Chicago Fireworks info needed: A friend and I will be in Chicago the evening of the 4th of July and are interested in shooting the fireworks there. Can anybody make any recommendations...

plessner Loc: North Dakota

A friend and I will be in Chicago the evening of the 4th of July and are interested in shooting the fireworks there. Can anybody make any recommendations as to an easy to get to location that would be good for this? I have seen that millions show up for this event--the easiest thing would probably be to just skip it--but we won't have this opportunity again. We are staying at a hotel near the airport.
thanks

BebuLamar

The airport is quite far away from Navy Pier which is where the fireworks at. Looking at the map I couldn't really find a good location. I know near the Shedd Aquarium you have a very nice view of Chicago skyline but it's more than a mile from the fireworks.

Cykdelic Loc: Now outside of Chiraq & Santa Fe, NM

plessner wrote:

A friend and I will be in Chicago the evening of the 4th of July and are interested in shooting the fireworks there. Can anybody make any recommendations as to an easy to get to location that would be good for this? I have seen that millions show up for this event--the easiest thing would probably be to just skip it--but we won't have this opportunity again. We are staying at a hotel near the airport.
thanks

Take the L blue line from O'hare to the city ( LaSalle )..... Walk to the lakefront for the festivities. It will be unbelievably crowded, and expect to see a lot of cops and some violence.

rjaywallace Loc: Wisconsin

Best view is from a high floor with lots of glass overlooking the lake. Don't worry much about distance, these are seriously big scale fireworks displays, not the puny ones over your high school stadium. I lived >40 years in the Chicago area. Best Chicago July 4 fireworks I ever saw was from a law firm conference room. /Ralph

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

The traditional location for me is near the water, south of Navy Pier and near Buckingham Fountain. But, you need someone there holding your space about noon or earlier on the day of the fireworks...

plessner Loc: North Dakota

CHG_CANON wrote:

The traditional location for me is near the water, south of Navy Pier and near Buckingham Fountain. But, you need someone there holding your space about noon or earlier on the day of the fireworks...

seeings we don't get off the plane till 1:30 this might not work, but thanks

plessner Loc: North Dakota

thanks for the input everyone
we will see what we can work out

Cykdelic Loc: Now outside of Chiraq & Santa Fe, NM

CHG_CANON wrote:

The traditional location for me is near the water, south of Navy Pier and near Buckingham Fountain. But, you need someone there holding your space about noon or earlier on the day of the fireworks...

I don't really use the L, so do you agree their best Babis the blue line from O'hare to the city?

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

CHG_CANON wrote:

The traditional location for me is near the water, south of Navy Pier and near Buckingham Fountain. But, you need someone there holding your space about noon or earlier on the day of the fireworks...

Do they run color lights on the fountain during the fireworks? I would expect that to provide an interesting view if someone could get a good angle/view.

Sixty years ago, when I was a kid, our family would on occasion drive from the suburbs to attend concerts there; they would synchronize the fountain's lights with the music being played.

BebuLamar

rehess wrote:

Do they run color lights on the fountain during the fireworks? I would expect that to provide an interesting view if someone could get a good angle/view.

Sixty years ago, when I was a kid, our family would on occasion drive from the suburbs to attend concerts there; they would synchronize the fountain's lights with the music being played.

I think they light the fountain at night. Not only for the 4th.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

Cykdelic wrote:

I don't really use the L, so do you agree their best Babis the blue line from O'hare to the city?

The Blue Line is the "L" line going to O'Hare; there is no choice to be made. Conveniently, according to Google Maps, their LaSalle St. station is a fifteen minute walk from the fountain.

abc1234 Loc: Elk Grove Village, Illinois

Cykdelic wrote:

Take the L blue line from O'hare to the city ( LaSalle )..... Walk to the lakefront for the festivities. It will be unbelievably crowded, and expect to see a lot of cops and some violence.

I would not expect any violence but you may see some rowdiness from people who drank too much or think they own the streets. And yes, you will see a lot of cops.

abc1234 Loc: Elk Grove Village, Illinois

rehess wrote:

The Blue Line is the "L" line going to O'Hare; there is no choice to be made. Conveniently, according to Google Maps, their LaSalle St. station is a fifteen minute walk from the fountain.

You get off on any of three stops on Dearborn, no LaSalle Street. Those stops are Washington, Monroe or Jackson and all will get you to the lakefront.

abc1234 Loc: Elk Grove Village, Illinois

Plessner, the bigger question is why even go down there. Sure, the fireworks, Buckingham Fountain, Millennium Park and everything is great but so is the crowd and hassle. If you want to enjoy the wonderful lakefront, then why not go another day and do some great photography without the impossible crowd? If you go at night, you will also need a tripod increasing the difficulty of navigating the crowd.

I know the ambience is an experience but if you want just fireworks, then consider one of the adjoining suburbs. I live in Elk Grove Village which is on the western boundary of O'Hare. While not the hyper display of the city, you will still a pretty good fireworks show lasting almost an hour. From where you are staying, it is an easy fifteen minute ride. I would gladly host you but am playing the pre-fireworks concert in another suburb.

Enjoy your visit here. Plenty to see and do. Make sure you bring enough "film".

plessner Loc: North Dakota

abc1234 wrote:

Plessner, the bigger question is why even go down ... (show quote)

thank you for your kind offer not sure what we will do
our plans are to get on the hop on hop off busses the next day for some sight seeing then the evening of the 5th we are flying to Sfrica for a 3 week tour--might decide we can live without the hassle of the fireworks and save our "film" for other things!