What a Wonder-Full City

The votes are all in for the Chicago Tribune's Seven Wonders of Chicago poll. And...The winners are:

• The Lakefront
• Wrigley Field
• The "L"
• Sears Tower
• The Water Tower
• University of Chicago
• Museum of Science and Industry

There are plenty more wonders in my favorite city. But they are small ones that you discover with friends on Sunday morning walks or, literally, stumble across in lesser explored areas of the city. One major exclusion from this list, I think, is Millenium Park. Sure it opened just last year, millions of dollars over budget...and it's still not done - but, it is perhaps the most ambitious public works project in Chicago (or any other major city) in the past 25 years. Taking what was, for the most part, an empty lot on top of an underground parking structure and turning it into this:

In this picture you can see, mainly, the Pritzker Pavillion in the middle and the BP ped-bridge at the bottom, both designed by Frank Gehry... At the top of the picture, that silver blob is Cloud Gate. More affectionately known as 'The Bean', and offers a novel reflection of the most-impressive skyline of the city and lake...