Doorways Of Chicago

Doorways Of Chicago Photography lets me paint a picture, tell a story, deliver a message, and strike a chord.

10/12/2025

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While in Pullman National Historical Park today at the Historic Pullman Annual House Tour I had to get a photo with one ...
10/11/2025

While in Pullman National Historical Park today at the Historic Pullman Annual House Tour I had to get a photo with one of the doorways that will be in my new Doorways Of Chicago book coming out next spring! Can't wait! Historic Pullman Foundation

Get ready world! The DOC Swag is coming soon!Statement Tees.SnapBack Sass.Designed by the fabulous Christopher Pressey D...
10/11/2025

Get ready world!
The DOC Swag is coming soon!
Statement Tees.
SnapBack Sass.
Designed by the fabulous Christopher Pressey Design!
STAY TUNED!

10/11/2025

Don’t miss the annual Pullman House Tour! It’s the longest running tour in the country 52 years! Oct 10-11 from 11am - 5 pm.

10/10/2025

Chicago, you’re invited to opening night of my newest photography exhibit, “GOBS OF GHOST SIGNS”

Tonigt, October 10 at Second Fridays in the
5 pm - 9 pm in studio #424
(410 S. Michigan Ave)

Be there!

Gobs of Ghost Signs” celebrates the fading poetry painted on brick walls and worn out signs all across Chicago. These old ads…weathered by sun, soot, and time…are the whispers of another era still clinging to the city’s skin. Each photograph captures that perfect tension between what’s been lost and what refuses to disappear. This exhibit is my visual love letter to the stories that refuse to fade.

10/07/2025

When a robot shows up with your toothbrush…you know it’s going to be a different kind of stay.

I checked into Marriott’s in Streeterville, where art and science meet sleek design, bold flavors, and yes…robot butlers named Leo and Cleo.

My room was sleek, chic and smartly designed. The glass-walled shower? Straight out of a design magazine.

Dinner at The Albert was gorgeous and delicious, prepared by Chef Steve Chiappetti. The lobby was luxe high-tech meets curiosity cabinet. This place mixes comfort with surprise in all the best ways.

Now I’m just wondering what else Leo delivers??

Book your stay today.
🛌Hotel EMC2 Autograph Collection
📍228 E. Ontario in Chicago
📞312.915.0000
🍽️
📞312.471.3883

This was a hosted stay…but all opinions my own.

Alright Chicago, mark your calendars! Open House Chicago is back October 18–19 and you don’t want to miss it! It’s been ...
10/07/2025

Alright Chicago, mark your calendars! Open House Chicago is back October 18–19 and you don’t want to miss it! It’s been one of my favorite weekends of the year since I went for the first time in 2018!

Over 170 incredible sites across 22 neighborhoods will open their doors, many that aren’t normally open to the public…and it’s free. (HINT: To access the Fast Pass which skips the lines at popular sites, grab a membership to the CAC …it’s worth it just for this but you get fab benefits all year long!)

I’m continuing my mini-series highlighting my favorite OHC stops by area — this time we’re heading to the WEST SIDE! (See my SOUTH SIDE and NORTH SIDE posts and stay tuned for my upcoming guides featuring other parts of the city and downtown!)

Which of these is on your must-see list this year or do you have another fav? Save this post and share it with your friends to help spread the word! (Download the app to stay organized on your devices)

📍 West Side Top Ten Picks:
🎳
🎭
⛪ Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica
🏠
🏡
🏢
🙏
🎨
⛪ St. Nicholas Ukrainian Cathedral
🏙 Nichols Tower (Old Sears Tower)

Follow for more of the most fabulous places to see, snap, and explore during OHC!

Alright Chicago, mark your calendars! Open House Chicago is back October 18–19 and you don’t want to miss it! It’s been ...
10/06/2025

Alright Chicago, mark your calendars! Open House Chicago is back October 18–19 and you don’t want to miss it! It’s been one of my favorite weekends of the year since I went for the first time in 2018!

Over 170 incredible sites across 22 neighborhoods will open their doors, many that aren’t normally open to the public…and it’s free. (HINT: To access the Fast Pass which skips the lines at popular sites, grab a membership to the CAC …it’s worth it just for this but you get fab benefits all year long!)

I’m continuing my mini-series highlighting my favorite OHC stops by area — this time we’re heading to the NORTH SIDE! (See my SOUTH SIDE post and stay tuned for my upcoming guides featuring other parts of the city and downtown!)

Which of these is on your must-see list this year or do you have another fav? Save this post and share it with your friends to help spread the word! (Download the app to stay organized on your devices)

📍 North Side Top Ten Picks:
🏖 Edgewater Beach Apts
🎭 Mundelein Center for Fine Arts
🎨 
🏠 Emil Bach House 
🌿 
🎶 Riviera Theater 
⛪ St. Mary of the Lake 
🏛 Sheridan Trust & Savings
🔮 
🏺 Edgewater History Museum

Follow for more of the most fabulous places to see, snap, and explore during OHC!

10/05/2025

State Street…but make it a block party! Sundays on State brings the city’s energy front and center with food, music, art, and allll the people watching you could ask for!

Today, Oct 5 until 6 pm.

Follow and for more of the city’s most fabulous festivals, architecture, and street scenes.

Alright Chicago, mark your calendars! Open House Chicago is back October 18–19 and you don’t want to miss it! It’s been ...
10/05/2025

Alright Chicago, mark your calendars! Open House Chicago is back October 18–19 and you don’t want to miss it! It’s been one of my favorite weekends of the year since I went for the first time in 2018!

Over 170 incredible sites across 22 neighborhoods will open their doors, many that aren’t normally open to the public…and it’s free. (HINT: To access the Fast Pass which skips the lines at popular sites, grab a membership to the CAC …it’s worth it just for this but you get fab benefits all year long!)

I’m kicking off a mini-series highlighting my favorite OHC stops by area, starting with the South Side below. Stay tuned for my upcoming guides featuring other parts of the city and downtown!

Which of these is on your must-see list this year or do you have another fav? Save this post and share it with your friends to help spread the word!

📍 South Side Top Ten Picks:

🌿 
🎭 
🍯 
🍔 
⛪ First Church of Deliverance 
🏛 
🎬 
🏺 Chinese American Museum
🎶 Grand Ballroom 
🏙 Pullman National Park

Follow for more of the most fabulous places to see, snap, and explore during OHC!

If this ghost sign could talk, it would pour you a drink first! Imagine my delight when I stumbled upon it yesterday!Onc...
10/04/2025

If this ghost sign could talk, it would pour you a drink first! Imagine my delight when I stumbled upon it yesterday!

Once buzzing with neon and neighborhood chatter, Rothschild Liquor on 63rd in Woodlawn was more than a store... it was part of the South Side’s rhythm.

That red sign probably lit up the block like a beacon, and even now I spotted it winking through the iron of the ‘L’.

The doors closed during the pandemic, but to me this place's spirit is still very much on tap!

WEEKEND WANDERING
Woodlawn Neighborhood

Address

410 S. Michigan Avenue, Suite 424
Chicago, IL
60605

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5am
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+12484700808

Website

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The Doorways Of Chicago Story

In February of 2017, I took a short work trip to London and Plymouth, England. When we arrived in Plymouth it was cold, windy and rainy. Out of the rain-drenched bus window, I spotted a tiny bright blue door in the wall of the Royal Citadel. This bright blue portal stood out like a sore thumb because the massive stone wall was very tall and had a prison-like appearance. While my colleagues went to their rooms to nap from the jet lag, I braved the wind and freezing rain to walk back to the citadel. While juggling the umbrella, which at this point turned inside out, I frantically dug my phone out of my pocket and managed to snap a few pictures. The thought crossed my mind that I must be OUT OF MY MIND to be doing this. I never got my nap...but I got the blue door picture!

I returned home from England and as early spring arrived in my own city I started taking walks as I often do to enjoy the beautiful architecture of Chicago. One day on my lunch hour, I stumbled upon a red door at the St. James Cathedral in River North. I took a picture of it. Now I had two door photos - one blue & one red. Then I started snapping pics of gorgeous doorways in Chicago and posting them on my personal Instagram feed. A few months later, having assembled a hefty collection of doors photos, I decided to start my own Instagram doorway account and @doorwaysofchicago was born.

Doorways are portals into a more peaceful and meditative state, a delightfully enlightened place of "no thinking". In essence, that means I'm OUT OF MY MIND, which is a good thing because I've learned I am so much more than my mind. Always make sure you find the time to do what you love. Becoming enlightened, living in the moment and training your mind to stop its constant chattering is such a wonderful thing to achieve! It takes some practice but it is SO worth it and becomes easier the more you do it. Free your mind. See clearly. Start living!