HEY, WAIT A MINUTE!!! WHAT TH’ HECK ARE PALM TREES DOING IN CHICAGO????? This picture was taken at the north end of Oak Street Beach, where I spent many a summer lunch hour years ago. (I worked in that building with the antenna on top – when it was known as the Palmolive Building and was the tallest building on North Michigan Avenue! Now, of course, it’s dwarfed by the Hancock and other super high-rises.

The palms, by the way, were planted a few years ago. They're dug up in the fall and apparently stored at the Lincoln Park Conservatory for the winter.