Angle #6: From the Water

Floating down the Chicago River on an architecture tour

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A few weeks ago, I wrote about the day Adam and I spent in Chicago, exploring the different angles of the city. The next morning, despite the biting cold, we found the final angle: from the river. When we planned this trip, several people told us we needed to take a boat tour to see Chicago’s architecture. It was so worth it - my parents, Adam, and I enjoyed our cold morning surrounded by the city.

Our tour guide was fantastic! He was a former history teacher, which I could tell from his storytelling technique and his very dry, sarcastic humor. However, I don’t remember much of what he said as I tuned him out once I saw the geometry, the light, and the angles. While everyone else was looking at the buildings, I sought the art.

When editing these photos, I recognized a few patterns, so I organized them into four categories. Tour the city with me, starting out with the “big picture” and down to the fine details that make Chicago unique.

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The Skyline

I was enamored by the diverse skyscrapers. Since they were built in different decades, the skyline felt like a timeline of Chicago’s history with warm, yellow limestone from the early 1900s next to the cool, blue glass of today. On the river, whenever the boat turned a corner, the view would open up, unlike the one before, revealing changing colors and shapes. The whole city seemed to sparkle, reminding me that not everything that glitters is gold; Chicago’s steel and glass can look just as impressive in the right light.

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The Details

While everyone else on the boat kept looking up at the skyscrapers, I concentrated on the details in front of me. The river weaves through the city, offering a perspective of Chicago that is easy to miss from the street. I kept my camera steady, focusing on the textures just a few feet away. From this vantage point, the buildings felt less about their size and more about their shapes and surfaces. I kept noticing the symmetry of the balconies and how different materials stood out against one another.

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Shadow and Light

The Chicago River runs through the city much like the Colorado River carves its way through the Grand Canyon. As we floated along, the skyscrapers cast deep shadows over the water. In those dark stretches, I looked for the bits of light that slipped between the buildings and shone onto nearby walls. The glass towers made things even more dramatic, reflecting the sunlight down into the shadows. It was amazing to watch, and my eyes kept moving back and forth between the two sides of the river.

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Reflections

The sky was crystal clear, transforming the glass skyscrapers into towering mirrors. As I took photos, I noticed the city reflected in the modern skyscrapers, bending and warping the shapes of neighboring buildings. From the boat, the buildings faded into the blue, making it difficult to see where the steel stopped, and the sky began.

Cheers.