ABOUT ME

I’m Sean. I moved to Chicago at the end of 2012, freshly graduated from Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. I’d never lived in a city, though I was a frequent visitor of New York, Philadelphia and LA and San Diego.

Chicago was a completely different town though, and it took me a while to appreciate just why and how it was different. It took leaving for three years to remind me how much I loved this place.

Chicago is more than its hot dog or pizza, more than the sports teams or the skyline. Chicago has a presence, and you can feel it whether you’re passing through or right in the middle, a presence made by something even more than the people who give it life.

Come explore Chicago with me. We’ll see what’s changed, what’s stayed the same, and what will change tomorrow.

CONTACT US AT
walkchicagoblocks@gmail.com

More social media to come

ABOUT THE PROJECT

I am planning to document every block in Chicago (yes, every block, with help from locals where needed), exploring architecture, landmarks, vitality and decay. Chicago is a BIG city, and I feel that all too often, neighborhoods like the Loop, Wicker Park and Wicker Park get all the attention. But Chicago isn’t just a list of tourist destinations or night-life hotspots. It’s a place where people live, work, survive and thrive in a space spanning 235 square miles.

One night, I needed some groceries, so I walked to the store. When I got home, I didn’t want to go in: I wanted to keep walking. So I did. I walked a total of 5 miles, exploring streets I’d never seen, shop windows I’d never peered through, and alleys I’d never even bothered to notice. On that walk, I asked myself, if I could walk 5 miles in the name of exploration, could I walk the whole city? Could I document the changes from block to block, from neighborhood to neighborhood? Could I archive these blocks at a single moment in time and show them again next week, next year, next decade?

I want this site to serve as a travel guide, a time machine, an encyclopedia and a resting place for all of the memories and beauty of this city.