"The very existence of libraries affords the best evidence that we may yet have hope for the future of man," opined T.S. Elliot. Libraries are indeed remarkable, and Chicago has one of the most extraordinary libraries in the Midwest. (In fact, the above quote can be found on one of the walls.) The library is named after Chicago's first African-American mayor; Harold Washington (aka "the people's mayor"), who died in 1987, was a strong advocate for the new building.

The Harold Washington Library has more than 70 miles of shelving. That's knowledge from here to Joliet and halfway back. All of this information is housed one of the most ominous-looking buildings in downtown Chicago. Giant, ominous owl sculptures that loom at the four corners of the library's rooftop serve to commemorate Minerva, the goddess of wisdom, and indirectly prove that knowledge can be a scary thing. It would be easy to spend an entire day spelunking the depths of the library's nine accessible floors and walk out feeling like you'd barely scratched the surface, either a frustrating or exhilarating experience, depending on your mindset.

Not only is the Harold Washington Library free, but it is a killer place to chill. In addition to its 2,400 seating capacity, there is something to investigate on every floor. The fourth, for instance, houses a complete set of US patents (from 1970). There are computers with free Internet access on the third. There is free Wi-Fi access on the third and ninth. On the sixth, there sits a cannon used in the Civil War. The ninth floor houses the Winter Garden; a huge space that opens up to the tenth floor, the garden is home to many olive trees. Scattered throughout the library there are statues and murals by renowned artists. If you want to take the chill home with you, the first floor's Popular Library (stocked with current titles) offers a formidable collection of CDs, videos and DVDs.