Features

A Ring of Pearls
by Ron Grossman
Travel through a land of country estates, ethnic enclaves, an industrial basin, and a nuclear accelerator where the buffalo roam.

Mapping It Out
by Ron Grossman
A guide to ethnic suburbia, plus eight unique tours

Painting by Numbers
by Pierre deVise
An urbanologist looks  beyond the city and asks: What’s your culture quotient?

The Malling of the Suburbs
by Alfredo Lanier
The impact of regional shopping centers on suburban downtown shopping districts is devastating.

Inns at the Interchanges
by Kathleen and Stephen Veenker
Last year, the Veenkers took downtown by storm. This year, they take to the highway, looking for hotel amenities in suburbia.

SOM: The Big, the Bad, and the Beautiful
by Dan Rottenberg
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill isn’t as prestigious as it once was, but its architectural imprint on the city remains unequaled.

Staying on Top, or Just Staying Alive?
by Nory Miller
An architecture critic examines SOM’s past, present, and future.

When Every Second Counts
by Jack Star
New equipment and techniques have taken the guesswork out of caring for critically ill patients.

A Fable for Our Time
by Carol Lavin
What will be the fate of the Harding Museum’s arms and armor that once delighted young and old in a South Side castle?

SoHo Comes to Navy Pier
by Henry Hanson
Art 1982 Chicago – the third running of this annual even – promises to be the best yet, with 112 international exhibitors, a mile of sculpture, and a gala opening to benefit the Museum of Contemporary Art.

Departments

Letters

Upfront
by Henry Hanson
First Husband ruminations in My Dinner with Jay; black patent leather shoes reflecting up on Broadway; and Chicago designers in the fashion spotlight

William Brashler: Rites of Spring, Rights of Passage
The ball is yours. Do you play to win, play fair, or play to defeat?

Movies: Big Boys According to Conan
by Dave Kehr

We won’t be sure that they finish first until part two, should there ever be one.

The Goods
by Jamie Gilson
Whether you’re inclined to feed or be fed, here are places to assuage the appetite for whisks and coffee cakes, for pasta salad and pasta plates, for ranges with built-in woks and a kitchen done a la chinoise.
Books: Priestly Pulp
The latest and the lustier – Andrew Greeley’s second novel
Chicago as it Was: The Commuter’s Ordeal
by Perry R. Duis and Glen E. Holt
Early suburban train service was as frustrating then as it is today.
Travel: The Ideal Weekend Getaway
by Dan Rottenberg
It’s across the street from a factory several miles outside Sheboygan. And it’s as sublime as it is unexpected.
City: What Smoky Joe’s Wrought
by Anthony Adler
High fashion – funky, flashy, urban, ethnic – from the Maxwell Street market to the State Street Mall

Sports: High-school Sports Hit the Cellar
by Ron Berler
And as long as the members of the Public League refuse to cooperate with each other, they’ll stay in the cellar.

Audio: A Shure Match for Beethoven
by Rich Warren
The maestro may be gone, but the supreme cartridge manufacturer is bringing his music in better than ever.

Dining on the Town: Time out for Tea
by Carla and Allen Kelson
Spend a leisurely afternoon breaking bread at some upper-crust hotels.

The Best of Chicago: My Son, the Mountain Climber
by Katina Alexander
What’s a nice boy from Glencoe doing on Mount Everest, when he should be in medical school?

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