Here's a random thought for a lazy Sunday. Two things that bring me warm fuzzies in life:
(a) Sitting somewhere in a shiny metropolis and gazing at skyscrapers and humanity. I remember one time I landed the dream DJ gig: a wedding reception at the top of the Allerton Hotel. If you don't know the Allerton, it's a crusty old classic of a hotel on Michigan Ave. about 2 blocks from the John Hancock Center in downtown Chicago. After the reception had ended, we had full run of the room while we tore down our gear. When our work was done, we killed all the lights in the room and just stared out the window (it had to have been 30-35 stories up) at the hustling Saturday night commencing below. I could have stayed there 'til sunup.
(b) Sitting alongside the banks of any random large body of water and gazing at nature. When I went to Florida a few weeks ago, we spent one night wandering around downtown St. Petersburg. We happened upon a little bar with a deck that stretched over a Tampa Bay marina. The 2 hours that we spent just hanging out on that deck are probably my favorite moments of the whole trip.
Point is: The Quad Cities SHOULD have the potential to fulfill BOTH of these desires at once. We've got downtown Davenport... and we've got the Mississippi River. Yet, for all the potential, I don't think there's one place that you can hang out & eat or have some drinks while having a neat view of both the river AND downtown, is there?
Or have I just not found it? One of these big buildings needs to have a top floor restaurant or something. There's too much great scenery in this town to not exploit it for commercial gain!
3 comments:
Sitting alongside the water (river/lake/ocaen) has to be my favorite way to relax. Been spending a lot of time lately at the lake here. Sunsets have been spectacular. :)
I completely agree. Maybe if the Blackhawk gets renovated the former High Notes could be turned into something, although the MidAmerican building blocks much of its river view. A better idea would be the casino having some sort of public space at the top of their possible new hotel, but they've (typically) backed away from that and gone with the Eagle Watch Terrace cop-out.
Of course, I can just go sit on my rooftop patio...
Speaking of spectacular views, about the only public place I know of is the Iowa Visitor's Center. The view from its decks is nothing short of awe-inspiring. (I *think* it's off of I80, but my brain is too fogged from lack of sleep to be sure.)
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