Chicago in May has it all: balmy weather, blooming flowers, miles of unspoiled public lakefront, sports, culture, and shopping.

The McCormick Place Convention Center, where APA’s 2000 annual meeting is being held, is located directly on the lake and within walking distance of Chicago’s Chinatown and its many outstanding restaurants.

City planners more than a hundred years ago reversed the flow of the Chicago River away from Lake Michigan, and forbade private ownership or development the entire length of the waterfront, preserving more than 10 miles of beach for your enjoyment.

The beautiful Outer Drive along the lakefront, one of the first limited-access roadways in the United States, has been rerouted to make a graciously landscaped museum campus housing the Adler Planetarium, Field Museum of Natural History, and Shedd Aquarium, a short distance from the convention center.

At the Adler, you can lie back in a lounge chair and watch the heavenly bodies go through their motions on the inside of the planetarium’s dome. The aquarium boasts a huge artificial coral reef into which divers equipped with microphones descend to feed and point out species of water life, and an enormous indoor tank, at the water’s edge, where you can watch whales being trained and observed. The natural history museum exhibits rare gems and plant and animal specimens, the latest major dinosaur skeleton to be discovered in the world, and numerous exhibits about human cultures from many times and places.

Another short mile and you are in the center of the city, at the Art Institute of Chicago, whose French Impressionist and Oriental collections, among many others, are world class. The Museum of Contemporary Art has been relocated to an exciting new building that offers a lake view, and there are numerous museums focused on particular countries and cultures: the DuSable Museum of African-American Art and History, the Spertus Museum of Judaica, the Ukrainian Museum, the Mexican Cultural Center, and many others.

Chicago is an architectural wonder. Buildings by architects ranging from Sullivan to Helmut Jahn can be found downtown, not far from the convention center. The docents who lead tours are both knowledgeable and genial. You can do a tour on foot or see many outstanding buildings on a delightful boat ride along the lake and down the Chicago River.

Nearby Oak Park was for many years home to Frank Lloyd Wright, and is now home to the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, with its many houses designed by America’s most famous architect.

Chicago hosts several major theater and dance companies, both classical and modern, such as the Chicago Symphony, Music of the Baroque, and the Lyric Opera. One of those magnificent old movie houses from the 1920s has been restored to its former glittering elegance and now houses major musicals. Chicago is a world center for jazz and blues. As the meeting approaches, we will have more details about just what is playing when you are here.

When you want a break from listening, looking, and walking, take in a major league baseball game; either the White Sox or the Chicago Cubs play nearly every day, the Sox in their ultramodern stadium and the Cubs in their much beloved, ivy-covered Wrigley Field.

The old Navy Pier juts a mile into the lake just north of downtown and has been developed into a major entertainment center, with a new Shakespeare company, gigantic Ferris wheel from which you can view much of the city, restaurants, and departure points for all kinds of boat rides. All these venues are located directly on public-transportation lines.

Chicago revels in ethnic diversity, rivaling Warsaw, Dublin, and Mexico City for populations deriving from each of their respective countries, among many others. This diversity is reflected in cohesive neighborhoods, which you can visit, and in unparalleled dining opportunities. It would be difficult to name a cuisine that does not boast an excellent representative in Chicago. You can dine interestingly and modestly or on haute cuisine.

Most of these activities are reasonably priced, so you will have a little something left to exploit Chicago’s outstanding shopping. The famous Marshall Field & Company still sells those delicious chocolate Frango Mints. Up and down the Magnificent Mile, just to the north, are large and small shops of every kind, from FAO Schwartz, the Gap, and the original American Girl, to Bloomingdale’s, Neiman Marcus, and the shops of international designers. In the unlikely event of a rainy day, there are four indoor malls, which also boast movie theaters and restaurants.

Come to Chicago, bring your family, and enrich your learning in scientific sessions with the many experiences you enjoy in the city itself.

We welcome you.

More information on many of these sites will be appear in the next issue of Psychiatric News.