People, we've gone over this before. Stay out of Buckingham Fountain. It is not a kiddie pool or a water park. Act like adults. Not that any of this stopped a trio - a 25-year-old man and two women, 20 and 19 - from jumping in. The trio were arrested last night around 6:20 p.m. after police saw them climbing and swimming in the fountain. Really? That was either one hell of a drug trip or they were huge fans of Married With Children. more ›

Okay, people. We know Lollapalooza has a lot of great music and good times. But sometimes people have too good of a time. Please stay out of the fountain. It costs a lot of money to keep it in good shape and we'll all be better for it. [via] more ›

Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park is open again, turned on last Friday evening in time for the IOC Committee. The fountain was dedicated August 26, 1927, over 80 years ago, and just underwent a $12 million facelift. Included in the renovation was new landscaping and replacement of the loose gravel that surrounds the fountain with permeable pavers. more ›

Buckingham Fountain was shut down last month to undergo a major restoration effort. Parkways Foundation, whose mission is to help raise private funds for projects encompassed by the Chicago Park District, has orchestrated a donation campaign to assist with the cost of repairs and restoration via restorethefountain.com. Donations can be accepted for general repairs, or for some of the fountain's more specific embellishments: the cattails and lilies in the lower basin, for example, or a planter in Buckingham Plaza. more ›

If you’re a lover of Buckingham Fountain and its magnificent water shows, be sure to head downtown this afternoon! After today, the fountain will be shut down early to begin a major restoration effort. The first top-to-bottom renovation since the fountain was created in 1927 will (hopefully) be completed on April 1, 2009—just in time for the visit of the International Olympic Committee. more ›

Go take your classic shots of Buckingham Fountain now. Come September, the landmark will be under a tent for a while as part of a $25 million restoration. more ›

"'Cause it's Friday, you ain't got no job ... and you ain't got shit to do." Well, you can go check out the New Orleans Social Club at Millennium Park. If you aren't, here's some stuff in the news. Buckingham Fountain is slated to undergo a complete overhaul in autumn 2008. Near West Side businesses get $1.5 million in TIF money intended for keeping manufacturing jobs in the area. Does Manny Flores have the... more ›

While many of you shuffle back and forth from stage to stage in Grant Park this weekend, we thought we'd take the opportunity to show you how it looked about 80 years ago. It's just a touch different today, isn't it? While the landscaping had yet to take its place in 1929, Buckingham Fountain and the general layout of the park are clear. The Art Institute is in place and looks exceptionally lonely, and while... more ›

Q: Where in Chicago can Daley’s Addiction share the table with a Lakeview Barhopper? A: Bobtail Ice Cream on Southport! Bobtail Ice Cream offers a handful of ice cream flavors as well as creative coffee drinks at this packed location on the Southport corridor. They don’t have the richest ice cream we’ve ever tasted, but we love their inventive flavors and the atmosphere is perfect for families. Daley’s Addiction is vanilla with just the right... more ›

All right, people. It's the moment you've been waiting for: as of Friday, the beaches are now open. Glee! Last one to dive headfirst into Lake Michigan is a piece of raw sewage ... much like Lake Michigan itself. Ah, but we poke fun at that body of water of ours. To be honest, the city is putting a pilot program into effect this bathing season in order to help out with that pesky E.... more ›

City Segway Tours Guide John Darey more ›

One of our fellow employees, a lifelong Chicagoan, brought a book to work one day. Unaware that taking in external knowledge was allowed at our office, we took a gander. It was a pictorial book about the Cows on Parade exhibits from 1999, before we ourselves became a permanent fixture in the city. While we thought the cows themselves kind of cheesy (no pun intended), we enjoyed the idea of public art on such a... more ›

On Sunday, approximately 1.5 million spectators will be searching to find one or two of their friends who are hidden among the 40,000 competitors in the 2006 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon. Finding your friend, family member, or colleague that is running the marathon can be like finding a needle in a haystack. Luckily there are a few tools that will help you track runners throughout the 26.2-mile course. Each runner will have a chip on... more ›

As if 130 bands, overpriced food, kids’ shows, an art exhibit, and people watching weren’t enough, Lollapalooza 2006 will serve up afternoons of interactive entertainment on the Mindfield Stage. Good to see three local comedy offerings on the bill but, with all due respect, they’re pretty much the opening act everyone’s sitting through to get to the headliner. To any of our readers coughing up $60 or more just to see Chicago comedy in Grant... more ›

Chicagoist is glad our stolen bike was returned last week, because we'd have been pissed off if we had to miss the L.A.T.E. Ride. Once again, we'll be pedaling through the night, along with almost 10,000 other riders. The 22-mile course winds through the city, beginning in Grant Park at about 1:30am and finishing with a sunrise breakfast at Buckingham Fountain. more ›

In the best zing! we’ve seen in awhile, the federal government openly bit its thumb at all the people who thought it would be a good idea to make Soldier Field into a space station. more ›

Days before last summer's Taste of Chicago, Mayor Daley's new Traffic Management Authority, the same think tank that brought you flourescent green human speedbumps, decided to remove the stoplight and pedestrian crosswalk on Lake Shore Drive at Buckingham Fountain. The spot, named "Queen's Landing" after Queen Elizabeth II came ahsore there during her 1959 visit to the city, had had a stoplight since a teenager was killed by a car there in 1988. After removing the light, the city also continued its lakefront beautification project by erecting rustic wooden fences along the bike path to prevent pedestrians from crossing mid-block. "It's a touch of Olney, right here in the city," said a spokesperson at the time. more ›

This Sunday, the city's streets will again be flooded with thousands of runners taking part in the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon. The 26.2 mile course: starts in Grant Park, just north of Buckingham Fountain. Runners first travel north through River North, Old Town, Lincoln Park and Wrigleyville. Next, they head south through some of Chicago’s most historic and diverse neighborhoods, including Greektown, Little Italy, Pilsen, Chinatown, Bridgeport and the South Loop. Finally, runners turn... more ›

Buckingham Fountain's Water Supply? more ›

The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon begins in Grant Park near Buckingham Fountain and travels north through River North, Old Town, Lincoln Park and Wrigleyville, before heading back downtown. The race continues south through some of Chicago's most historic and diverse neighborhoods, including Greektown, Little Italy's Taylor Street, the Hispanic Pilsen area, Chinatown, Bridgeport, the Gap District and South Commons. Runners return downtown along picturesque Lake Shore Drive, the Museum Campus, Soldier Field and Lake Michigan, with a spectacular finish back in Grant Park.

Rosalia Jimenez took her 8-year-old daughter and her 9-month-old son out for a walk at Monroe Harbor on Lake Michigan at about 9:45 p.m. on Monday night. Angelica, the daughter, was throwing rocks into the water not far from Buckingham Fountain when she lost footing and slipped and fell into the lake. In a moment of panic, Rosalia jumped in after her and somehow took the stroller that held her son in with her. Exactly how the boy fell in is a mystery, but police are guessing that Rosalia jumped into the lake with her baby because she didn't want to leave him alone on land. more ›

South Loop dogs are soon going to have one heck of a park - complete with a wading pool, a miniature Buckingham Fountain, a canine agility course and a doggy sandbox. A miniature Buckingham Fountain? For dogs? And just what is a canine agility course!? more ›

You still have time to register for Chicago's 16th annual L.A.T.E. Ride, which takes place Sat. July 10th/Sun. July 11th. Join 10,000 cyclists for a 25 mile ride through Greek Town, the Loop, Old Town, Lincoln Park and along Chicago's lakefront path. The ride itself begins at 1:30am in Grant Park and finishes up around dawn at Buckingham Fountain. more ›

Saturday was a beautiful day and Chicagoist had a few friends in from out of town so we all headed down to Grant Park for Taste of Chicago, which claims to be the world's largest food and free music festival. Wow, what a bunch of gluttons we were!!! Tickets were $7 for 11 tickets and the three of us each bought $21 worth of tickets. .. what's that? 99 tickets? At each of the festival's 70 restaurant booths there were several food items to choose from that ranged in price from 2 - 9 tickets. Pooling our tickets together and sharing everything we bought we were able to consume all of the following: more ›

The Sun-Times reports today on a tour company that plans to offer Segway-based tours around Chicago. The tabloid's breathless coverage mentions that tours on the "revolutionary personal transporter" will be operated by City Segway Tours and will feature $65, three-hour, seven-mile tours of the usual stuff tourists love to see in Chicago. Buckingham Fountain, Millenium Park, etc. Chicagoist isn't really sure this new tour vehicle falls into the "cool category", but City Segway Tours Chicago Operations Manager Kathryn Lake does her best to pump us up by suggesting that riding on a Segway, "makes you feel like a movie star." Huh. more ›