My favorite quiet places in Chicago

Chicago is a big city, and it can be hard to find a quiet place to sit and read, think, or just do nothing without people crowding around you making noise. Here are my three favorite places in the city for a little escape.


1. The 9th floor of the Harold Washington Public Library. This floor contains the Winter Garden, which can be rented out for social functions. When it's not being used, it's a great place to sneak away and read a book. Its openness and natural lighting from the glass atrium are a section of the library not everyone knows about. Head on up here sometime and tell me if it's not a great place to get away with a book for a while.



2. The Crystal Garden Ballroom at Navy Pier. This is another open space with natural lighting. It is run as a restaurant by the Stefani Signature Restaurant Group, but when it's not hosting an event, it's a nice place to sit in the one acre botanical garden and enjoy a good book, or just sit and unwind.








3. Olive Park, just north of Navy Pier. This park is named after Milton "Skipper" Olive. On October 22, 1965, Olive threw himself on a hand grenade in Viet Nam to save four fellow soldiers he hardly knew. He was only 18 years old. The park is a nice, quiet part of Chicago, fitting for the memorial of a young war hero that selflessly gave his own life to save the lives of four others. You can read more about the park and the young man here and here.