Took my wife here to renew her passport. We were in and out in 15 minutes. Friendly staff behind…read morecounter/window. Money order/cashiers check needed to renew passport. They take your photo so no need to bring one. Waiting area is comfortable and has a water machine.

Fast Visa service with 2 day turnaround…read more Application available on website. Drop off completed application, with supporting documents, between 10AM - 2PM. Pick up two days later between 2PM - 4PM. If hungry for more things-Thai, go to the Silver Spoon one door north.

This is a unique fire house, and a pretty adorable one at that. Established in 1902, it's…read moreoriginally was home to Hose Company 2, and when Engine Company 98 was created that company took over. It was designed by C.F. Hermann and is amongst the oldest in the city. Built to look like a medieval fortress, it retains some of those old-timey touches one associates with a firehouse, like using a brass pole (there are two!); yet, it has been modernized to turn the prior stable into the kitchen, and what once was a hayloft is now a workout room. Made of limestone,and is the only fire station in the city with landmark status. It's a highly visible house given its location on Chicago Avenue just east of Michigan Avenue, behind the Water Tower. By many accounts it's a friendly house, perhaps in part because not only do the neighbors have a good rapport with the firefighters but it attracts a lot of tourists. If you're a visitor or a local wandering near Seneca Park or the Water Tower, you might be greeted warmly by these heroes.

This is just the cutest dang fire station I have ever seen!…read more The small, historic department is up the street from the old water tower and right across the street from the Museum of Contemporary Art. It was a surprise for us, as we made our way to the museum. But it caught our eye. Absolutely cute and cool.

The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, and…read moreThe Centennial Plaza and Fountain are both worth the visit.

This government organization is in charge of cleaning Cook County's sewage and storm water, and…read morereturning it to the environment in a (hopefully) much cleaner state. If you're a clean water nut (like me or Matt Damon), the Board Meetings, publicly held twice monthly in the first floor Board room (or available online, live-streaming, or as an iOS readable file shortly after) are fascinating. If not, they might be impenetrable or stultifyingly boring, at best. But, the Great Lakes have 20% of the WORLD's fresh water, so, keeping it clean might be slightly more important than you might imagine.

The water tower looks like a castle near all of the upscale shops on the magnificent mile. Happily…read moreI was able to go inside and see all of the pumps, it was fascinating. By the 1860s, Chicago's water supply was inadequate for its growing population. Near-shore lake water was too polluted to be used because of runoff from the Chicago River. In 1867, Chesbrough, an engineer designed a water supply tunnel system running nearly 2 miles offshore pumped back to shore through this pumping station. Boyington designed both the pumping works building & Water Tower that houses the standpipe. Both buildings were built in the Gothic Revival style with distinctive yellow Joliet limestone. The buildings look like something out of a fairy tale. The Chicago Water Tower was the most iconic structure that remained standing after the Great Fire of 1871. It was a rallying point for the city. It stood as a symbol for a city determined to rise from its own ashes. Sadly at 9 o'clock on a Friday morning homeless filled most of the benches panhandling with all of their belongings.

It's an iconic symbol representing the city's post-Great Chicago Fire resilience. It is one of the…read moreoldest buildings in the history of the town. In fact, it has witnessed its share of disasters over the years. As the myth has it- the Water Tower wasn't the only structure left standing after the city was ravaged by the Great Fire of 1871 - it is one of Six Structures That Survived the Great Chicago Fire--built-in 1869. As of today, it still stands as the second oldest water tower in America. The tower contained a pipe that stood roughly around 140 feet high. The intent was to pump water from Lake Michigan so it could be used for multiple purposes. One such use was for the Chicago Fire Department. It intended to pump clean water via the water cribs from the lake. despite the intent to provide the fire department with enough water to put out a fire, it wasn't enough to contain the Great Fire of Chicago in 1871. However, there had been stories of the spirits that have haunted the water tower for many years, but that's the case with every old building, isn't it?

Such a beautiful well establish fire station! They are always safe, friendly, and appear to work…read moretheir butts off! Amazed at its presence each time I walk by!

I made a visit to this local fire station on my short visit to Chicago and it was very convenient…read moresince it was close to our hotel. Jose was very kind in helping me out in my visit and assisted me in purchasing there amazing T-shirt's for my family. These were the 3 shirts that I bought to support that fire station wish they had more of the these shirts cause they are a hit in my opinion especially the River North style and my personal was Wile E Coyote I'm willing to purchase them again even if I'm already back home in Los Angeles. Jose can you make this happen cause I would love to still get more if possible. The way you see the pictures that's the order of the patch that's in the front of each T-shirts.

The address is 151 E Chicago, but it is actually inside the building marked as 161 E Chicago…read more Came here to see if they had any employment opportunities, but they informed me that they did not. When the secretary wasn't sure she asked another coworker, who also wasn't sure. She then asked the Consulate General herself and was able to give me a definite "no." I'm always glad to at least know they attempted to find an answer instead of simply saying, "I don't know." Although it disheartened me to know that I could not work directly for Bosnia (moja ljubav), my spirits were a bit lifted when the second woman informed me that I could leave my resume for review and possible opportunities with other employers. I'm somewhat worried my resume will simply be filed away somewhere, or discarded, but at least they showed some interest and didn't turn me away without a glimmer of hope.

The employees are amazing. They take care of all your needs. They will spend the time to do what…read morethey have to do.

This post office is very customer centered. I used to avoid this location but a change in personnel…read morehas made all the difference. Very friendly, efficient and knowledgeable. Even on very busy days the ladies are amazing. Thank you. The location is ideal but the staff has made it a quality stop. What a wonderful change.

Chicago is fortunate to have a branch of the Italian Government Travel Office along Michigan…read moreAvenue. Once you sign in at the front desk, go up to the 22nd floor and pop in for some free brochures and maps on Italy and its zillions of brilliant cities and towns. Most of the time there is staff on hand to answer any questions about travel in Italy. They used to have an even better selection of brochures, but I suppose with information on the Internet nowadays and perhaps budgetary cutbacks, this tourism office still provides a good service for Chicagoans who want to visit Italy. Grazie!

This review only speaks to how beneficial it is to go to this office for trip-planning purposes…read more My husband and I are heading to Italy shortly, and the Rick Steves 2011 guidebook says to check out Italy tourism offices located in certain major cities in the US. Apparently, all the maps they had in the office were sent to them from different regions, but they have virtually no info or maps on the major cities. A waste of time. They may or may not have been helpful in answering particular questions I had; I just didn't ask any. I was only interested in maps, etc. The selection was vastly disappointing.