Thursday, November 20, 2008

Oh yeah, BABY! Take 2

This was sent to me by Kevin (who caught my typo that I corrected) and while not the "Oh yeah, BABY!" geek level of Star Trek, it's still something that gets me excited! Borrowed from the New York Times (begrudgingly)

SO long, Crawford, Tex. Even before President-elect Barack Obama takes office in 61 days, effectively crowning Chicago as the site of the Western White House, the city is basking in a moment of triumph that is spilling well beyond the confines of politics.

A bid for the summer Olympics in 2016, which once seemed like a fanciful pitch, suddenly feels far closer to a sure thing. (No, the ban on lobbyists at the White House does not apply to a little presidential persuasion on the International Olympic Committee)

A spire is finally poised to be placed atop the Trump Tower here, bringing the skyscraper to 1,361 feet, the tallest American building since the Sears Tower was built three decades ago.
A new Modern Wing for the fabled Art Institute is set to open next spring, including a Renzo Piano bridge to Millennium Park, which sat in the distance of Mr. Obama’s election night victory speech here.

Yet this moment of renaissance for Chicago is about much more than architecture and athletics. For the first time in the country’s history, an American president will call this city home. And as he moves to Washington, a dose of the Chicago mood is sure to follow.

“We’re not Little Rock and we’re not Texas,” said Rick Bayless, a friend of the Obama family, who owns Frontera Grill and is among the city’s celebrity chefs. “It’s easy to put on your cowboy boots and eat all that barbecue. You can’t do that from Chicago. We’ve got a lot of muscle and it’s far too complex of a place for that.”

The complexity of Chicago, a city that is multiplying in its new diversity even as it clings to a segregated past, is rooted in the 200 neighborhoods that make up the nation’s third-largest city. America may well know Oprah Winfrey, who became a billion-dollar name through her rise to fame here, but the city holds a far broader identity.

One sign that the Obama brand is replacing the Oprah brand? The talk show tycoon is not mentioned in the city’s new tourism campaign, which invites visitors to “Experience the city the Obamas enjoy.” Ms. Winfrey’s studio is not mentioned along the list of stops, which range from Mr. Bayless’s restaurants to a bookstore in the Obamas’ Hyde Park neighborhood to Promontory Point along Lake Michigan. And souvenirs are on sale across town, with Obama shirts, hats and knickknacks arriving just in time for holiday shopping.

“It seems like there are eight million people walking around here congratulating each other,” said Scott Turow, the best-selling novelist who was born in the city. “Chicagoans are unbelievably proud of Barack and feel of course that he’s ours, because he is.”
Catching himself, he added: “I guess I should get out of the habit of calling him Barack.”

The marketing pitch, in the wake of Mr. Obama’s victory, offers a window into the two-fold psyche of the city: It is a big enough metropolis not to be easily fazed by events, though the fabric of the community is stitched just tight enough to burst in a rare moment of giddiness.
Chicago has long been a place that seems comfortable — or, at least, well adjusted — to losing, a place where you put your head down and shoulder through whatever hand is dealt you. (How could it be otherwise, considering all the practice that the cursed Chicago Cubs have provided over the years?)

In 1952, when an article in The New Yorker derisively referred to Chicago as the Second City, little offense was taken. It became a marketing pitch, with the thinking that second fiddle was far better than no fiddle at all. (Which, by the way readers, is NOT why Chicago is called the Second City... FY NY! - Chris)
But that gawking, out-of-town amazement — gee, there really is a city here! — has long outlived its currency. Well before Mr. Obama was elected as the nation’s 44th president — a fact that was proudly amplified by Mayor Richard M. Daley, who ordered up banners with a sketch of the president-elect to hang throughout the city — Chicago was experiencing one of its most blossoming periods in food, fashion and the arts.
Now, people around the country and the world are simply noticing.

Jeff Tweedy, the leader of the band Wilco who grew up in downstate Illinois and lives in Chicago, said the city never felt the inferiority complex that outsiders spend so much time musing about. Still, he said, the election of Mr. Obama, a friend for years, has given an unusual boost of confidence in a city that is usually nonplussed. “I think people really do enjoy the idea that we’re living in the center of the world all of the sudden,” Mr. Tweedy said. “There have been all these prevailing stereotypes, and people don’t know how big and urban Chicago actually is. People think of it as being in a cornfield.”

If the country is set to see more of Chicago over the next four years — many people across the city here are too humble, nervous and practical to automatically assume Mr. Obama will be in office for eight years — at least one introductory lesson is in order.

Like I said OH YEAH BABY!!!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Been there, done that - and fell completely in love with the city. Which is why it's our favorite place to visit (okay, okay, your presence there is the LEADING reason why but THANKS for living in Chi-Town so we could discover it!!).

Just Kevin... said...

"This was sent to my be Kevin..."

Yo! I ain't your be!! I ain't no be!! OK I am sometimes! SOMETIMES! Glad you liked the article!

Max's Dad said...

I love Chicago despite the fact the Cubs are there. Say, if you see a nice black lady in a Suburban somewhere around the 95th Street Red Line stop, tell her thanks for saving our lives back in 2006 when we got lost looking for Barack Obama's house. No, not really. We were looking for the Science and Industry Museum. She saved us from certain death. Hicks from Omaha wandering around that neighborhood caught her eye and she stopped and told us to get on the next bus and get the hell out of there. We did. It was great.

SUEB0B said...

Chicago is great. My sis lived in Joliet (eeew) and as a youth, I spent several summers back there. Her husband's photo studio was in Chicago and we spent a lot of time there.

Next summer - July 25-27, I think - mark your calendar - is BlogHer, where about 1000 fabulous women bloggers, moi included, show up to kibitz for 3 days of fun. You are, of course, invited!

Transitiongirl2008 said...

I heard the other day why it's called the second city, and now I can't remember...

And really? Your cubs curse is NOTHING like being from Cleveland, where we learn defeat from the cradle!!

Bunny said...

We loved visiting Chicago when I lived in Michigan. It was a short train ride to the city (driving was a bit more difficult, but not bad either). Chicago's public transportation is easy to use and very economical for tourists.

I love that Chicago has Obama banners based on Charleston native Shepard Fairey's Obama Hope poster. What an ironic Chicago-South Carolina connection!