The Gold Coast in Chicago is probably best known for its high rises and tough parking.  It is home to the John Hancock Center, the Chicago Water Tower, wonderful old hotels like the Drake and the Mag Mile with its shopping and restaurants.  All in all a pretty cool spot to spend the weekend when the weather is nice.  I loved this photo because one of my favorite aspects of the Gold Coast is the beautiful mansions that are in between these famous high rise buildings.  With their stone and brickwork they are a great sight.  So here is a cool shot of North Astor Street just North of Division.  Astor is one block off of Lake Shore Drive and dead ends at the start of Lincoln Park.  If I ever had the money this is an area I would consider.  And by money I mean the “robbing a bank” kind.  Enjoy your weekends!!

Look at these guys. Come November we’re going to be painting a different picture here in Chicago. The drought is over and starting Monday the Chicago Cubs are going to erase failed memories of the past 100 years. 2008 is the year of the Cub. So I decided to get everyone ready for the upcoming season with some cool shots of Wrigley Field for everyone to enjoy. I’m hoping to get to a few games this year and take some cool shots myself. Anybody have some Wrigley stories they’d like to share I’d love to hear them. Let’s keep them clean though. Everyone have a great weekend!!

Here is a wonderful shot of one of the many pedestrian bridges along the Naperville Riverwalk. But what is wrong with this photo? Being the second day of spring I had intended on showing off a photo of flowers or green grass or something spring like. BUT SINCE IT SNOWED 6 INCHES AROUND CHICAGO TODAY I DECIDED THIS WAS MORE APPROPRIATE. Even so the snow does look beautiful. As long as it agrees that this is the last snowfall until the end of 2008 I’ll be able to deal with it. But starting this week we’re all working toward sunshine and green grass and CUB’S BASEBALL. Opening day in 10 days…exciting!!

Everyone have a Happy Easter Weekend!! Take some time off because starting next week we’re going to be moving some real estate here in Chicago. I have some wonderful listings coming up that I’m excited to share with you. Come back to visit to see what I’m talking about.

I’m putting up two photos of the Chicago River. A) Because it’s an easy thing to find beautiful photos of and B) Because it is one of my favorite spots in the City of Chicago. The river downtown wrapping North and West of the Loop….day or night. Although when it comes to photography the night shots are pretty cool. Note that on the right side of the photos that the top photo is pre-Trump and the bottom photo is post-Trump.  As always feel free to subscribe to my feeds, via email or by clicking on the large orange icon on the right side of your screen. I also encourage comments as I’d love to hear your takes on anything we’re talking about at the Greater Chicago RE Blog. Enjoy your weekend and if you’re celebrating St. Patrick’s Day this weekend be safe!!

This is a cool shot of the Chicago Water Tower. Located in the Gold Coast at Michigan Ave & Chicago Ave. at the North end of the “Magnificent Mile.” It was one of the only buildings to survive the Chicago Fire of 1871 although many say it was the ONLY building to survive. This is one of my favorites buildings in all of Chicago. Just beautiful when it is lit up at night. In the background you can see the John Hancock Center. We have our main office for Rubloff Residential just one block away. I was just over in this area which made me think of putting this photo up. Have a great weekend!!

Beautiful photo of the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, IL. My hometown. The Arboretum Village as they call it. Whoever they are. Love the way this photo captures how winter, while cold and getting long, can make you stop and stare. The Morton Arboretum is just off of I-88 in this Western Suburb of Chicago. In all my years growing up here in Lisle I admit I did not take advantage of the Arboretum as much as I should have. Great place to spend a Saturday, take the kids, go for a walk but most importantly take some wonderful photos. Last week I showed you my favorite spot in Naperville. This is my favorite spot in Lisle. Have a great weekend!! Stay warm!

Winter in Chicago. Gotta love it. Why do we put up with it? Because it makes us appreciate the other three seasons? That is probably the most common response when I question our sanity. I’ve lived here my entire life and every so often we have a winter like this that makes me wonder. Maybe you can help me out. I’ve been spending some time online trying to find out this years winter statistics. Total amount of snow? Total number of snowfalls? Total days below zero? Total days with no sunshine? Total nights I’ve cried myself to sleep because I’M FREEZING? I actaully know that answer to that last question. Moving on…..let me know if you have a good websites with that information.In my search for these statistics I did come across some fun (if you’re a dork like me) trivia regarding Chicago and winter. I left all the warm weather statistics off because it makes me sad. I’ll write about those when I’m complaining how hot and humid it is in August. What can I say? I’m tough to please. These stats were taken from from WGN’s official weather website. So here is what I found, enjoy!

• Chicago snow: On January 14, 1979, Chicago was in the midst of a 7-day period (Jan. 11-17) during which 25.6 inches of snow blanketed the city; daily totals: 0.3, 1.9, 16.5, 2.3, 2.0, 0.3, 2.3.
• Chicago temperature surprise: Based on Midway and O’Hare data, daily high temperatures in the 60s occur more often in the city during December than during July.
• Chicago’s -20 degree days: Of the 36,524 days in the 20th Century, Chicago’s temperature has fallen to -20 or lower on only ten of them: Jan. 10, 1982(-26); Jan. 16, 1982 (-25); Jan. 17, 1982 (-23); Dec. 23, 1983 (-21); Dec. 24, 1983 (-25); Jan. 20, 1984 (-20); Jan 21, 1984 (-22); Jan. 19, 1985 (-23); Jan. 20, 1985 (-27); Jan. 18, 1994 (-21).
• Chicago’s autumn snow records: In records dating from 1884, Chicago’s earliest trace of snow: September 25 in 1928 and also 1942; earliest inch of snow: 1.8 inches on October 19, 1989 (recorded at Midway Airport).
• Chicago’s average cold arrival dates in autumn: Using Midway data (1928-2003), Chicago experiences its first autumn temperature in the 30s on Oct. 5; freezing (32 degrees) on Oct. 23; in the 20s on Nov. 2.
• Chicago’s average first freeze date: The average date of Chicago’s first freezing temperature in the autumn varies considerably across the metropolitan area, occurring earliest in outlying areas and latest downtown. The range is from October 11 (O’Hare) to November 6 (Loop).
• Chicago’s winter temperature extremes: Based on official temperature records dating from 1871, the city’s highest winter temperature is 75 degrees (February 27, 1976) and the lowest is -27 (January 20, 1985); that is a range of 102 degrees.
• Chicago’s snow season: July and August are the city’s only totally snow-free months. Traces of snow have fallen as late as June 2, 1910, and as early as September 25, 1928 and 1942. Because June is considered to be a summer month, it is true that snow has occurred here in every season.
• Chicago’s snow extremes: Greatest snowstorm, 23.0 inches January 26-27, 1967; snowiest and least-snowy winters, 89.7 inches 1978/79 and 9.8 inches 1920/21; greatest snow depth on ground, 29 inches January 14, 1979.
• Chicago’s lowest wind-chill temperature: Bitterly cold temperatures and vicious winds gripped Chicago on January 20, 1985. Early-morning temperatures between -20 and -27 in combination with biting northwest winds 25 to 35 m.p.h. briefly produced a wind-chill temperature of -93 degrees, the lowest ever recorded in Chicago.

Last week I showed you a beautiful picture of the Chicago River at Night. This week we head out to Naperville, a Western Suburb of Chicago. Naperville has a beautiful River Walk in its downtown. The river that winds through is the DuPage river. If you’re ever in Naperville one of my favorite things to do is grab some ice cream and walk the River Walk. Sounds cheesy, but that’s how I roll. Have a great weekend!!

Welcome to Fun Photo Friday! Every week I’ll be featuring a beautiful shot of something Chicago or its Western Suburbs. Here’s a wonderful shot of the Chicago River facing West. Running along side the river to the North (right) is the old Chicago Sun Times building which was torn down and is being replaced with the New Trump International Hotel & Tower. You can see one of the famous bridges being raised. I believe that is the one that crosses Wabash. Love this photo. Have a safe and enjoyable weekend!