PopCult Rudy Panucci on Pop Culture

Part Three of The Chicago Travelogue Photo Essay: Steppenwolf and More

May 25, 2016 by Rudy Panucci

Thanks to our new blogging software, we can only include a few images in one post. Here is part three of our Chicago Photo Essay, Part one can be found HERE, while Part two can be found HERE.

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The main reason for our visit, to take in a performance of “Mary Page Marlowe,” the new play written by Tracy Letts at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, where Mel and I got married

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The front door
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The poster (read my review in last Friday’s PopCulteer)
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Classy photos of past productions in the lounge at Steppenwolf
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More of them classy photos
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My classy wife lookin’ at them classy photos
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It looked cool, so I took a photo. We did not go to Chicago to eat there
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The Highpants Tower in the background, overlooking the Goiter Building
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Deliberate Industries, where flavored napalm was invented in the 1960s
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The historic birthplace of Norman Fell
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A huge luxurous hotel made entirely of Lincoln Logs
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It costs fifty bucks to vomit in a Chicago taxi, so budget accordingly
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Two modern sculptures that find themsleves attracted to a stoplight, thinking that it’s one of their own kind
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The Dilbert Tower
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The famed Rooftop Chariot Track
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This is what they advertise on buses in Chicago. All we get is that guy from the Kia commercials.
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The Hancock Tower looms over Water Tower Place, which includes seven stories of a premium mall
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Water Tower Place contains a Lego Store
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The LEGO Store has the Ghostbusters Firehouse
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It also has the Batman TV Show Batcave. These are not unique to Chicago, but I’m posting them here in case anyone wants to buy them for me
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There is also a Dr. Seuss gallery, which I’ve written about in PopCult before
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As with many urban malls, there are displays of the work of Rene Magritte, recreated with candy wrappers
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The famed Chicago Water Tower
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A really cool photo taken while standing in the middle of a busy street, right outside Water Tower Place. From left to right you see The Dildonington Buidling, The Filch Building, Pilkington Place, Mazda/Sleater-Kinney Tower and just a corner of Chimneymeat Square
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Remember all that weight your PopCulteer lost recently? Well, if you’re going to cheat on your diet, cheat big!
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Mrs. PopCulter, the host of On The Road with Mel, thinking chocolate thoughts
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Another look at the Chicago Water Tower, which now plays host to Cards Against Humanity tournaments, no really
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Close up at the Water Tower
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The Pumping Station, across from The Water Tower
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The Hancock Tower. One of the reference photos I used for this week’s Monday Morning Art
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Random image around Chicago #1
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Random image around Chicago #2
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Random image around Chicago #3
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Random image around Chicago #4
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Part of the New City Mall, which we will visit on a later trip
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Ultra-hip Diabetic Treatment Center
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Random image around Chicago #5
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Random image around Chicago #6
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A Wine and Book Store in Lincoln Square
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The manly men’s annex, next to Merz Apothecary
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Cool prayer candles inside Laurie’s Planet of Sound
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Some of these came home with us
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One of my favorite places to stop in Chicago
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The park where we recorded the Lincoln Square segment of Mel’s show
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Random image around Chicago #7
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The Flange District, as seen in the movie, “The Untouchables”
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The Chicago skyline, as seen from Lakeshore Drive
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The El, you say!
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This one is probably too well-known for me to assign a random nonsense name, like I’ve been doing for many of the buildings in this photo essay
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You PopCulteer and his new bronze friend
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This life-sized bronze grillmaster outside one of my favorite restaurants looks over the Hilton Garden Inn Business Center, which really creeps you out once in a while when you forget he’s there and think somebody has snuck up on you
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We leave you with a photo of Union Station, a beautiful place that, of which, I really should’ve taken more photos