Michigan Avenue - Niche Media - Michigan Avenue magazine is a luxury lifestyle magazine centered around Chicago’s finest people, events, fashion, health & beauty, fine dining & more!
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/297393
T he Loop is rightly renowned as a financial and corporate hub, theater district, shop- ping dest inat ion, a nd cult u ra l hot spot. But for t housa nds of Windy Cit y resident s — including Michael Edwards, executive director of Chicago Loop A llia nce —t his sector of sky- scrapers is somet h ing more: home. A s CL A launches its inaugural Living Loop Performing Arts Festival (thelivingloopchicago.com), a 12-week series of free, site-specific performances around t he neighborhood st a r t ing in June, Edwa rds— who arrived in Chicago in late 2012 after hold- ing posit ions in econom ic development in Pittsburgh and Spokane, Washington—ref lects on how, for him, t his dow ntow n dist r ict is t he ideal place for work and play. "One of the trends has been that people are moving into the Loop, so when I got here I thought I would live in the neighborhood myself. What I really enjoy is that it's so intense and busy—there's global commerce going on all around you—and yet you have your own space. It's a nice little refuge. "I'm a big runner and cyclist. I live at Wells and Washington, so I run west from there and north onto the Riverwalk, which is already great but is going to be even better after the extension that's under way. And of course, being able to run along the lake is just phenomenal. I try to come back through Grant Park, and the run along Michigan Avenue on the park feels very urban. It's a great park experience, and with all the buildings around it's just beautiful. "I really enjoy the variety of restaurants here— traditional Chicago restaurants on Wabash like the Exchequer Restaurant & Pub. The food there is good and there's lots of it—ribs, chicken wings, fish. The people are really sweet, and it has a great Chicago vibe. I also like some of the newer modern restaurants, like The Gage, which is full of vitality. There's a little bit of business going on and a lot of people having continued on page 70 "There's Nothing You Can't Do in the Loop." CHICAGO LOOP ALLIANCE EXEC MICHAEL EDWARDS SINGS THE PRAISES OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE HE WORKS AND LIVES. BY J.P. ANDERSON LEFT: Michael Edwards, a Loop resident since 2012. BELOW: Even longtime Chicagoans can get a new perspective on the city aboard a Chicago Architecture Foundation River Cruise. 68 MICHIGANAVEMAG.COM NATIVE 068-070_MA_SP_Native_May/June_14.indd 68 4/14/14 9:40 AM