General Information
about the American Historical Association's
2003 Annual Meeting
Local Arrangements: Historians and Chicago
For the 117th Annual Meeting, the Local Arrangements Committee, co-chaired by Leon Fink, University of Chicago at Illinois, and Ann Durkin Keating, Northern Illinois College, are making plans that will be of special interest to historians. Members should review the November and December issues of Perspectives for several articles, including a list of restaurants in the area of the hotels emphasizing moderate-priced establishments.
If you want to do some advance planning for your Chicago stay, you can check out various aspects of the city and the region at a number of Web sites. Good places to start are http://www.meetinchicago.com offering a variety of information including transportation, special attendee discounts, attractions, restaurants, and more, and the city of Chicago's site at http://www.ci.chi.il.us/Tourism offering an interactive downtown map, a virtual tour of Chicago's world famous architecture, a Chicago neighborhood map and guide, and tours of Chicago's cultural centers. Other Web sites include the Illinois Bureau of Tourism site (http://www.enjoyillinois.com) and Chicago Neighborhood Tours (http://www.chgocitytours.com).
If you prefer visiting the city's attractions on your own, consider CityPass (www.citypass.net). You save 50 percent on admission fees and avoid ticket lines for the city's top attractions, the Art Institute of Chicago, Shedd Aquarium, the Field Museum, Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum, Museum of Science and Industry, and the Hancock Observatory. The packaged price is $39 for adults and $29 for youths aged 3–11. You have nine days to visit each attraction (once) beginning the day you first use your CityPass. You can purchase CityPass at any of the Chicago attractions, or you can buy online. Once you have your CityPass, simply present your booklet on your way into each attraction. The agent will remove that attraction's ticket—they are void if removed by anyone else.
The Chicago Historical Society (CHS) will offer AHA
meeting attendees free admission to its museum. Meeting badges should
be shown to door monitors. Located at 1601 North Clark Street at the corner
of Clark and North Avenue, the CHS is a privately endowed, independent
institution devoted to collecting, interpreting, and presenting the multicultural
history of Chicago and Illinois, as well as selected areas of American
history. For further information, call (312) 642-4600. Visit the Web site
at http://www.chicagohs.org for
information on collections, exhibitions, programs, and events.
The CHS is open Monday through Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and
Sundays from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The CHS Research Center is open Tuesday
through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. If traveling by car, take
Lake Shore Drive or the Kennedy Expressway (I-90/94) to the North Avenue
exit. The CHS is just north of North Avenue on Clark Street. Public parking
is located one block north at Clark and LaSalle Streets; enter on Stockton
Drive. Handicapped parking is available upon request. CHS is also easy
to reach by public transit. CTA bus numbers 11, 22, 36, 72, 151, and 156
stop nearby.
The Newberry Library invites annual meeting attendees
to visit the Library while in Chicago. The Library is located at 60 West
Walton Street between Clark and Dearborn, three blocks west of Michigan
Avenue. The Newberry is an independent research library concentrating
in the humanities with an active educational and cultural presence in
Chicago. Privately funded, but free and open to the public, it houses
an extensive non-circulating collection of rare books, maps, and manuscripts.
For more information on the Library's programs for scholars and teachers,
collections, and events, visit its Web site at http://www.newberry.org.
The Newberry offers free tours on Thursdays at 3:00 p.m. and Saturdays
at 10:30 a.m. General hours for the reading rooms, reference, and the
bibliographical center are Tuesday through Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to
6:00 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. If traveling
by car, take the Ohio East exit off the Kennedy Expressway. Follow Ohio
East about one mile to Dearborn, turn left onto Dearborn, and go north
to Walton. The Library will be on the left. If approaching from Lake Shore
Drive, exit at LaSalle Drive and follow it to Clark Street, turn left
onto Clark, and go south past Division to Walton. The Library will be
on the left. Public transit is also convenient. The Clark Street No. 22
bus has an exit at the door of the Library coming north from the Loop,
or on the west side of the Library if coming south. If using the "El"
or subway, take the Howard/Dan Ryan line to the Clark and Division stop.
Walk three blocks south on Clark and the Library will be on the left.
Chicago's Musuem Campus (http://www.museumcampus.org) is a 57-acre lakefront park that connects the Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum, the Field Museum, and the Shedd Aquarium. The campus grounds feature terraced gardens and broad walkways and include a collection of world-class modern and historic sculptures. In January, the Museum Campus free trolley will operate Saturday and Sunday with service from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The city of Chicago also has a free trolley service operating to the Museum Campus Saturdays and Sundays; for information, call (877) 244-2246 or visit the city of Chicago's Web site at http://www.ci.chi.il.us/Transportation).
Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum (http://www.adler planetarium.org; (312) 922-7827), 1300 South Lake Shore Drive. The Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum is the first planetarium in the Western Hemisphere. Its astronomy programs have reached over 35 million people during the past 72 years. Nine state-of-the-art exhibition galleries located in the new and the recently renovated landmark 1930s building present modern space exploration along with the history of astronomy. The world's first StarRider Theater, the most technologically advanced, audience-interactive planetarium, provides visitors with virtual flights through the cosmos. Open daily. Admission: adults $13, children (ages 4 to 17) $11, and seniors (65 and over) $12. The Adler Web site lists its events and special exhibits.
Field Museum of Natural History (http://www.fmnh.org; (312) 922-9410), 1400 South Lake Shore Drive. The Field Museum was founded to house the biological and anthropological collections assembled for the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893. These objects form the core of the Museum's collections which have grown through world-wide expeditions, exchange, purchase, and gifts to more than twenty million specimens. Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily. Admission: adults $8, children (ages 3 to 11) $4, seniors and students with ID $4. The musuem has free basic admission on Mondays and Tuesdays in January.
John G. Shedd Aquarium (http://www.sheddaquarium.org; (312) 939-2438), 1200 South Lake Shore Drive. The Shedd Aquarium is the world's largest indoor aquarium. The facility houses nearly 8,000 aquatic animals representing more than 650 species of fishes, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates, birds, and mammals from waters around the world. Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. weekdays, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. weekends. Admission: adults $15, children and seniors $11.
Other museums and attractions of interest:
Art Institute of Chicago (http://www.artic.edu; (312) 443-3600), located at 111 South Michigan Avenue, houses more than 300,000 works of art within its ten curatorial departments. Among its great treasures are the legendary masterpieces A Sunday Afternoon on La Grand Jatte—1884 by Georges Seurat, American Gothic by Grant Wood, Nighthawks by Edward Hopper, and thirty-three paintings by Claude Monet. Admission is free on Tuesdays; on other days, visitors pay what they wish but must pay something. Recommended admissions for nonmembers are adults, $10; children, students, and seniors (over 55), $6. Children five and under are free.
Museum of Science and Industry (http://www.msichicago.org; (773) 684-1414), 57th Street and Lake Shore Drive. The museum opened in 1933, the oldest science museum of its kind in the Western Hemisphere. It is the first museum in North America to develop the idea of hands-on, interactive exhibits and the first to have participation of industry in its exhibits. The musuem has over 800 exhibits and over 2,000 interactive units located in more than 350,000 square feet of exhibit space. Hours: 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily. Admission: adults $9, children (3 to 11) $5, senior (65 and up) $7.50. Admission is free on Mondays and Tuesdays in January.
Hancock Observatory (http://www.hancock-observatory.com; (312) 751-3681), 875 North Michigan Avenue. The Hancock Observatory is 94 stories above street level with views spanning 80 miles and four states. Visitors can step out on Skywalk, Chicago's highest open-air viewing deck, 1,000 feet above the city. The observatory offers interactive city tours, "talking" telescopes, and an 80-foot long history wall. Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. daily, with last ticket sold at 10:45 p.m. Admission: adults $9.50, children (5 to 12) $6, and seniors (62 and up) $7.50.
Sears Tower Skydeck (http://www.sears-tower.com; http://www.the-skydeck.com; (312) 875-9696), 233 South Wacker Drive. The Sears Tower Skydeck offers a view from the tallest building in the world with the Skydeck 1,353 feet above the ground. The tower opened in 1973, taking three years to build. On a clear day, you can see four states—Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Michigan—with visibility approximately 40 to 50 miles. The Skydeck has new interactive displays. Hours: 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. daily. Admission: adult $9.50, children (3 to 11) $6.75, and senior (65 and up) $7.75.
2003
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