This is a great place to volunteer as a docent, someone who guides visitors through the Museum…read morelocated in Chicago's oldest house, the Noble/Seymour-Crippen House (1833). Wine and beer tastings with appetizers, live music, raffles and a silent auction are $60 on September 23rd on the grounds at 5624 N. Newark Avenue, Chicago.

You can learn alot about Norwood Park and it's history from a visit here. Learn about the role it…read morehas played in Chicago's history. The Society is only open on Saturdays from noon-4PM.

My organization has rented out their main space for a holiday party for families/kids for the past…read moretwo years and have had really good experiences with both. Parking is easy with their own lot. The space is beautiful and spacious. We were able to use several 6-foot long tables and chairs. You practically feel like you get the whole place to yourself, too. They also have cool birthday themes that you can check out if you're looking to host a birthday party. Such as an Animal Party whcih includes rubber stamps to make a take home project or "Space Out" to make your own model comet. There is so much here that I don't know if I can cover from summer camps to community gardening to Critter Care that you can volunteer for. Best of all, the Evanston Farmers Market goes indoors from December to April and is hosted here in the Ecology Center.

A great place for any large event. I was here for a wedding ceremony and they did an amazing job…read more You have to have your own coordinator but for the price it is totally unbeatable. Nice grounds with trees for wedding photos and plenty of space for up to 150 people. A friend had their kid's 16th bday here and said it is a great option even for dancing. Bring everything yourself or cater but save lots that way. A parking lot across the street as well, plus plenty of street parking around.

Beautiful old Masonic Temple that was built in the neo-Greek tradition and is still home to…read morenumerous Masonic organizations.

Spectacular architecture and stunningly maintained.... Very little known about it by the locals …read more I have lived in Chicago for 26 years and always wondered what this beautiful building was but finally went on not so busy Friday afternoon literally 30 mid before closing . Would love to bring the family back.

Stunning! A bit of history I didn't even realize we had here in Chicago. Free to visit (there's a…read moredonation box at the front) and the staff was very sweet. Someone was giving brief tours with more information, but you're able to walk around and explore on your own.

My first real makeout spot! Oh, I don't normally miss high school, but right now all I want to do…read moreis spend three hours sitting on top of the waterfall waiting for the best time to make a grab for a boob. Pretty nice waterfall that served as the backdrop to a lot of great kissing in my younger days. In the fall, when they shut the water off, I used to love rollerblading in here. That was before they built the police station across the street. More recently, my time at the waterfall has been spent perched on top with a book, or a friend having some very "serious" discussion. Ok, so we were high again and reading Kierkegaard. There are worse ways to spend an evening.

More surprisingly than not people have weddings here because of the backdrop. It's not just the…read morefountain but beyond that on the other side of the land of the street is a land of the lost! Or...just a pretty forresty area that is really cute for pictures and relaxing. The only thing honestly that kills the waterfall is that there's a bench with Honest Abe chillin right in front of the waterfall facing the street now, and that there is a STREET right there. Though it's great while passing by and during the winter they dress it up really nicely with lights, if you're passing by you may think to yourself "why the hell would anyone have their wedding photos here? Or why would they hang out here in the first place?!" But give it a go. If someone creepy walks by there's a monster police station across the street. And a bus stop next to a big empty lot.

UBS tower is one of my favorites because…read more - Its modern architecture style is fantastic and never ceased to amaze me. - Its northern side looks out to the Civic Opera House building with absolutely stunning views - Located in the very heart of Chicago downtown, just a stone thrown away from Willis Tower, Ogivile Transportation Center, L and the river! - Buffet on the 30th has pretty good food selection.

This slick new tower has shiny aluminum and glass towers, with vertical steps along its east…read moreelevation. Architect James Goettsch may get elevated to the top level with this design. UBS Financial Services is the anchor tenant.

Everyone who is obtaining the U.S. Citizenship through any form of naturalization should be very,…read morevery happy and excited to be in this building. I went through the naturalization process through marriage. Whatever it took to get to this point, it's now all worth it! Just be mindful that there's lots of waiting involved. I assumed the ceremony would start at 1200 hour...sharp, it didn't because it literally took one (1) hour to check every candidate in. However, my suggestion is to come in at least thirsty (30) minutes early and get in the line. If you don't want to wait onsite, I recommend you folks to chill at one of my favorite cafes east to the Dirksen Federal Building: Ge Pa De Caffe (please see my review on GPD). It's located by the CTA Adam/Wabash Brown line station. The security here wasn't as strict as the one in the USCIS building in South Loop (where candidates had the naturalization interviews). Thus, I was well on my way to the 25th. floor in no time. Everyone, from the court workers to the immigration officers, was courteous. Well, they should be somewhat nice to you since you've gone through the entire process successfully. The judge delivered a very sentimental speech. There were some 8th. graders invited to observe the entire oath ceremony. Once you received the certificate of naturalization, you were good to go, unless your name was spelt incorrectly. Then the day of your oath ceremony would be your ONLY day to get this record rectified without an extra charge. Otherwise, any change request made afterward will be $400. I believe we've paid the government enough money for the immigration and naturalization processes, so double check all documents before walking out of the building. By the way, the judge decides if taking photographs is allowed during the ceremony. Our judge gave us permissions to take pictures, which was very kind of her. Folks, whether you were newly-naturalized or have always been citizens, please exercise your right to vote. Don't let me hear that "I don't like politics...it has nothing to do with me." You're voting for someone whom you believe he or she will work for you to create a better America, so can you say America's future has nothing to do with you? Think about what kind of problems this nation has, then vote for someone who can solve the problems, regardless his or her political affiliation. You will probably see Rosa J. run for the governor...someday? Whatever direction she takes, she will continue to yelp, without a doubt!

A classic of Bauhaus architecture, designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (okay okay, it's not the…read moreSeagram Building, but if anything, it's an improvement on that prototype). You can only really appreciate the Dirksen (named after that dude who said that you get like a billion here and a billion there and pretty soon you're talking about real money... except no one can figure out where that dude actually said it and when). Anyhow, you can only really get a feel for this building if you spend about a week in it, which is something you only do if a) you're a soulless lawyer, in which the experience is wasn't on you due to your lack of soul, or b) if you're having your pants sued off, in which case you probably won't care that much about the architecture. Me? Neither. I just had to hang out there for a week, so I got to appreciate it. The individual courtrooms, for example, are staggeringly beautiful with incredible proportion and balance, super high ceilings, and the signs of Mies everywhere you look (it's like the guy signed each individual bench (the lawyers complain bitterly about said benches and bring little cushions to sit on). Anyhow, the whole center is well worth the pilgrimage, even if it means having to spend a week worrying in the Federal Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

The Kluczynski building is part of a larger federal complex. It shares a plaza with the downtown…read morepost office, and across the street is the Dirksen federal courthouse, with the three forming the Federal Plaza. It is architecturally significant because it is a building designed by Mies van de Rohe, along with the other buildings. One thing that is somewhat distinct, and pleases the part of me that likes things symmetrical and neat, is that the seams of the building line up with the stones used in the plaza surrounding each building. My understanding is that this was done to establish a cohesion between the three buildings, even though they're separated by Dearborn Street. I absorbed some Mies history during the 11 years I worked for the university at which he remains the most famous person associated with it (even over 50 years after his death). The Kluczynski building is classical Mies architecture. The first floor is recessed from the rest of the building, and is fully wrapped in glass. There's no offices really on this floor, as is the case in so many of his other buildings, where the first floor is almost always a common space. Black steel and glass that rises 45 stories into the air is typically Miesian. In addition to being a Mies building, the Flamingo by Alexander Calder--one of Chicago's most recognizable pieces of public art--is located in the plaza between the Kluczynski building and the post office. This building houses offices for several different federal organizations: Labor, the Passport Agency, the federal credit union, the offices for the senators for Illinois, OPM, etc. You'll absolutely need ID when entering this building so come prepared.