The corner of Sate Street and Lake Street. State runs north/south, Lake runs east/west. I took this picture a few years ago standing on the south east corner looking south down State Street.
It’s weird how many times I’ve found myself at this intersection at key points – or what would end up being turning points – in my life. I’m sure plenty of people are familiar with it and probably cross it all the time. If you live or work downtown it’s not like it tough to get to or out or the way.
The first time I was there I was seven years old, getting off the ‘L’ at the State and Lake stop. My mom took us downtown to look at the Christmas windows and decorations, and see Santa at Marshall Field’s, which was a Chicago institution, sorta like Macy’s in New York City. The other big department stores decorated and did the windows, but Marshall Field’s was the one to see, and they had the best Santa’s cottage inside with hot chocolate and all that. The windows went all around the building (on two sides, it was on a corner) and each one depicted a different scene. They didn’t change it every year, and when they did change them it was a big deal. The whole store was themed around the windows, with inside being decorated to match, and there was a huge tree they put up in the center of the store that had themed decorations and everything.
The first one I remember, and it was there for a few years, was “The Nutcracker,” which was pretty cool. I like everything about “The Nutcracker” except the name. The characters in the windows were all animated, and there were huge prop Nutcrackers standing like guards all around the store. They even had people dressed up like some of the characters walking around, and of course the music was piped in everywhere. It was great. Decades later I went back and it was “Harry Potter” and it was still great.
Once I was old enough to take the ‘L’ by myself, I didn’t go to that stop very often because I took a different line. The Congress ‘L’ (what is now the Blue Line) was closer to my house and would take you directly to Daley Plaza, which was where a lot of skaters and punks hung out. It was like a big meet-up spot really. But I still would find myself having these weird happenstance moments at State and Lake – bumping into other friends, randomly meeting other skaters who became good friends, seeing the occasional celebrity in town filming a movie, politicians out shaking hands. I’ve accidentally run into people I haven’t seen in years so often that it feels like more than just coincidence. Something about that place, and me, I don’t know what it is but it’s magnetic.
-PJ