.
As for a Gondola ride of some kind UPON the river? Yeah, ON it a gondola boat maybe. Not over it ... as it isn't wide enough. I'd say this flyway gondola concept ONLY could be a stretch from Navy Pier.... to above the smaller green lighthouse near the Old Yacht club building maybe? Out far enough perhaps?
Perhaps a thread seeking what Choices or Changes done in the Core or Lakefront was .... NOT ultimately a success as in a fail? Might be a good title for a thread? I can't think of any I'd call a fail? Realizing the State St mall concept of the 80s 90s was. But it surely was corrected.
Navy Pier, Millennium/Maggie Daley Parks and ongoing RiverWalk have been some Great Choices in adding to Chicago's high tourist favorability.... that the city got built. But winters don't help these kinds. But who would say their value today was a fail? Even those who planned Lakeshore East. Such a great addition to the skyline once called too dense. Seems like it worked well as its completion is near as the final 4 lots to have a skyscrapers has been proposed with a 80-story tower and 50. https://chicago.curbed.com/2017/7/11...-towers-hotels Who would call that a fail over 50-years?
Drone video on awesome day. Might have been edited better but still awesome to showcase part of the lakefront.
I'd say no matter the negatives of City politics and the state in pension debt and schools etc.? The choices made to improve Chicago's Core in Aesthetics and infrastructure and adding new attractions TOURIST DRAW TOO. Planning and the RESULTS look AWESOME. NYC is NYC ..... but no other downtown and Core neighborhoods? Can boast soooooo many GREAT CHOICES Made that no matter what politics bashing and corruption claimed? Chicago's Core is a HUGE success.
Results of a clean, green and standout Loop and all the CBD from Navy Pier in the 80s Millennium Park of the 2000s, this decade Maggie Daley Park, Skateboard area and the ongoing RiverWalk.... with always improving the Lakefront and maintaining all that is built then.
There is a reason Chicago can claim the BEST CORE AND DOWNTOWN IN THE NATION.
As for a Gondola ride of some kind UPON the river? Yeah, ON it a gondola boat maybe. Not over it ... as it isn't wide enough. I'd say this flyway gondola concept ONLY could be a stretch from Navy Pier.... to above the smaller green lighthouse near the Old Yacht club building maybe? Out far enough perhaps?
Perhaps a thread seeking what Choices or Changes done in the Core or Lakefront was .... NOT ultimately a success as in a fail? Might be a good title for a thread? I can't think of any I'd call a fail? Realizing the State St mall concept of the 80s 90s was. But it surely was corrected.
Navy Pier, Millennium/Maggie Daley Parks and ongoing RiverWalk have been some Great Choices in adding to Chicago's high tourist favorability.... that the city got built. But winters don't help these kinds. But who would say their value today was a fail? Even those who planned Lakeshore East. Such a great addition to the skyline once called too dense. Seems like it worked well as its completion is near as the final 4 lots to have a skyscrapers has been proposed with a 80-story tower and 50. https://chicago.curbed.com/2017/7/11...-towers-hotels Who would call that a fail over 50-years?
Drone video on awesome day. Might have been edited better but still awesome to showcase part of the lakefront.
Agree, the gondola idea seems a bit like schtick and kitsch and reeks of trying too hard. It might be somewhat fun to ride, but it's not as substantial and foundational as the other items you mention (riverwalk, Navy Pier, Millenium Park, etc.).
What's that, an industrial area they put it in? Lol
That gondola (the Emirates line) runs from Greenwich Peninsula (where the o2 Arena is. That's the thing that looks like a giant tent in the background) to the Royal Docks (and they are called that because they were named for kings and queens, not because the royals owned them). That was all shipping and industrial space historically. A lot of that dock space has been massively redeveloped, such as the Canary Wharf area you see in the background beyond the o2. It is full of modern skyscrapers among the tallest in Europe.
So yes, some of that area is light industrial, but that picture is a tad bit misleading.
Agree, the gondola idea seems a bit like schtick and kitsch and reeks of trying too hard. It might be somewhat fun to ride, but it's not as substantial and foundational as the other items you mention (riverwalk, Navy Pier, Millenium Park, etc.).
I agree: a gondola is too touristy and has an "amusement park ride" feel to it. I'm aware that they can be a viable transit service, but today, people associate them with amusement parks, not public transit. Due to technical limitations, the cable mechanism can't run fast enough for it to be an effective means of transportation. So it won't do much good, except for tourists looking for "something Chicago" (on par with Navy Pier or Sears Tower), and maybe suburbanites looking to do something on a Saturday night. Not to mention, land is required to build pylons to support the gondola cables; that and utility buildings. And land to build all that isn't cheap or plentiful in downtown.
If city planners want to create something iconic, then how about expanding the Chicago Water Taxi service? It doesn't require much construction: glaciers did it for free 20,000 years ago. It doesn't require much land: just the docks at appropriate intervals. It's doesn't require much investment: most infrastructure and rolling stock is already in place. If the CWT can be reclassified as a water-operated city bus, like Venice's vaporetto---rather than a quasi-touristy service---it can benefit tourists, weekend visitors, and daily commuters, all on an equal basis. It can even operate all along the lakefront, taking the pressure off Lake Shore Drive and the Red Line. I'm aware that this will be a three-season thing, but gondolas will probably be too.
According to the articles I read, international tourism is down in Chicago. Also, wouldn't lighted cable cars along the river be the opposite of an eyesore?
International tourism was down 3%, which was attributed to fewer visitors from Brazil and many European countries because of unfavorable exchange rates for those areas, and they tend to be areas that had sent a lot of people to Chicago.
Domestic tourism here has been booming very quickly the past few years.
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