When San Francisco Native Beatrice Sopko rode down the Chicago river for the first time, she was surprised by the variety of buildings and amount of greenery scattered throughout each block.
“The boat tour going down the river, it was just beautiful,” Sopko said. “I was really shocked by how big the downtown was and how diverse the buildings were.”
The Cherubs’ first trip to Chicago was centered around an architectural boat tour and ended with a lecture by Ceci Rodgers at the Medill Chicago campus. The boat brought students down the Chicago river and into Lake Michigan, featuring some of the city’s most characteristic architecture, such as the Wrigley building, the St. Regis and the Trump tower.
Touring by boat provided an opportunity to explore the city through the Chicago River, one of the most defining traits of Chicago, said Lylah Patel, a New York native.
“What’s really unique about Chicago is kind of how integral the river is to the city, whether that’s from boat tourism or commerce or it’s just part of the culture,” Patel said.
The tour connects riders to the city through architectural history, said Logan Kreisberg from Stamford, Connecticut. The tour helped him learn more about Chicago and prepared him for future trips.
“Being on the river going through the actual city was a really great way to get a first glance at a city that I’d never been to before,” Kreisberg said. “In later trips to the city, I had a better understanding of where everything was and the city itself and its history.”
