It Was A Father's Day Gift

The photo you've puzzled over is the bell on the bridge of this tour boat. The shot was taken from one of the seats behind the wheelhouse.The boat departs from Ogden Slip in Streeterville.

Ogden and Streeter share naming rights here. They were very, very different kinds of guys in their respective days.William Ogden was the first mayor of Chicago,from 1837 to 1838. He designed the first swing bridge over the Chicago River and was a promoter of and investor in the I&M Canal. Later, he was president of the Union Pacific Railroad. Wonder what he did in his free time...

Streeterville is named for George Streeter, who beached his boat on a sandbar in the late 1880's during a storm and there it stayed; he and his wife made this their new home. The Streeters encouraged dumping in this area and, after several years, the debris built up and became solid land. George claimed this 'new land' as an independent territory in respect to an 1821 government survey that declared Chicago, and Illinois, property lines terminated at the shoreline. Under his homesteading rights as a Civil War Veteran, he declared the new land to be the District of Lake Michigan. Eventually, the Streeters were tossed, but the name remains. Some of the priciest real estate in Chicago was created 125 years ago by a scam artist!

If you're looking for an unusual bit of entertainment, try the Architectural Tour. You'll board across the channel from the construction site of the Chicago Spire. It will be the world's 3rd tallest building when completed in 2012. The penthouse is still available if you have an extra $40 million in your change drawer.The tour will take you out into the basin inside the locks, then putter along west on the main channel, head north to what else, Northerly Island. You'll reverse directions and head down the south branch to around Congress before returning to Ogden Slip. The guide we had was extremely glib and entertaining. The information and history she recounted was nothing short of captivating. The views will leave you gaping. There's all sorts of things to learn, some you may already know and many you surely won't. It's a great tourist trip, whether you're a local or an out of towner. The day we went, the mix was about 1/3 locals, 2/3 visitors.The tour was a Father's Day gift. Cool, no?

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Petey and I scored yesterday, placing our pennies on #48 Jimmy Johnson. The payback was a heartwarming +750, as Petey took full advantage of an arbitrage opportunity to claim a great price!