Chronicle Books Blog

International Spy Museum

Go undercover for an exciting glimpse into the world of intrigue and deception.

Get in line for one of the hottest museum tickets around. Lines at the International Spy Museum (1; 800 F St. NW) can be long in the summer, so consider reserving online. The excitement builds while you’re in line, and kids get drawn in by video screens showing interviews with former spies. High-tech lighting and décor set the mood, and you’ll find yourself whisked upstairs on an elevator to the identity room, where you’ll choose a cover; kids will revel in choosing from the various identities. Then, you’ll enter the briefing room to see a thrilling film about spies. The next stop is an espionage-training area, where kids get to see films and ogle getaway cars, cipher machines, a KGB necktie camera, and a real shoe with a heel transmitter, along with countless other spy accoutrements.

Throughout, there are fun places for kids to experiment with spy stuff. Some of the permanent exhibitions may get a bit dry, and the Cold War galleries may be scary for younger kids. Afterward, head downstairs to the Spy City Café for hot dogs and sandwiches with cheeky spy titles, like the Red Square Dog; try to nab one of the booths, which have fun graphic facts on the tables. Wrap up at the International Spy Museum Store, which has a great stash of books, toys, spy stuff, and T-shirts.

Purchase City Walks with Kids: Washington, D.C.

Cheers,

Hannah Cox
Marketing Manager

Text © 2008 by Christina Henry de Tessan
Illustrations © 2008 by Jessica Hische
Text by Ingrid Roper Catron

The Loop Architectural Walk

Home to countless design marvels, Chicago has broken new ground architecturally for more than a century. This overview points out some of the Loop’s highlights.

Bus: 156. El: Quincy (Brown, Orange lines).

Begin at W. Randolph Street and N. La Salle Street at the James R. Thompson Center (1; 100 W. Randolph Street). The design of this controversial building, with its unusual sloping glass façade, was unprecedented when it was erected in the 1980s. Enter to view the soaring rotunda. Out front is Jean Dubuffet’s renowned sculpture Monument with Standing Beast. Head east to N. Dearborn Street to view the relatively diminutive, ornate Delaware Building (2; 36 W. Randolph Street), the oldest building in the Loop. Continue one block, turning right on N. State Street at the massive Marshall Field’s building (3; #111). Although now a Macy’s, Marshall Field’s was a beloved Chicago institution dating back to1853. The jewel in its crown is the ceiling’s Tiffany Dome, the largest glass mosaic of its kind. On the next block you’ll spy the terra-cotta Reliance Building (4; W. Washington Street), an icon of the Chicago school of architecture. Continue south to the Carson Pirie Scott Building (5; 1 S. State Street), a Louis Sullivan building famous for its elaborate entrance. Turn right on W. Madison Street and left on S. Dearborn Street to cross through the plaza (6) south of the First National Bank of Chicago, a relatively new building with a curved façade. Turn left on N. Clark Street, right onto W. Monroe Drive, and south on N. Franklin Street to get to Sears Tower (7; 233 S. Wacker Drive).

Purchase City Walks Chicago

Cheers,

Hannah Cox
Marketing Manager

© 200 Christina Henry de Tessan
Maps © 2007 by Bart Wright

Lower East Side

At Forsyth and Houston, the Landmark Sunshine Theater, formerly a Yiddish vaudeville house, heralds the changes have swept the area.

Begin at Forsyth and Houston Streets (F train to Delancey Street).

Yonah Schimmel Knishery is right next door, but the crowd waiting outside the Landmark Sunshine Theater (14 E. Houston) is more likely to head to one of the new restaurants that dot Houston and its side streets, then end the evening at the Mercury Lounge at Houston and Essex. On Rivington Street, you can stop in at five galleries between Forsyth and Clinton: the Scene, at #42; the Rivington Arms, at #102; Participant, at #104; Gallery Onetwentyeight, at #128; and ABC No Rio, at #156—one of the first in the neighborhood (in 1980) when the word gallery connoted not art displays but drug houses. Other stops include Denise Carbonell (154 Stanton Street), a lovely, light-filled shop selling one-of-a-kind lamps, and the tiny jewel of lunchroom TEANY (which translates to “Tea, New York”), owned by the singer Moby, on Rivington between Orchard and Ludlow. This neighborhood’s culinary epicenter is Clinton Street, thanks in large part to the efforts of Wylie Dufresne; the roller-skating star chef trained with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, made his first solo splash at 71 Clinton Fresh Food, and went on to open Alias (76 Clinton) and wd-50 (50 Clinton). Ludlow Street also does well by diners, with SUBA (#109) and Pere Pinard (#175). Lucien, at 14 First Avenue, just north of Houston, is a pitch-perfect version of a Paris Bistro.

Purchase City Walks New York

Cheers,

Hannah Cox
Marketing Manager

Text © 2004 Martha Fay
Maps and card design © 2004 Reineck and Reineck

WEST QUEEN WEST: GALLERY ROW
West Queen West was the site of a recent hipster renaissance and now boasts the city’s most vibrant arts and culture scene. Note: Save this walk for an afternoon Wednesday–Saturday.
Few galleries open their doors before 11 a.m., and many are closed early in the week.

Start on the north side of Queen St. W. at Crawford St. (via streetcar #501). Walk west past a block of noteworthy eateries. One of the best is the diner Swan (1; 892 Queen St. W.), serving inventive food that’s immensely popular with gallerygoers. Continue to the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (2; #952) to view groundbreaking work from the country’s hottest artists. Beyond the huge Centre for Addiction and Mental Health on your left is Casuccio (3; #972), primarily showcasing Cuban painting, and Propeller (4; #984), which shows more avantgarde pieces. Turn right onto Ossington Ave. to view works at Lennox Contemporary (5; 12 Ossington Ave.), which focuses on painting and printmaking, as well as installation pieces and new media. Return to Queen and turn right. Walk to Stephen Bulger Gallery (6; 1026 Queen), a gorgeous space exhibiting exciting documentary photography. Continue to Studio Brillantine (7; #1082H), whose beautiful collection of design accessories and toys features a few surprises. Wrap up your walk with a see-andbe- seen drink on the terrace of the Drake Hotel (8; #1150), the social epicenter of this recently revived neighborhood. In addition to drawing a chic crowd that often includes A-list celebrities, the hotel has a permanent art collection and hosts nightly art and music events. At Beaconsfield Ave., catch streetcar #501.

Purchase City Walks Toronto.

Cheers,
Hannah Cox
Marketing Manager

Text © 2008 Christina Henry de Tessan
Maps © 2008 David Lindroth Inc.
Text by Neil Carlson

A SERIOUS CASE OF WANDERLUST

wan·der·lust (wŏn’dər-lŭst’)*
n. A very strong or irresistible impulse to travel.

I sit at a desk, in front of the computer most of the day. So when San Francisco sheds its fog and lets the sun come in, I often find myself daydreaming about being outside in the world, walking around, exploring the city, and seeing new things. The weather has been great here recently (though the air is regularly filled with the fug of recent fires). We’ve had delightfully sunny 80˚ days, and warm balmy nights.

And, so, I’ve developed a case of wanderlust: I see an airplane and I want to take off; I read the New York Times travel section daily; I buy food for its transporting, exotic appeal; I compose and organize obsessive lists in my head preparing for my upcoming vacation; I eye the travel candy at Flight001; an avid reader, I can now only focus my reading attention on my guidebook.

If you’re like me and are dreaming of vacation and finding various ways to assuage your own bout of wanderlust, we’ve got a few things that might whet your travel appetite.

Troy Litten is the mastermind behind Chronicle’s Wanderlust series (journals, postcards, phonebook, mix and match stationery, and a book). Most of the Wanderlust line is stacked on my desk, in easy flip-through range; I thumb through the Wanderlust Travel Journal every few days and think about ways I could fill it, and I’ve been sending Wanderlust postcards to people from work as if I was actually on vacation somewhere.

We have three new flexi journals for you too to Wanderlust after.

Wanderlust Coffee Journal

Wanderlust Dogs Journal

Wanderlust Airmail Journal

Want to pretend you’re on vacation too? Send a Wanderlust epostcard!

Happy travels,
Hannah Cox
Marketing Manager

*The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language,
Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.