Navy Pier

I wanted to write a bit about Navy Pier because it’s the place we visited on our first and last Sunday afternoons in Chicago. I also went to Navy Pier on some of my daily walks, but it was more special when we went together on the weekends.

Navy Pier is instantly recognizable from a distance, thanks to the giant Ferris wheel (nearly 200 feet high) and Lake Point Tower, the curvy Y-shaped glass building that stands alone at the land end of the pier. (Fun facts: Lake Point Tower will always be the only skyscraper on the waterfront, thanks to city ordinances that were passed after it was built. Also, in our family’s favorite holiday movie, Peter’s apartment is in Lake Point Tower.)

It’s the largest public pier in the world, measuring nearly 300 feet wide and about 3,300 feet long. There’s a hotel, a children’s museum, a theater company, amusement park rides and games, and plenty of options for shopping and dining.

Our favorite Navy Pier activity was Live on the Lake, the free live music series that takes place on summer weekends at the Beer Garden. We liked sitting at a small table on the water, listening to the music and watching the boats on the bright blue waves of Lake Michigan. On that first Sunday, a Tito Puente-style salsa band had the crowd on their feet, dancing! It was a lovely place to be on a summer afternoon in Chicago.