What is there really to do around Columbia College Chicago? Perhaps that’s a strange question given Columbia’s location in downtown Chicago, but it is something to reflect on. If one is going to socialize in the area, what exactly are the choices?

Last week I was at Dunkin Donuts, half a block west from the building where the majority of the Creative Writing classes are held. I was sitting with a friend in the nonfiction cohort above mine. She’s from a Chicago suburb just to the northeast of the city. She asked the question that started off the blog. Strange to consider I couldn’t immediately answer her.

I think the inability to answer the question easily stems from two factors. One is that there is a noticeable absence of clubs in the area. Young people, a group I long ago ceased to be a member of, often equate “doing something” with clubbing. In my estimation the nearest club is Reggie’s, an eclectic spot on State and Cullerton. That intersection is nearly two miles from campus, though – so you’ve really got to want to dance to go there.

The historic Monadnock Building, just north of campus.

The second factor, beyond the fact that the area immediately around Columbia isn’t the clubbing center of the city, is that there are simply so many choices. The area around Columbia has no shortage of restaurants, coffee shops, bars, and the like. Grant Park, Chicago’s 319 acre “front yard,” is directly east of the campus and beyond that is Lake Michigan. There are also an incredible amount of cultural institutions in the vicinity, including the Art Institute of Chicago (ranked one of the top ten museums in the world by TripAdvisor), Harold Washington Library (with its ninth floor garden and Art Deco owl sculptures), and the Theatre District (where Hamilton is playing, but you may never get tickets).

All this before even mentioning Columbia’s robust events programing. The Creative Writing Department hosts several readings featuring renowned authors across the genres. These are held generally every two weeks throughout the semester at Stage Two, an impressive theatre and performance space on campus. Other events, such as art openings featuring both Columbia talent and established visual artists occur at the Hokin Gallery on Wabash Avenue (across from Dunkin Donuts!).

Pickwick Coffee on Jackson -blink and you’ll miss it!

Two of my favorite insider spots are Pickwick Coffee at 22 East Jackson and the Monadnock Building at 53 West Jackson, both a five minute walk north from campus. Pickwick Coffee is easily missed while walking on the street because it is set back 75 feet from the sidewalk. It is a former stable that survived the Chicago Fire of 1871. Think Harry Potter’s Diagon Alley but with coffee. The Monadnock Building is the only skyscraper in downtown Chicago with a masonry infrastructure. The ground floor features several restaurants, a cigar shop, a hat shop, and The Shoe Hospital – truly the best cobblers in the city.

I guess the answer to the question, “What is there really to do around Columbia?” ultimately depends on what you’re in the mood for and who you are with. But don’t worry – step out onto the sidewalk after class and you’ll find something.