Doudna Fine Arts Center

The Doudna Fine Arts Center is nearing completion on the campus of Eastern Illinois University. It was designed by architect Antoine Predock, who designed other buildings I've seen in Minneapolis, Tacoma, and San Diego. More pictures of Doudna are available on Flickr. I am eager for it to be completed since I hope to attend several events there. For the last few several years, all events were held in an old gymnasium or a converted grocery store. The new facility will have a concert hall, recital halls, theatres, along with classrooms and offices. There is a lot of glass, copper, concrete, mirrors, and steel beams throughout the building.

City of New Orleans

I have travelled along this "southbound odessy" from Chicago to Mattoon, through Kankakee and rolled along past houses, farms, and fields. Now I've decided to continue the journey and ride the old Illinois Central tracks south to New Orleans. I will leave in three weeks and then spend a couple days in New Orleans. If you didn't know, you can get very cheap rooms in New Orleans in August when temps are in the 90s, humidity is high, and there's a chance of hurricanes! Check back later for pictures of the trip (if I make it back without melting!).

Ping Pong

Having walked by Ping Pong (3322 N. Broadway, Chicago) several times over the last few years, I finally had the opportunity to eat there. The interior is painted white with a very minimalist decor. It is fairly small and an additional half dozen tables are on the sidewalk. Floor to ceiling wide doors made the two feel connected. The young wait staff all wore striped clothes. There was a nice variety of Asian and Asian-inspired options on the menu. I ordered Pad Woon Sen (glass noodles and vegetables with chicken) which was adequate and expected. The clientele was varied with some older and some younger people. The ping pong connection was apparent when the check was delivered to the table (see picture). The food and service were worthy of a return visit but the music was so loud that conversation was difficult.

Food: ****
Ambience: *
Service: ****
(out of 5 stars)

North Shore

This weekend I explored some of the North Shore communities (Evanston, Wilmette, Skokie). One of the sites was the Baha'i House of Worship in Wilmette. There are nicely landscaped grounds and an architecturally interesting structure. There are many details on both the exterior and interior.