Summer + Julian
Things To Do
Byway Brewing Company
This place is right across the street from the hotel, has tons of great beer on tap, and often has live music! It's the place we'll be hanging out between check-ins and hellos at the hotel.
18th Street Brewery Tap Room and Craft Cocktails
We stumbled across this place right after we got engaged. Now it's one of the fastest-growing Black-owned breweries in America, served at what seems like every bar and sold every liquor store in Chicago. The original taproom in Gary, housed in a former laundromat, is a gem with amazing food. It's right down the street from the Aquatorium. Their new headquarters in Hammond also has a taproom, and it's a *tad* closer to the hotels.
Indiana Dunes National Park West Beach Trail
The Indiana Dunes National Park is a wonder of geology and botany. Located at the southernmost point of Lake Michigan, just east of the Aquatorium, the beaches here rival those on America's oceans. By late September, the lake is super warm and makes for great swimming. If swimming isn't your vibe, a hike up the natural sand dunes will give you the best sunset in all of Chicagoland.
Pullman National Monument
The Pullman neighborhood on Chicago's south side was dedicated a National Monument in 2015, not only for its stunning architecture, but also for being one of the most important centers of labor history in the world. Originally built by railroad magnate George Pullman as a restrictive company town several miles from Chicago, the area became a flashpoint in the recognition of human dignity, the separation between work and family, fair wages, and self-determination. Pullman is important for Julian and Summer because their home church for the last several years, St. Michael Ukrainian Catholic Church, is down the street.
Saint Mary's Byzantine Catholic Church
The church where we're getting married! Divine Liturgy (the Eastern version of 'Mass') is at 10am on Sunday. Fr. Andrew Summerson, the pastor, is a gem, and the interior was restored with beautiful traditional iconography in 2013. The history of St. Mary Parish is central to the history of Eastern Christianity in Chicagoland. Before the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church and the Ruthenian Greek-Catholic Church were considered separate entities in the United States, parishioners from St. Mary's in Whiting who lived up north in Chicago went on to establish St. Nicholas the Wonderworker parish in 1905. That's now the cathedral parish of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Chicago, out of which all other Ukrainian parishes in the area were established.
Aurelio's Pizza of Hammond
Aurelio's Pizza is one of our all-time favorite Chicagoland pizzas. Some people think of Chicago-style pizza as just deep dish, but in fact we can often be found grabbing thin crust, square-cut party-style pizza, and Aurelio's is a standard bearer. This one is close to the hotel.