Djangocon 2013

September 2-7, 2013

Architectural River Excursion

Join Us For a 90 Minute Guided River Tour

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Chicago contains some of the most fascinating architecture in the world. The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 lay waste to over three square miles of this commercial capital. This tragedy gave rise to a singular opportunity: to rebuild an entire city. But this time, newly-available structural steel allowed a complete reconceptualization of structural design and unleashed completely new aesthetic possibilities.

If you'll be staying Thursday night, consider joining fellow Djangonauts for a pleasant and interesting evening on the water.

Tickets cost $35 per person. You can reserve them here.

There will be a cash bar on board.

From the cruise line's site:

"Sail with us and learn how the devastating Fire jumped a river and cleared the way for visionaries of plate glass and structural steel such as Jenney, Root, Burnham and Sullivan (Wright's mentor). Over less than a decade, the Chicago School of ingenious grillage foundations and steel-frame construction techniques lifted all architecture heavenward. Chicago's ascent continued into the 20th century with titanic figures such as Bertrand Goldberg, Fazlur Khan and Mies van der Rohe – building higher and sleeker – and it has soared in the 21st century with audacious new steeples such as The Trump Tower and Jeanne Gang's Aqua Building.

Critics say that no other city has influenced and embodied the state-of-the-art in high-rise design and modern architecture as prominently as Chicago; virtually every major architect has a signature building here.

This is where architecture lives, and history is still being etched upon the sky. Join us for a 90 minute, jaw-dropping excursion through a city that defied all expectations ... even the laws of gravity. "It [modern architecture] all started here ... in the long grass of the prairie."

More Information

A brochure for the excursion is available here.

To visit the cruise line site you can visit Chicago Line Cruises.