Samantha Levy

One of the clearest memories from my childhood is driving to the museum of science and industry with my dad on a saturday afternoon. The museum is located on the south side of Chicago, and in order to get there we would take Lake Shore Drive. About 500 feet before the entrance to the museum, there was a bump in the road, one that caused my stomach to turn every time we went over it. This stomach-flopping was my way of knowing we were almost there, that our time on Lake Shore Drive was coming to an end.  I cannot think about Chicago without thinking about Lake Shore Drive. It snakes along between the city and Lake Michigan, following the twists and turns of the shoreline. What most people don’t realize about Lake Michigan is that you can’t see to the other side, so when you’re driving along Lake Shore Drive, you have sprawling city on one side, endless blue on the other. If you access Lake Shore Drive from its northern-most point like I did growing up just outside of the city, you have the extra advantage of watching the skyline materialize before your eyes. As you drive south you pass Michigan Avenue, then turn a corner and cross the Chicago River. Look to the right and you’re in a skyscraper jungle, Trump Tower shines further on down the river, the Sears Tower peeks out between two buildings. To the left is Navy Pier, whose huge ferris wheel towers over the throngs of visitors. Keep going south and you pass Millennium Park, home of the “Bean” and a spectacular amphitheater designed by Frank Gehry. As you continue to wind your way through the city you can’t help but be struck by its beauty. Chicago is unassuming and modest, much like its inhabitants, and this is one of its best kept secrets. You may have to work a little harder for it, but Chicago has so much more to offer than meets the surface. All you have to do is get there.