I visited Chicago last week and felt as though I walked the entire city between several meetings. I was impressed by the ways in which everything was layered together. When I was flying into O’Hare, I first noticed the layers of the city from downtown to the suburbs–from the densely packed skyscrapers to suburban neighborhoods with 2 story houses and yards. And then when I found myself on Lower Wacker or the El, I appreciated all the levels of transportation the city offered.

I was impressed by the numerous ways that nature appeared in the city, from gardens to building lobbies to rooftops and weeds. It is nice to have some greenery in the middle of a city and even better that the mayor has made a commitment to make Chicago the greenest city in America; he started out by building a rooftop garden on Chicago City Hall.

I also enjoyed seeing the old and new right next to each other in Chicago: Walking in Wicker Park and seeing a historic Victorian next to a modern home, or in downtown, where you can see the story of the skyscraper developing from the Tribune building to the Willis (Sears) Tower. Below is the new walkway to the Art Institute of Chicago with the old, new and newest:

The other awesome part about Chicago was the water, and I particularly enjoyed walking along the river, where I could see so much of Chicago’s architecture, beauty and history. I saw architecture from almost every era, including old factories covered in ivy and repurposed as condos. And crossing the river from the Loop, it appeared as though the water found its way into more than just the river. Perhaps this image can remind us that Chicago was initially built on a swamp: