By Heather Benjamin

“Taking the Chicago Assembly to New Heights” is the theme of the 2008 AOPA Assembly, and this article will give AOPA members a bird’s-eye view of the excitement waiting for them in Chicago this year.

Like its many skyscrapers, the city of Chicago has many levels and layers. It’s cosmopolitan, with a booming nightlife. It’s Midwestern, with a love of sports and hot dogs. Varied ethnic restaurants and unique neighborhoods abound, with a shiny downtown center that rivals New York’s sophistication. You can choose from dozens of theaters and museums for a taste of Chicago’s artistic culture, or walk along the riverfront  at sunset. And make sure you take a look at the city from the top of the Sears Tower!

The center of it all
You’ll be ideally situated near all the attractions by staying in the Hyatt Regency Chicago. The Assembly sessions will take place in this hotel located just blocks from the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. The Magnificent Mile shopping district, entertainment venues and parks will be within close reach. When you’re not attending a clinical education session or browsing the extensive exhibit hall, you will have plenty of choices for your off hours.

The dining hall
Chicago is full to the brim with dining options. But if you want to stay in-house after a long day at the Assembly, the Hyatt Regency offers a variety of places to eat or meet friends for a cocktail right in the hotel.
Stetson’s Chop House features an exhibition cooking area where you can watch chefs prepare delicious steak, lamb, lobster or salmon dinners. For a more informal meal, try Pronto Mama’s Italian Kitchen for pizza and pasta, or DaddyO’s Pub and Piano Bar for corned beef or a pint of Guinness. After hours, you can grab a bite at J’s Express, open 24 hours for items like coffee, sandwiches and muffins.

Those looking for a major dose of nightlife can head over to the BIG Bar, open until 2:00 a.m. every night, where everything is king-size. Here, you can get a 48-ounce cocktail, a stacked club sandwich or the “Magnificent Mile High Chocolate Cake,” while watching a game on one of the 103-inch plasma television screens facing the bar.

 
The top floor    
From the Sears Tower Skydeck, you can see not only the varied architecture of Chicago in miniature, you can see parts of four states: Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin. The Tower is a five-minute cab ride southwest of the Hyatt Regency. At 1,353 feet, the Sears Tower is the tallest building in the U.S.

High-powered telescopes in the viewing deck allow a closer look at details. You can even plan your visit for sunrise or sunset by going to www.sunrisesunset.com for the Chicago sunset time calendar.

The Hancock Observatory is another great place to see from new heights. Only a few floors lower than the Skydeck, the Observatory features an open-air viewing deck and audio “tour” descriptions of the city below.

Museums
The Field Museum of Natural History offers permanent exhibits on nature and culture, along with the crowd-pleaser “Sue,” the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton ever unearthed. During the Assembly dates, you can take in the temporary exhibit “Nature Unleashed,” a journey through the causes of tornadoes, earthquakes and hurricanes.

The Museum of Science and Industry features popular attractions like a recreated coal mine, a German U-boat, a 1934 Zephyr train, and fascinating exhibits on space, genetics, farming and more.

The Art Institute of Chicago has something for everyone intrigued by the visual arts. From ancient to modern art, from architectural design to sculpture, you can find your favorite kind of art represented—and maybe become a fan of a style you’ve never seen before.

For more on O&P outside the Assembly, check out an exhibit at the International Museum of Surgical Science. “Beyond Broken Bones” traces the history of prosthetics and orthopedics from 17th-century surgical techniques to today’s myoelectrics.

Other museums worth investigating include the Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum, the Shedd Aquarium, the Museum of Contemporary Photography and the DuSable Museum of African American History.

The outdoors
In the heart of downtown, the 24.5 acres of Millenium Park nestle among the buildings. Talented architects and artists have contributed fountains, gardens and sculpture to the green space. Grant Park borders the Art Institute of Chicago and offers shaded walking trails, as well as a paved path running along Lake Michigan, softball fields and tennis courts.

If you’re looking for more bright lights and activities out of doors, Chicago’s “lakefront playground,” the Navy Pier, combines parks, promenades, shops, restaurants, carnival rides, an outdoor stage, a children’s museum, and an IMAX movie theater. You can also pick up a sightseeing cruise or water taxi from the docks.
Many boat tours set off from the waterfront, but if you’d like to see Chicago’s architecture on foot, by bus, bicycle or Segway, try the Chicago Architecture Foundation. The foundation offers 85 different types of tours!

Entertainment
As the “home of the blues,” Chicago has countless nightclubs and piano bars offering blues, jazz, and many other kinds of music to pass your evenings. Blue Chicago is a local favorite, as is House of Blues and The Back Room.

The theater scene in Chicago is world-famous; the comedy troupe “The Second City” takes its name from the fact that Chicago has more theaters than any city except New York. With so many to choose from, you can easily find a show that appeals to you.

The Loop, as locals call the downtown area circled by Chicago’s “L” elevated trains, hosts several theaters including the Cadillac Palace Theatre, Ford Center for the Performing Arts, Auditorium Theatre and the Goodman Theatre. At the north end of Millennium Park, you’ll find the Harris Center for Performance and Dance. The ensemble Steppenwolf Theatre and the Royal George Theatre offer edgier contemporary plays.

Two baseball teams, the Cubs and the White Sox, make their home in Chicago. The Cubs will be away during the Assembly dates, but Wrigley Field is open for baseball fans to tour. The White Sox will be playing home games at U.S. Cellular Stadium, where fans are treated to fireworks each time the White Sox score a home run.
    
Shopping
If you want to hit a wide variety of shops in one place, you must go to the famous “Magnificent Mile” shopping district along Michigan Avenue. Eight city blocks contain 460 stores for every taste, from high-end retail stores like Saks Fifth Avenue to bargain shops and quirky boutiques. Those looking for art and antiques might venture into the nearby River North gallery district, and the Lincoln Park and Wicker Park-Bucktown neighborhoods offer unique and trendy items in what Vanity Fair magazine called “a square mile of sassy boutiques.”

Don’t miss it
Of course, the main purpose of your visit is to come to the Assembly! As always, AOPA will bring together the best in clinical, business and technical education sessions, networking opportunities and the largest exhibit hall in the U.S. showcasing prosthetic, orthotic and pedorthic products. (See the sidebar above for what’s new and exciting at the 2008 Assembly!)

The Assembly runs from September 10-13, 2008 and offers over 34 continuing education credits. To register online, visit our Web site at www.AOPAnet.org.

AOPA is building the biggest and best Assembly yet. Don’t miss your chance to see all it has to offer, and to take in the heights of Chicago’s culture and diversity.

Heather Benjamin is assistant editor of the O&P Almanac.