Mother Temple of the West

About 14 miles north of a Chicago, at the northern most end of "L" ( the metro line) lies a small and picturesque village, Willment. Its considered as a bedroom community along the shores of Lake Michigan with tree lined avenues and beautiful buildings.

One particular building stands out, and has been the reason for spreading the fame of Willmet across the seas - "The Bahai House of Worship". Nick named as the "Mother Temple of the North", it is the largest and the oldest surviving Bahai temple in the world.

Completed in 1953 in Portland cement concrete by architect Louis Bourgeois, it has become a prominent Chicago landmark and is considered as one of the seven wonders of Illinois.


The only decorative art in the building is designs made my intersecting lines, there are no images of peoples or places. As all Bahai temples, there are nine entrances marked by nine versus above the doors.

In the Linden avenue, the road in which the Bahai temple is situated, there is a golf course and some of the most beautiful houses that i have ever seen..

Linden avenue

As white as SNOW !!!!

This morning I opened the door of my condo into one of the most beautiful sites I have ever seen... it was snowing from last evening, but looked very different in the dark. Today under the sunlight it just looked awesome!!! every single thing was covered with two or three inches of thick white snow, a site i had seen only in the movies...

But all the excitement just vanished when i saw my car, there lay my PT Cruiser all covered in snow so much so that i could barely recognize it :-(


It took about 40 minutes of toil, in that freezing cold, to bring my guy back into a motor able state.. by that time i had missed my 10 'o' clock meeting :-(

The Magnificent Mile

The Magnificent Mile is a portion of Michagan Avenue in Chicago, extending from the Chicago river upto to Oak street. Many of the major land marks of the city, including the Water Tower, Tribune tower and Wringley building are located along this mile. Known for its nightlife and the upmarket shopping centers, magnificent mile is the "Champs-Élysées" of Chicago.



During the holiday season (Thanks Giving to New Year) the magnificent mile is illuminated completely with decorative lights.


The Saturday before thanks giving marks the formal start of the holiday season here in Chicago. That evening there would be a grand light parade and fireworks show all along the Magnificent Mile. All the major Walt Disney characters would be part of the show, here its mickey mouse near a model of the Water Tower. The day is celebrated as the Lights Festival.

The Water Tower and The Chicago Avenue Pumping Station (below) are two buildings that survived the the Great Chicago fire of 1872. Now they have grown into being the symbols of the city. They stand majestically amidst the surrounding skyscrapers at the point where Michigan avenue meets Chicago avenue.


The Tribune Tower, home of the Chicago Tribune and The Tribune Company, is located at the Michigan avenue just besides the pioneer court. It was built in 1925 in Gothic style by New York architects John Howells and Raymond Hood.

Colonel McCormick, the owner of the Tribune, had this crazy idea and asked his correspondents to bring in stones from different parts of the world so that they can be displayed with labels in the walls of the tower. You can see stones from different sites like Taj Mahal, Great Wall of China, Great pyramid all around the walls (below) click on the image to expand..


The statue of Nathan Hale(above), an American patriot of the revolutionary war in-front of the tribune tower.

The grant Gothic style entrance of tribune tower lobby(below), resembles the entrances to great cathedrals of Europe..


The Wrigley Building (above), the head quarters of the Wrigley company, stands directly opposite to the tribune tower across the Michigan avenue. It was the first air-conditioned building of Chicago.


"Defense, Regeneration, The Pioneers, and The Discoverers" by James Earle Fraser and Henry Hering, is displayed on the four pillars of the Michigan Avenue bridge over Chicago river. (only two are shown here)



The sculpture "King Lear" by J. Steward Johnson at the pioneer court in Michigan avenue.


Chicago is bidding for the summer Olympics of 2016, flags marking the Olympic bid flutters over the Michigan avenue bridge with Tribune tower and Wrigley building in tha background.


The Chicago river as seen from the Michigan Avenue bridge, just before its merges into the Michigan lake.. Sheraton Hotel is seen on the left.

The Windy city

I landed in Chicago at a very wrong time, the fall had ended and winter had just crept in. It was cold and it was gloomy. The mercury was always around zero and the winds blew steadily, befetting the "Windy City".
But the weather Gods seemed to be kind on me. There were a couple of sunny days (by chicagoland standards) which i utilized to the maximum, went around the city and clicked pictures of what ever i could see around..

First lets try gather some GK about this place.. :-)

Chicago, the third most populous city in the United States, is located on the banks of Lake Michigan in the central american state of Illinois. The city was developed in an around the Chicago River in the early part of 19th century. Chicago river flows right through the heart of the metropolis, finally emptying itself into the Lake Michigan, forming the biggest natural harbour of the lake. The city falls under the Central Time zone, which is 11.30 hrs behind IST.

A large part of the city including the entire central buisiness district was destroyed in the great chicago fire of 1871. The Water Tower and the Chicago Avenue Pumping station being the only survivors of that fire. The city is home for many sky scrappers including the Sears Tower, which was the tallest building in the world for a long time. The Tribune Tower, Wringley Buiding and John Hancock Center being some of the other prominent land marks.

Chicago is considered to be a major railway hub of the united states, and caters to a large portion of country's frieght transportation. The city also has two airports with daily connections to all major cities of the world.

I could draw parallels between Chicago and Paris, the other world city which i have been to. Both the cities have very efficent transport systems with metros, buses and suburban trains. Both the cities boast of a main shopping avenue where all the glamour and night life is concentrated on. Many historical buidings in chicago resembles the ones in paris, though not as old and plentiful. Chicago like Paris, is also known for its theaters and performing arts.

The down town of Chicago is called as "The Loop". The term actually refers to an area bounded by a public transit circuit along Lake Street on the north, Wabash Avenue on the east, Van Buren Street on the south, and Wells Street on the west, but in general use it refers to the whole central business district.