I walked out of Chicago’s Union Station, following my nose to Lake Michigan. I have always liked Chicago. It’s small enough to feel manageable, but big enough to be a thoroughly vibrant city with a dynamic feel. And the architecture! There are few places I would rather stand than in Millennium Park, looking back to the amazing array of towers that comprise the Chicago skyline.

My legs took me quickly to the park, which is the site of a breathtaking outdoor auditorium designed by Frank Gehry. His signature suspended metal sheets frame the stage, echoing his designs of the art museum in Bilbao and the Disney Symphony Hall in LA. The auditorium is part of a larger public arts space, including the Crown Fountain by Jaume Plensa; the contemporary Lurie Garden designed by Kathryn Gustafson, Piet Oudolf and Robert Israel; and Anish Kapoor's crowd favorite “Cloud Gate” sculpture. Comprised of twenty four acres, it is one of the world’s most compelling public arts spaces. As you walk through it, you can’t help but be reminded of the profoundly re-humanizing impact beautiful art and architecture have on an humanity.