'Oh, look! A pigeon'

Unofficial Tourist Survey
By Chris McNamara
Published July 2, 2006
The Chicago Tribune

It's human nature, really, to overlook those things that are routine. We may drive past the Water Tower every day without ever noticing how striking the stonework is or cruise Lake Shore Drive without ever gazing east across the water.

But millions of tourists sure do. Lured by the urban outdoor eatery that is the Taste of Chicago, they flock to our city to marvel at sights we treat as mundane. And although it's easy to giggle at barbecue-sauce-smeared families snapping photos of skyscrapers or get upset by sidewalks crowded with greasy-fingered out-of-towners gawking at street performers, their presence means that we're living in a magical place. (There ain't many tourists in Des Moines.)

So we took to Michigan Avenue one recent Saturday morning to see Chicago through the wide eyes of tourists. Working alongside peddlers, mimes and caricature artists, we managed to convince a few people that we weren't asking for money--we just wanted to hear what they thought of the city we call home.

We still get the credit

You can tell people are from out of town if they're actually enjoying a street performer, as was Zebulun Hanawalt of Mesa, Ariz., wearing his Navy dress whites. Mom Melissa was impressed with manners in The City of Big Shoulders. "Your city is clean, there's so much green. And the people are polite, everybody has been nice," she gushed, before her daughter, Jasmine, brought up a good point. "Yeah, but Mom, everybody around here looks like a tourist."

Fit? Chicago?

You have to be efficient if you're touring Chicago in one day, as the Ransby clan did, flying in from Atlanta in the morning and catching an early-evening flight out. While they were hustling down Michigan Avenue, they were impressed with Chicagoans' hustle. "I'm surprised by the level of fitness. Everybody seems to be working out alongside the water," said mom Sherique, either complimenting our populace or contrasting reality to the stereotype of the chubby, pork-chop eating Bears fan. Her husband liked the fact that cyclists aren't required to wear helmets, as they are back home. And 13-year-old Christina couldn't have cared less about biking or fitness or helmets . . . the Apple store was in sight, stocked with the new iPods.

Better than Bay City!

Stepping through the shadow cast by the Water Tower, the Clark family of Bay City, Mich., matched many other pedestrians on Michigan Avenue this afternoon with their Detroit Tigers gear. (The ball club was facing the Cubs this particular weekend.) But despite pride in their home team, 17-year-old Jessica was less than thrilled with her hometown. "There's nothing to do in Bay City," she said. In Chicago, deemed "big and busy" by father Keith, Jessica was sated with meat at Brazilian steakhouse Brazzaz, while 19-year-old Matt viewed ESPN Zone as one of the city's greatest assets.

Take that, New York

Unlike the tourists and shoppers who jostled around them, Madhuvanti Medhi and her 1 1/2-year-old son, Aditya, seemed the picture of tranquility playing near a bubbling fountain. "Chicago is one of the only places where I don't miss home," said the young mother of her native India, from which she had recently moved to Naperville. "Bombay has a similar buzz, but there is a warmth to the people here." As her husband, Ashok, snapped photos, Madhuvanti explained how Indians used to dream of vacations in New York but now see Chicago as the ideal American destination. Of course, there have been a few bumps as the former actress and attorney has adjusted to her new life in the Chicago area. The snow is a hassle, and she has developed a fondness for Chicago's steakhouses. "I've gained 20 pounds in the last year," she said.

Next time, the zoo

'In Lansing [Michigan] you can see and do everything in one night, so we came to see the big city," said Karen Casler, chaperoning her daughter and two other members of Girl Scout Troop 242 at American Girl Place doll shop, just one stop in an itinerary that included visits to the Sears Tower, Navy Pier, Medieval Times and the King Tut exhibit at the Field Museum, all of which were deemed "awesome"--in unison--by the three girls in tow. Aaliyah Oliver, 11, found Chicago much windier than her hometown. Katie Casler, 12, seemed almost proud that her purse was stolen at the Field Museum. (Mom clarified that Katie had actually left it there.) And after a police siren briefly interrupted the girls' jabbering, 12-year-old Alyssa Buckenberger exclaimed "Oh, look! A pigeon!"