Lee's Battle of Chicago Tour

Last week, Lindsey and I got a chance to spend a few days in the city of Chicago. It was an amazing trip, and for those out there who have never seen this beautiful city, I highly recommend visiting. There's no shortage of places to go and things to experience.

For me, however, there was something truly special that I got to experience. In Dawn of Destiny, the first major battle of the whole series takes place on the streets of Chicago. The Battle of Chicago, as it came to be known, launched Scott Remington's career. While staying in the city, I actually got to walk the very streets that Scott and his comrades did. Having never visited Chicago prior to this trip, much of the Battle of Chicago was determined simply through research. Getting to actually walk it myself gave the battle a much deeper meaning. I made certain to take some photos, so I'll post them here and give you all the tour!




In the above picture, you can see the intersection near the mound of rubble that formed the "barricade" first encountered by Falcon Platoon. In fact, it's this very moment that made it on the back of the book cover. It's at the intersection of South Michigan and East Adams St., not far from Millennium Park in the city.




I actually had a few camera issues during the trip, but occasionally "glitches" turned out looking pretty cool. The orange effect in this picture reminded of how the city would look if it was really under attack, with the orange hues of fire as described in the book. This is the same location as the first picture. In this one, you can more clearly see the building on the right that would have actually been the one to form the barricade, toppling across the street.




Just one more photo of that spot, since it's the only photo that actually has me in it. You can actually see Dawn of Destiny in my hand.




For those wondering what building it was that bit the dust, this is it right here. You can see the security guard in the building staring out at me. I had to laugh a bit wondering what he'd think had he come out, asked me why I was taking pictures, to have me explain, "Because in the future, this building is going to be reduced to rubble." I'd probably be typing this journal from prison.




This is the other side of that same street, a cultural art museum. The barricade would have stretched from this building to the one in the previous picture. It was just neat to me to actually see how this would have played out had it been real. Anyway, that's enough with this one spot. Moving on!




In the Battle of Chicago, Scott and his strike team take an alleyway to South Wabash, which runs parallel to South Michigan. South Wabash is the street they use to venture to Van Buren, where they rescue the pinned operatives of Cougar Platoon. There's just one problem...there are no alleys connecting them! I'm sure, of course, that at some point in the future, once I'm famous and all-powerful, they'll put an alley around here in my honor, just to make my novel correct! Anyway, this is East Jackson St., one of the many streets that connect South Michigan and South Wabash.




Ironically, there were multiple alleys on East Jackson. So had there been an alleyway between South Michigan and South Wabash, this is what it would have looked like!




Once the alley was traversed in the novel, there was another wall of rubble, this time impassable, blocking Scott and his friends. It would have been the top of this very building that formed the impassable wall, having fallen into the street. This is also where the group was attacked by Bakma. Henrick got injured, Scott took over, and the rest was history!




This is the same location as the previous image. You can see the above-ground train system that runs along South Wabash. It gets some mention in the Battle of Chicago as well.




This is the same building mentioned two pictures above, which just happens to be a university. The lower half of the building is what Scott and his group would have traversed to bypass the mound. The man in the photo is obviously hiding from the impending alien attack.




This is the South Wabash / Van Buren intersection, probably the most notable city location in the book. This is where Scott rescues Cougar Platoon, then makes the ultimate decision to continue the platoon's mission of capturing a Bakma Carrier. There was a massive firefight here in the book.




This building is one that Scott would have traversed in order to actually reach Cougar Platoon.




Then, from the picture above, Scott would have looked across the street to discover the infamous old van used multiple times in the mission. It would have been parked right in this area.




This is the last photo of the tour, as it was getting late, and to reach any more areas of significance would have taken far too much time. Nonetheless, I felt accomplished getting to this point. This is the actual corner that Scott and the rescued members of Cougar Platoon would have taken refuge in - where Scott commed Lilan to ask permission to continue Cougar's mission. The old van would have been parked right in front of those windows at the corner, having sheltered the operatives as they climbed through the window. Even though it was a rough rescue mission, I'm glad they got to chill out for a while in Gina's Cuisine, with soups, Italian beef, and burgers!

As you can see, not everything is quite perfect. Alleys aren't always where you'd like them to be, buildings aren't always what you expect them to be, and sometimes fiction doesn't quite match reality. But that's all right. It was a total joy to get to walk this route. It gave me a perspective of the characters and the battle that I'd never had before. If any of you guys ever end up in the Chicago area, give this little walk a try! It's a neat experience.

Next stop...Novosibirsk!

Ha! I wish.