April 23, 2008: Chicago at night

[Undertoad]

IotD has always enjoyed the "at night" images, and here's one offered up with a Creative Commons license that permits us all to enjoy it as long as it's attributed to flickr user myelectricsheep.

My first instinct was to pull up a session of SimCity's latest incarnation; the game designers' approach usually gets you that grid pattern of roads and streets.

My second thought was: I've seen this. In Flight Simulator. There's O'Hare off to the upper left, Midway's actually one of those dark squares, but I'm going to bear right and aim at little Meigs Field... which no longer exists in real life.

Do I game too much? Well of course.

It's funny to think that it hasn't always been this color, and may not be this color forever. Before the bright sodium lights became the standard streetlight, it would have been dimmer and whiter. With all the research going into low-power lighting, maybe there will be a time when the light at night is once again a whiter, more natural shade. I don't think any of us would choose that particular shade of nighttime light, if we thought about it.

[Trilby]

My first thought: I'm not driving into that.


pretty cool, UT, I love these night photos, too. thanks!

[Cloud]

it's tomorrow already?

I'm confused!

[glatt]

Beautiful.

But I have to agree with Brianna. The thought of driving into that wouldn't appeal to me.

[BigV]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

snip--
It's funny to think that it hasn't always been this color, and may not be this color forever. Before the bright sodium lights became the standard streetlight, it would have been dimmer and whiter. With all the research going into low-power lighting, maybe there will be a time when the light at night is once again a whiter, more natural shade. I don't think any of us would choose that particular shade of nighttime light, if we thought about it.

I agree completely. In fact, I think an even better shade of nighttime light is dark. It's entirely possible to light the streets without polluting the sky. Just look what can be accomplished! Breathtaking!

[beauregaardhooligan]

Originally Posted by BigV

Breathtaking!

No kidding, BigV!

[Buckrogers47]

I think I can see the Cubs losing from here...

[Eclipse]

Haha, it's April 23rd already? I thought that was a real picture at first, amazing that it's from a game.

[Undertoad]

It's April 23 in most of the world actually. Once our Aussie friends started posting I figured Aussie time was fair game.

And yeah, no, it's a real picture... I was just saying I'd seen it in context of a game. This is at 38,000 feet I think.

[BeltNah]

Thats what I like to hear Undertoad, Stop living in the past.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by Brianna

My first thought: I'm not driving into that.

Actually, for a big city, it's not that bad to navigate.

[Imigo Jones]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Actually, for a big city, it's not that bad to navigate.

You know them better than me, Bruce, but I'd guess it's not the ease of navigation so much as the congestion that concerns Brianna and glatt. The congestion for the driver (and hopeful parker) is one of Chicago's few minuses, but it's a big one. The Dan Ryan, baby!

But Brianna, Bruce is right about the navigation. There is a relatively uninterrupted north-south & east-west grid laid over the whole flat town, as you can see in the great pic. Plus, Chicago is shaped kinda like a semicircle, and the expressways and several other major roads are "spokes" radiating in all directions from the hub near the Loop. Many of the "diagonal" roads follow the old Indian trails, which themselves often paralleled Lake Michigan or one of the few waterways that break up the modern grid.

So, even without a map it's easy to feel your way around in a general way. For example, Buckrogers is eventually leaving Wrigleyville after celebrating a Cubs loss and wants to get to the Kennedy Expressway, which is not nearby. First, he's got to remember where he parked his car, because parking in Wrigleyville is terrible, and it seems like more and more of the residential streets have parking by permit only, so you end up a mile away from Wrigley. But Buck's been celebrating responsibly, so he finds his car. Now, even if he didn't know the streets well, he could just get on a main east-west street and head west until he hits the diagonal (SE-to-NW) Kennedy--no prob.

Bonus annotated version of photo, including Wrigley (but at least a couple misplaced annotations: U of IL-Chicago should be significantly E; Brookfield Zoo, NW).

By the way, Buck, I want the Cubs to lose as much as the next guy--actually, more than the next guy. With the Cubs having won the division last year, however--and more importantly, doing very well in this young season, having won 5 in a row, taken the division lead, blah3--general-purpose insults don't ring as true and in the moment as usual. Forecasts for a June swoon might not be out of order, though. :p

In any case, the pic likely wasn't taken after a Cubs loss, or even during baseball season at all, because
1. for the streetlights to show up so well, the leaves must have been off the trees;
2. neither Wrigley nor White Sox Park is lit up; and
3. the Flicker page says it was taken January 2, 2007.

No kidding, BigV!

Seconded, BV and BH! Every little bit of dark helps. My street is pretty dark, with streetlights spaced about two per block on the utility poles running between backyards--odd. But a couple years ago, a gas station 1/4 mile to the SE rebuilt, and its upgraded lighting makes for surprisingly downgraded casual stargazing from my place.

No lights at Wrigley!

[xoxoxoBruce]

Sure, congestion is a feature of any big city, especially on the expressways, but not nearly as confusing as some big cities.

By the way, on the annotated version, I doubt that's Zion Nuclear Plant at the top. I spent considerable time working there, and think it's further north, out of the picture, halfway between Chicago and Milwaukee.

[dar512]

My kind of town...

Thanks UT. I have dual monitors now at work and needed a new wallpaper.

[kerosene]

Chicago at Night by Spoon

Now When She Went To Chicago That Night She Faced A Wall
And She Woke Up Outside With All Those Leaves In Her Mouth
And Felt The Pall
And All Night The Rain Came On Down
But Then She'd Never Been To Chicago At Night Before The Fall
And It Don't Stop Not At All
It Falls All Around
In The City
Hits The Ground

And Now Everybody's At Disadvantage
Speaking With Their Second Language

She'd Never Been There Before They Went And Set Up The Wall
And Though Nobody'd Expected Much From This Reinvention
She Still Broke Right Down After All
Because She Knew That It Was All Over And We'd Hit A Wall
And Like The Fall This Was All
Now It's All Around
In The City
On The Ground

And Now Everybody's At Disadvantage
Speaking With Their Second Language

And I Never Been To The Wall
Never Been To The Wall
Never Been To The Wall
Never Been To The Wall
Never Been To The Wall
Never Been To The Wall
Never Been To The Wall