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AJS 44th
Annual Conference |
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Chicago Information The Association for Jewish Studies welcomes you to Chicago, Illinois for its 44th Annual Conference, December 16-20, 2012. We hope you find this guide helpful and easy-to-follow. It is meant to provide you with tips on getting around and making the most of everything this vibrant city has to offer. As you plan your itinerary, we invite you to share any tips of your own that might help us to improve this section. Your suggestions can be sent directly to ajs@ajs.cjh.org. The Association for Jewish Studies 44th Annual Conference will be held in the Streeterville neighborhood of downtown Chicago. This location will put you within walking distance of a number of attractions, including the Magnificent Mile, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Loop District. The area is home to many shopping, dining, and entertainment opportunities. The site for this year's conference is the Sheraton Chicago, situated at 301 East North Water Street, Chicago, IL 60611. Phone (312) 464-1000. The closest 'L' (subway) stop is Grand Avenue on the Red line (approximately ½ mile). Sixteen CTA buses also run within a few blocks of the hotel. Please see the CTA website for further information about public transportation in Chicago. To learn about hotel accommodations and facilities, please click here. To learn about attractions in this neighborhood, click here. II. TransportationTwo major airports serve Chicago (O'Hare and Midway) and direct flights are readily available. In addition, there is the Amtrak railroad system, a network of interstate highways, and the CTA train and bus lines. Click here to view more information on city transportation. Click here to download a PDF of driving directions to the Sheraton Chicago, also listed below. Getting to the hotel:
III. RestaurantsMost kosher restaurants in the Windy City are located in neighborhoods north of the conference hotel. The Chicago Rabbinical Council offers a useful guide to kosher eating establishments: For information on vegetarian and vegan cuisine in Chicago and the surrounding areas, visit: Restaurants within walking distance: V. Shabbat Hospitality and SynagoguesThe following synagogues will help to arrange Shabbat hospitality and can be contacted for information on services:
Chicago, Illinois is home to a number of Jewish-related collections and archives. Specific Museums and Exhibits of interest are as follows.
VI. General Tourist Information The Sheraton Chicago website features a list of attractions in the hotel vicinity. Another helpful resource for general visitor information is Explore Chicago: The City of Chicago's Official Tourism Site. This site offers up-to-date details and procedures for visiting many of the most popular attractions as well as detailed neighborhood maps and restaurant listings. VII. Pre-Conference Chicago Tours Coming soon! Information about tours of the Lyric Opera of Chicago (Friday, December 14), Jane Addams Hull-House (Friday, December 14). Tour of Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies welcomes the AJS to our hometown! We are delighted to make our resources available for conference participants. We will provide special access to a sample of material from our Asher Library's rare book collection, access to our visible storage (which includes about 1,000 objects from the 18,000 pieces in our rich collection of Judaica and Jewish material culture), and a special exhibit of paintings—“Tales, Myths, and Nightmares”—by Yohanan Petrovsky-Shtern. Spertus' innovative center for Jewish learning and leadership is located across from Grant Park at 610 S. Michigan Avenue. Visit spertus.edu for more information. RSVP to conference @ajs.cjh.org by December 1. Backstage Tour of Lyric Opera of Chicago/Private Meeting with Opera Director Anthony Freud A special behind-the-scenes look at the Lyric Opera, organized just for AJS members. Jesse Gram of the Lyric’s Education Department will lead AJS members on a special backstage opera tour, followed by a meeting with the opera’s director, Anthony Freud, for AJS members only. Stay for the 2:00 pm performance of Hansel and Gretel (special reduced-price tickets available for AJS members). Meet for tour at the stage door of the opera, located at 20 N. Wacker Drive (the theater entrance is at the northwest corner of Madison Street and Wacker Drive). RSVP to conference @ajs.cjh.org by December 1; please indicate if you are also interested in purchasing special reduced-price tickets for Hansel and Gretel. Tour of Newberry Library Join Newberry Library staff for an introduction to the renowned Newberry collections in Hebraica and Jewish history from the medieval to the modern period. The visit to the Newberry will include a hands-on display of rare books and other materials as well as a tour of the current exhibition commemorating the Newberry's 125th anniversary year. Collection strengths include manuscripts and early printing from the sixteenth through the eighteenth century as well as the history of Jews in Chicago and the Midwest. The materials in the collection include books, manuscripts, and maps. Tour participants will learn about these holdings as well as the Newberry's research centers and fellowship program. Please meet in the Newberry Library lobby, 60 West Walton Street, Chicago, IL 60610. RSVP to conference@ajs.cjh.org by December 1. Tour of Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago will offer a special one-hour tour of its new exhibit, Goshka Macuga: Exhibit, A. Tour fee ($7) includes entrance to all other museum exhibits. One of the nation’s largest facilities devoted to contemporary art, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (MCA) offers exhibitions of thought-provoking art created since 1945. The MCA documents contemporary visual culture through painting, sculpture, photography, video and film, and performance. Located in the heart of downtown Chicago, the MCA boasts a gift store, bookstore, restaurant, 300-seat theater, and a terraced sculpture garden with a great view of Lake Michigan. Goshka Macuga: Exhibit, A is the first survey of work by Polish-born, London-based artist Goshka Macuga (in Polish, the letter c is pronounced “ts”). Macuga’s work interweaves two strands that have helped define contemporary art in the last decade: artists’ increasing tendency toward historical and archival research and their growing interest in strategies of display and the dialogue between artistic and curatorial practice. The museum is located at 220 East Chicago Avenue. Enter through the ground floor lobby on the NW corner of the building (Pearson and Mies van der Rohe) and check in at the box office for your admission stickers. The guide will meet you in that lobby. RSVP to conference@ajs.cjh.org by December 1 (please note: payment of entrance fee must be paid to AJS by December 7). VIII. Suggestions from Matti Bunzl, AJS Perspectives Editor
IX. Maps/Guides to Chicago, IL Neighborhoods Click here for a Google map of the conference. Click here for interactive neighborhood maps of Chicago. [Hint: Click on Streeterville, Magnificent Mile, and The Loop for information about areas near the Sheraton Chicago For a map of the area around the Sheraton Chicago specifically, click here. |
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