Hello all. I'm going to be visiting Evanston/Northwestern for the first time when IU comes to town on the 21st. My wife and I try to go to 1 B1G stadium every year on our quest to visit all of them (this will be #7 for us). We always start each gameday with a self-guided campus tour, so I wanted to inquire as to any special things to do or particular areas of campus to make sure we see on the trip. Thanks in advance, and good luck against MSU this weekend.
Visiting Evanston/NU for first time
- Thread starter Statey
- Start date
Make sure you see the graffiti in the men's bathroom in the basement of Lunt Hall. I learned a lot of mathematical biology, philosophy, and other subject material off of those walls.
Walk from the south end of campus to the north end, along the lake. You could continue on and end up at the stadium which is a reasonable hike. Evanston south of campus is very nice walking also. Nothing spectacular about the architecture on campus, but is is far from awful. There are some beautiful vignettes if you happen to come upon them. The shakespeare garden, the old observatory, etc. Unfortunately all the flowers will likely be dead by then, which are a significant part of the beauty of the campus.
Some notable older buildings on campus amidst all the newer stuff--if you like old buildings. It's not quite University of Chicago gothic (we do have gothic uniforms), but we have University Hall (south end) and the original library (mid-campus).
Be sure to check out the big dirt lot by the lake next to our student athletic center. This is the future home of Taj Fitz, a state-of-the-art lakeside athletic campus that will house our football, basketball, and ping pong training facilities. This should up the recruiting ante for NU, as football players now must practice off campus at the stadium. Word is that Nick Saban is preparing to ask the 'Bama Board of Regents to build a lake so they can build a lakeside complex to compete with NU.
Be sure to check out the big dirt lot by the lake next to our student athletic center. This is the future home of Taj Fitz, a state-of-the-art lakeside athletic campus that will house our football, basketball, and ping pong training facilities. This should up the recruiting ante for NU, as football players now must practice off campus at the stadium. Word is that Nick Saban is preparing to ask the 'Bama Board of Regents to build a lake so they can build a lakeside complex to compete with NU.
Well, Saban did love to boat, swim and fish at his lake house in Georgia....he sold it so Bama could build him a lake on campus.
http://www.al.com/alabamafootball/index.ssf/2013/07/nick_sabans_1095_million_lake.html
Ping pong? If I find out that one dime of my contribution is going to ping pong, I'm done.
This guy seems like a straight shot. So here goes:
If you've never been north of the city, allocate time on Friday afternoon or super early the morning of the game and drive up lake shore drive to Sheridan road and when you get to Evanston -- KEEP GOING. It's a stunningly lovely drive this time of year. Go all the way to Lake Forest and back - or at least Highland Park.
Just drive -- and stop along the way at places that strike you but make sure you stop by the dunes at Gilson Park and take a little walk around. Go find the Home Alone house or the Ferris Buehler house or the Risky Business house or whatever else strikes you as worth seeing.
Also, on game day, make the walk to the game from campus. It's a great walk and too many people are in such a rush, they blow it and try to park at the stadium. If you ignore my advice, dont freak out about parking by the stadium. There's plenty within walking distance and the walks are really nice.
Downtown Evanston? Just go wherever you like. It's fun - so explore away. You'll like it. There aren't any real "tourist traps" ('cuz we don't get that many as it is!!!) - so just trust your gut.
Trust the usual apps and websites on what's good to eat. If you really want a place like nothing you've likely ever been to before, and don't care if it has absolutely nothing to do with Northwestern or Evanston, and you're feeling a little adventurous try a place called Noon O Kabob in the city. Order Soltani with white rice and sprinkle the purple stuff on it. You'll just have to trust me on this. I'm about 63-0 on post-meal "OMFG!" responses to this recommendation...
If you've never been north of the city, allocate time on Friday afternoon or super early the morning of the game and drive up lake shore drive to Sheridan road and when you get to Evanston -- KEEP GOING. It's a stunningly lovely drive this time of year. Go all the way to Lake Forest and back - or at least Highland Park.
Just drive -- and stop along the way at places that strike you but make sure you stop by the dunes at Gilson Park and take a little walk around. Go find the Home Alone house or the Ferris Buehler house or the Risky Business house or whatever else strikes you as worth seeing.
Also, on game day, make the walk to the game from campus. It's a great walk and too many people are in such a rush, they blow it and try to park at the stadium. If you ignore my advice, dont freak out about parking by the stadium. There's plenty within walking distance and the walks are really nice.
Downtown Evanston? Just go wherever you like. It's fun - so explore away. You'll like it. There aren't any real "tourist traps" ('cuz we don't get that many as it is!!!) - so just trust your gut.
Trust the usual apps and websites on what's good to eat. If you really want a place like nothing you've likely ever been to before, and don't care if it has absolutely nothing to do with Northwestern or Evanston, and you're feeling a little adventurous try a place called Noon O Kabob in the city. Order Soltani with white rice and sprinkle the purple stuff on it. You'll just have to trust me on this. I'm about 63-0 on post-meal "OMFG!" responses to this recommendation...
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I am very much with you on this recommendation. Excellent, excellent, excellent!
That's just the gateway meal: the ultimate high, the heroin, is fessenjun. But on a world class stage, Noon O isn't at that level, like their kabobs are.
If you want world-class feseenjun, you need a Persian grandma with the time to slave over a stove for 14 hours reducing the walnut/palmegranute sauce down to a thick paste so dark purple that it's almost black. You find that in many places in Irvine CA, a place in Brentwood by OJ's old house that I can't remember the name of, a hidden gem 3 blocks from the US Grant Hotel in San Diego and a place called Mohsen in London.
If you want world-class feseenjun, you need a Persian grandma with the time to slave over a stove for 14 hours reducing the walnut/palmegranute sauce down to a thick paste so dark purple that it's almost black. You find that in many places in Irvine CA, a place in Brentwood by OJ's old house that I can't remember the name of, a hidden gem 3 blocks from the US Grant Hotel in San Diego and a place called Mohsen in London.
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As to the Home Alone house, it is at 3026 Normandy Place (my one-time home). Normandy Place is a one-block street off Central Park. Gary Barnett lived there too.
Well, we both are right. I was referring to Home Alone 3,"which came out in 1997.You are referring to an earlier Home Alone.
I thought this was a geography issue, not a critique of the relative merits of movies and their sequels.
As our friend will be visiting very near to Halloween, I would recommend a visit to the Music Administration building, which is purportedly haunted by the spirit of a former student.
You impress me as someone who always has to have the last word. But perhaps you'll prove me wrong.
Or somebody who just likes to finish a conversation with something resembling the truth.
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Are you saying that both you and Gary Barnett both lived at 3026 Normandy Place?
To the OP: You mentioned you like to do self-guided campus tours. Since you will be on campus for our Homecoming, in conjunction with Homecoming there will be structured campus tours taking off from Norris Center on a scheduled basis on Friday if you are in Evanston the day prior to the game. A schedule with the confirmed times should be available at Norris Hall or you can Google to get the tentative times from the homecoming events site. There may also be scheduled tours on Saturday but if so those would be the regular scheduled tours designed for prospective students, their parents, and visitors.
(Above - Campus views from last year's Homecoming Weekend)
(Below - As you approach the Stadium)
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I recall seeing the actual movie set for a "Home Alone House" during the filming on a prior visit to Northwestern and I believe it was the one at 3026 Normandy Place as described by Well cataloged which apparently was the house seen in the 1997 sequel. Fake snow covered not just the yard of the house but most of the block, which as I recall was in fact a one-block street. Since I am headed to Northwestern for Homecoming this weekend looks like I may get a chance to see the other "Home Alone House" at 671 Lincoln in Winnetka as identified above and described below:
"The massive, two-story home that served as Kevin’s funhouse of pain for the “Wet Bandits” wasn’t remade on a sound stage — it was all filmed in a real house in Winnetka, Illinois.
The home’s original owners, John and Cynthia Abendshien, said Columbus chose their historic, 4,250 square foot home while scouting locations near his home town of River Forest, Illinois.
The studio put the family up in a studio apartment as they were shooting but the family chose to spend as much time as they could in the house since they knew the carnage it would contain. However, they actually have many happy memories of the film and the friendships they developed with Macaulay, his younger brother Kieran, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern and Catherine O’Hara, who played Kevin’s frantic mother.
The only major problem the homeowners recalled was when they learned one of the fir trees in their backyard had been cut in half. They didn’t realize it until after they attended the movie’s premiere when they saw Kevin saw off the top of the tree to make a Christmas tree. The moment gave them a good laugh, John said. (The couple sold the home back in March of 2012 for $1.5 million.)"
Link:
http://thefw.com/things-you-didnt-know-about-home-alone/
"The massive, two-story home that served as Kevin’s funhouse of pain for the “Wet Bandits” wasn’t remade on a sound stage — it was all filmed in a real house in Winnetka, Illinois.
The home’s original owners, John and Cynthia Abendshien, said Columbus chose their historic, 4,250 square foot home while scouting locations near his home town of River Forest, Illinois.
The studio put the family up in a studio apartment as they were shooting but the family chose to spend as much time as they could in the house since they knew the carnage it would contain. However, they actually have many happy memories of the film and the friendships they developed with Macaulay, his younger brother Kieran, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern and Catherine O’Hara, who played Kevin’s frantic mother.
The only major problem the homeowners recalled was when they learned one of the fir trees in their backyard had been cut in half. They didn’t realize it until after they attended the movie’s premiere when they saw Kevin saw off the top of the tree to make a Christmas tree. The moment gave them a good laugh, John said. (The couple sold the home back in March of 2012 for $1.5 million.)"
Link:
http://thefw.com/things-you-didnt-know-about-home-alone/
The Farmer's Market in Evanston is great, right by the parking garage on Maple. If you walk South to North, keep going past campus to the Gross Pointe lighthouse and beach. Then head West down Central toward Ryan Field and a Chicago style hotdog at Mustard's Last Stand. Have fun and enjoy the fall colors as the trees are now starting to turn.
Hey Alaska, glad to hear you will be at Homecoming. Please stop by the Rolling Rock tent. (Any chance you will be bringing a little reindeer sausage and smoked salmon?)