“The wonderful group of buildings, with their marvelous, beautiful surroundings of land and water, created as if by magic, cannot adequately be described or portrayed by either pen or pencil. The eminent architects and artists to whom all this is due laid under tribute the traditions and models of historic art, and all the ripe experience of the distant and the past were combined with the present to form the most beautiful and remarkable collection of architectural monuments that this world has ever witnessed.”
—Charles S. Smith, president of the New York Chamber of Commerce
I love this quotation and holds true for the architecture of Chicago as I came to know it. These wonderful photos come from Martin Spicuzza who posts on a Facebook Page I follow: Original Chicago. Chicago architecture serves as a backdrop for writing Mainstreetrockymount.com. I grew up listening to my parents sing from the backseat of the car, headed down the Outer Drive into Chicago, looking out the window at the magnificent architecture. The East Lincoln Park neighborhood is 13 hr 45 min (870.3 mi) via I-77 N from where I sit today, but learning the Main Street language can be taught with no words and photographs. Architecture is addictive, be warned. Let’s stroll the neighborhoods without the hassle of catching an airplane, or spending one dime. Take in the beauty and versatility of sticks and stones. Educate your eye and heart, fall in love, and you will see Rocky Mount with new eyes. The preservation of our residential homes is imperative.
This picturesque neighborhood has one of the country’s oldest free zoos. When I was growing up children were allowed to walk alone. I did just that from the Lincoln Park Gun Club, where my folks shot skeet, along the lakefront, through a tunnel that took me under the Outer Drive and into the zoo. It was like a girl scout badge that I became old enough to earn. That and the first time I finished a whole plate of spaghetti in the little neighborhood Italian restaurants my folks loved. The waiters clapped for this accomplishment. How thankful I am for this rich experience growing up on Chicago architecture. (Below is a view from the zoo)
Main Street Rocky Mount 
We lived in a northern suburb of Chicago, Lake Bluff, back in 1953-58, We moved to Durham for two years while Dad taught at Duke, then to Rocky Mount in 1960 for NC Wesleyan. While in Illinois, we visited the Lincoln Park Zoo many times as well as the Museum of Natural History and the Museum of Science and Industry. Lake Bluff had a number of beautifully designed homes, but one I never got to see due to an earlier fire was the Angster House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. I did visit the remains which sat high on a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan.
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Brings back fond memories of John and I when we lived in Chicago. It is a special city in many ways–Architecture, art, music . . .
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