Nifty Links by Ellin Beltz

Michigan Avenue Live Cam

WGN-TV Live Cam

Chicago


moon phase now
Today's moon phase.
Northern Hemisphere Perspective.

Sun and Moon times for today
Chicago NEXRAD

Current Chicago Radar
Click for Chicago Forecast

WGN-TV Weather WebBlog is a great resource to understand what's happened and what's coming next.

Chicago Geology



Satellites, Weather, Conditions and Forecasts

City of Chicago

  • City of Chicago home page links to museums, agencies, landmarks and other interesting things. Some departments (like Water or Tourism, must be found by the "Search departments" box. The Chicago Department of Tourism has an information center located in the Cultural Center, 78 East Washington, which provides free or discounted tickets to visitors.)
  • Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau. Good links to places around Chicago.

Chicago Infrastructure and Energy

Chicago History

Chicago Region Museums and Collections

Chicago Attractions

  • The Chicago Botanic Society. Maintains 385 acres of manicured gardens along flooded portions of the Skokie River, one of the tributaries of the Chicago River.
  • The Sears Tower. How to visit Chicago's tallest building and its skydeck.
  • Spirit Cruises serve lunch and dinner on the lake; includes narration on buildings and Chicago history.
  • Chicago Architecture Foundation River Cruise. Knowledgeable guides and the double deck boat Chicago's First Lady team up for 90-minute river cruises focusing on Chicago architecture.
  • Navy Pier. Home of the Crystal Gardens, Shakespeare Repertory Theater, the Ferris Wheel and the IMAX. Regular fireworks displays in summer described by nearby residents as "like being in a war zone Wednesday and Saturday nights."

Chicago Transportation

  • Chicagoland Canoe Base has maps, information and canoes for rent all over the Chicago Region.
  • Chicago Trolley. How to ride those cute tourist buses all day for a single ticket and other alternative transportation secrets.
  • METRA the way to really fly. If any of their end points work for you. A warning to Eurotourists! METRA stations tend to be featureless, windswept and away from the downtowns of the towns whose names they bear. Signage at the stations is relatively uninformative, so go to their website before you try to go anywhere on their trains. Downtown train stations do not directly connect with CTA rapid transit, even if they have the same names (e.g. Clybourn METRA is nowhere near North/Clybourn CTA).
  • Chicago Transit Authority. Maps, information, pass prices, discounts and hints for those new to the CTA. It's a somewhat slow load on older machines; the maps are hard to print out and some of the clickable buttons are not obvious.
  • CTA fan club. Details and reviews of CTA history and service. In some ways, this site is more interesting than the official site and it certainly is easier to navigate.

Chicago Nature



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Ellin Beltz ebeltz@ebeltz.net
February 14, 2006
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