Category: Library Visit
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Blackstone (#8)
Get ready for some history! BEN: If you read about our visit to Harold Washington Library, you’ll recall learning that the Chicago Public Library’s initial collection consisted of about 8,000 books donated by British citizens in the aftermath of the Great Chicago Fire. (You’ll also remember that I took a potshot at British food in…
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West Loop (#7)
BEN: This accidental library visit was brought to us by: summer reading challenge coupons! SAM: We began our family outing by filling our stomachs with Lou Malnati’s pizza in the West Loop, courtesy of this year’s CPL Summer Reading Challenge reward. We walked through Madison St. and stopped in a few shops. We decided to…
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Near North (#6)
A transit-related coffee shop!? SAM: In the morning, I randomly searched for interesting library events and came across a Paint and Sip event that the Near North Branch offered. Initially, it was just going to be a mommy and boys excursion. Daniel found a coffee shop 9 minutes away from Near North Branch called Standing…
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Logan Square (#5)
To the Library! BEN: Sam’s quest to borrow a particular book led us up to Logan Square, a neighborhood bearing the name of an actual square, the Illinois Centennial Memorial (which we didn’t know existed until after visiting – whoops!), and marking the northern terminus of the Chicago Boulevard System (which I also didn’t know…
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Back of the Yards (#4)
To the Library! BEN: Back of the Yards is one of our frequent library haunts. For the “official” Project 81 visit, we headed over for a program called The Sound of Science, where the kids each made a “Sound Sandwich” – a rubber band sandwiched between popsicle sticks, with plastic straws as spacers, resulting in…
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Clearing (#3)
To the library! SAM: Curiosity caught our attention this weekend. The Branch Manager at CPL’s Clearing Branch set up his collection of retro video games, which was quite popular among patrons, ourselves included. I felt like I was thrown back to my childhood days in the ‘90s (back when I was addicted to Super Mario on…
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Harold Washington Library Center (#2)
BEN: What pairs well with public libraries? Free museums! I’ve been trying to visit the Money Museum at the Chicago Federal Reserve building for literal years. It’s only open Monday through Friday, ruling it out for weekend excursions, and was closed for a long time during the pandemic. Friday, July 5th finally presented an opportunity…
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Budlong Woods (#1)
BEN: Welcome to our very first blog entry!Our journey begins with the Budlong Woods branch on the North side, selected by random via spinner wheel (special thanks to Daniel). But first…lunch. SAM: Our day kicked off to a later start than we had planned. While we were on our drive to the Budlong Woods neighborhood,…