Summer, unleashed.
Chicago has shaken off this morning's rain like it shakes off most inconveniences — with barely a second thought — and now the city is running hot in every sense, the lake glittering, the sidewalks steaming dry, the whole place turned up to its loudest summer frequency. By afternoon the Loop will shimmer in the low-90s heat and the lakefront will fill with the particular Chicago joy of a city that earns its summers the hard way. When the evening cools back down to the mid-70s, the outdoor tables will fill, the river will catch the last light, and the city will do what it does best on a clear summer night: remind you that this is one of the great places to be alive.
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It's going to be a beautiful but scorching day—start your morning enjoying those cool, sunny conditions in the low 20s, because by afternoon the heat really kicks in and you'll be dealing with low 30s Celsius that'll make the pavement shimmer. If you're planning to be outside, get your errands done early or find some shade and water for the afternoon stretch; the good news is you'll get relief as soon as the sun dips and things cool down nicely by evening. Clear skies all day means great visibility and no rain to worry about, just come prepared for genuine heat.
Suggestions: This morning in Chicago
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Every day, thousands of people walk past the Chicago Cultural Center on Michigan Avenue on their way to the Bean. Almost none of them go in. This is a mistake. The 1897 Beaux-Arts building is free to enter, houses two of the most extraordinary Tiffany glass domes in existence, and runs rotating exhibitions and concerts without charging a cent. Preston Bradley Hall, with its 38-foot Tiffany dome overhead, is one of the great interior spaces in American architecture. It takes twenty minutes and costs nothing. The Tiffany glass domes catch the evening light in ways that justify a quick stop before dinner.
Second City on North Wells Street has been producing the best comedic talent in America since 1959 — Belushi, Murray, Fey, Colbert, Aykroyd — and on any given Tuesday the person making you cry-laugh from the e.t.c. stage might be the next one on that list. The mainstage show is polished and worth full price. The late-night improv set on Fridays and Saturdays after the mainstage curtain is free, looser, and often wilder. Arrive at the bar an hour before for the full experience — it's the kind of Chicago institution that hasn't got precious about itself. The late-night improv set tonight happens in a room full of energy on a warm Chicago night.
Buddy Guy's Legends on South Wabash is the place to hear Chicago Blues done straight — not as heritage performance but as a living music tradition in a club that the man himself still shows up to play unannounced in January. June through August the touring schedule is serious and the room, which holds maybe 400 people, means you are close to the stage in a way that larger venues can't offer. Go on a weeknight, arrive at doors, order the Cajun food (it's better than it needs to be), and understand that you're in the direct lineage of Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf. Evening blues in an intimate room, with the city cooled and calm by the time the headliners take the stage.
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Events: Happening in Chicago
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