AER 2008 INTERNATIONAL

CONFERENCE HOST NIGHT

Friday, July 25, 2008

Let the Illinois Chapter Host Committee send

you to experience CHICAGO!

Illinois AER is eager to welcome all AER conference attendees to Chicago! It is truly a world-class city, with museums, parks, architecture, arts venues (including music, dance, and visual arts), tourist destinations, international neighborhoods, great eating, sports venues, and so much more next to a spectacular lakefront. During the evening of Friday, July 25, transportation will be provided from the conference hotel to four of Chicago’s most interesting locations: Chinatown, Little Italy (Rosebud Restaurant), Millennium Par and Navy Pier. Information about these wonderful destinations are on the back.

Buses are ready to take you to the destination of your choice and will depart throughout the evening. Buses will depart from the Rush Street entrance of the Marriott Lobby.

Little Italy: This special event bus will depart at 6:30 to take you to Rosebud Café. It will return to the Marriott at 10:00 pm.

Millennium Park and Navy Pier: These combined destination buses will depart 6:00 pm, 7:00 pm and 8:00 pm and will begin return trips to the Marriott at 8:00 pm. 9:00 pm and the final bus returns at 10:00 pm

Chinatown: These buses will depart 6:00 pm and 7:30 pm. They will begin return trips to the Marriott at 8:30 pm and 10:00 pm.

Walking tour – Meet in the lobby; tour departs at 6:30 pm and conclude at the Art Institute of Chicago; a quick walk back to the Marriott.

***Please remember, if you wish to stay in these destinations, you are more than welcome to. But you will need to provide your own transportation back to the Marriott after the last bus leaves at 10:00 pm.***

Little Italy - located on the near west side of Chicago, in an area of recent growth and development due to the nearby University of Illinois Chicago and the Illinois Medical district. Parks and squares in the area feature sculptures of famous Italians (Christopher Columbus) and Italian Americans (Joe DiMaggio). Restaurant reservations in this area are hard to get on a Friday night. To ensure a great Italian feast, we have made reservations for a family-style meal at Little Italy’s most famous restaurant, Rosebud. The meal will feature Bruschetta, House Salad, Eggplant Parmigiana, Penne Bolognese, Cavatelli alla Rosebud, and the famous Chicken Vesuvio. Varous pastries for dessert and a cash bar will round out the meal. Cost per person will be about $45. Purchase your ticket for this event in advance at the Illinois Host table with cash or check. If you choose to visit Rosebud, remember to arrive hungry! For more information about this indoor venue, check out their website at http://rosebudrestaurants.com/rest1.php

Chinatown - located on the south side of Chicago, has over 30 restaurants and stores in a four block area. Asian architecture and art flourish, and include the Chinatown Gate and Chinatown Mural. Ping Tom Memorial Park is nearby and offers a quiet gazebo near the Chicago River. The relatively new Chinatown Square Mall is a few blocks away and greatly expand the choices of restaurants and stores in the area. If you choose to take the bus to Chinatown, you can expect interesting hours of shopping, architecture, and meals that range from inexpensive to moderate prices. This venue is both indoors and outdoors. For more information check out the websites: www.chicagochinatown.com and www.chicago-chinatown.com

Millennium Park – Chicago’s newest outdoor venue, offering the arts, play areas, gardens and walking paths, and the most unusual view of the city through the Cloudscape sculpture, affectionately known as “The Bean” to locals. There are several fountains, and people are actually encouraged to take off their shoes and socks to explore the Crown Fountain, which provides an unusual visual display was well as a welcome water experience! Restaurants in Millennium Park include the Park Grill and a nearby extended outdoor patio which offer meals at moderate prices. Dinner options are extended by outdoor food vendors and restaurants across the street on Michigan Avenue. As a special treat, the Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus will be performing a free concert of “Russian Splendor” in the Pritzker Pavilion (with limited covered seating and unlimited lawn seating) as part of their series of free concerts. The concert will begin at 6:30, so if you plan to attend be sure to take one of the earlier shuttle buses to Millennium. This venue is outdoors. The Millennium Park website is: www.millenniumpark.org.

Navy Pier - Finally, Navy Pier is a favorite tourist destination for many people! This collection of indoor and outdoor activities includes both formal restaurants, in indoor food court, and outdoor vendors, so dinner can be inexpensive or not, as you wish. There is extensive indoor shopping, and a free stained glass museum within the buildings. Outside, there is free music in the Beer Garden (no cover required), the Dock Street Performers and roving performers, boat rides, a Ferris wheel, and much, much more. More information is at the website www.navypier.com

Walking Tour of Chicago – Join Tom Perski, AER member, and discover the architecture and history of Chicago! This walking tour will leave from the Marriott lobby on the Rush street side at 6:30 p.m. The tour will explore areas of downtown Chicago and include information about Chicago history and architecture, as well as hidden treasures and humorous stories of Chicago's past and present. The tour will conclude at the Art Institute of Chicago at 111 South Michigan Avenue. You can then continue in the Art Institute Museum during their "free evening" to see some of the world's best Impressionist paintings with Tom or explore the museum on your own. When done, you can either walk back on your own or join the group at nearby Millennium Park for a bus ride back to the hotel.

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Important information to help you get around the conference hotel:

Marriott Hotel

Orientation Suggestions

540 N. Michigan Avenue

Hotel Lobby Michigan Avenue Entrance:

2nd recessed entrance south of Ohio Street. Outdoor entrance has an awning overhang and is carpeted.

Hotel entrance has automatic revolving door and single entry stationary doors.

When entering the hotel from Michigan Avenue, you are facing west.

To locate the registration kiosks, enter the hotel, walk forward to the stairs and descend two small sets of stairs (use the center handrail for ease in keeping a straight line of travel). Turn left (south) and walk past the Starbucks to the registration kiosks.

Important points to Know:

The main lobby is rectangular with a circular bar in the center.

The concierge is located in the SW corner of the lobby area.

The registration kiosks are located in the SE corner of the lobby area.

The lobby bar and seating area are located in the center of the lobby between the Michigan Avenue entrance (east) and the Rush Street entrance (west).

The circular set of lighted stairs east of the bar lead up to the second floor hotel restaurant. CAUTION; the first stair is easy to miss due to lighting which begins at the second stair.

The Starbucks is located south (left) of the Michigan Avenue entrance on the east side of the hotel.

There is a main hallway that leads to the main elevator bank between the concierge desk and the registration kiosks.

The smoking area outside of the hotel is located at the Rush Street entrance: west of the south stationary doors.

Hotel Lobby Rush Street Entrance:

The Rush Street entrance is the designated entrance for cars, shuttles and taxi’s.

There is an automatic revolving door located in the center of this entrance. Double stationary doors are located south (to the right) of the revolving door and will be unlocked for access during this conference.

The concierge is located forward and slightly to the left and after entering through the double doors. To locate the registration kiosks; walk past the concierge (on the right) and continue east past the main elevator bank to the registration kiosks on the right.

Express Elevator:

The Express elevator is located on the north side of the lobby near the Valet parking desk and the ATM machine. This elevator services the conference levels 5-7. It is located on the north wall of levels 5-7 opposite the “up” escalators.

Main Elevator Banks:

There are two hallways of main elevator banks at the south end of the hotel between the concierge and the registration. High-rise (north bank) services floors 1-9 and 28-46. The Low-rise (south bank) services floors 1-28.

All elevators access conference floors 5-7 and the dog relief area on floor 9. The main elevator bank is located on the south end of all levels. There are 2 beeps for elevators going down and there is one beep for elevators going up. While moving in the elevator, there are no consistent auditory beeps. Runners are placed on the floors outside elevators on floors 5 & 7 to help locate the elevators and call button.

The recommended and designated stairs to move between floors 5 through 7 are located in the SW corner of each floor, 5-7. There are two access doors on each level located to the west and perpendicular to the main elevator bank. Because of intricate patterns and the complexity of each level, consider using the handrails.

Alternate route to consider: use the main elevators or the express elevator to move from floor to floor.

Escalators:

Escalators are centrally located on each floor 5 and 7. However, the escalators connect only floors 5 and 7. To access floor 6, use either set of main bank elevators, the express elevator (north end of foyer area) or the SW stairs.

Restrooms:

Restrooms on floors 5 and 7 are located on the west wall in the ballroom foyer. The women’s restroom is on the north end (near the express elevator) and the men’s restroom is on the south end (near the main elevator bank).

On floor 6, the men’s restroom is located on the NE wall leading to the NE hallway. The women’s restroom is located opposite the main elevator bank at the entrance to the SE hallway.

The restroom for the main lobby is located on the lower level.

If you require assistance locating this restroom, ask for help from the concierge or the bellhop.

5th Floor Conference Level:

Floor 5 is a rectangle pattern with the Chicago Ballroom in the foyer area on the east side of the escalators.

AER registration and the host committee table are located along the west wall of the main foyer.

The main elevator bank is located on the south end of the main foyer. Use the runners to locate the elevator banks and the call buttons.

Chicago Salons F-H and the Los Angeles, Miami and Scottsdale meeting rooms are located in the SE hallway opposite the main elevator bank. The Los Angeles, Miami and Scottsdale rooms are located on the south side of the hall in this order.

Chicago Salons A-C and the Denver, Houston and Kansas City meeting rooms are located in the NE hallway. The Denver, Houston and Kansas City rooms are located on the north side of the hall in this order.

There are several seating areas located throughout each conference level.

6th Floor Conference Level:

The 6th floor level does not have a ballroom located in the foyer area.

The Lincolnshire and Great America meeting rooms are located on the west wall directly above registration (floor 5) and to the west of the escalators. Lincolnshire is south (nearest the main elevator bank) and Great America is north (near the express elevator).

The Big Ten meeting rooms are also located on floor 6.

In alphabetical order, the following rooms are located in the NE hallway on the north side of the hall.

Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State

In alphabetical order, the following rooms are located in the SE hallway on the south side of the hall.

Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Purdue and Wisconsin.

The main elevator bank is located on the south end directly in line with the SE hallway. Use the runners to locate the elevator banks and the call buttons.

7th Floor Conference Level:

The Grand Ballroom (Exhibits Hall) spans the entire east wall of floor 7. Enter the ballroom in the center foyer area across from the escalators. Use the runners to locate the main elevator banks on the south side of floor 7.

Dog Relief Area (Floor 9): Health Club and Pool Level

Hours 5:30 am to 11:00 pm. After 11:00 call security for assistance. Room Key Card accessible entrance to the outdoor grassy area. If not a guest of the hotel, assistance is available from the health club desk clerk.

Access floor 9 using either main bank elevators. Turn east out of the elevator towards the health club desk. Turn left at the desk and enter the pool area (tile floor). Exit at the first door on the right to the dog relief grassy area on the left. Garbage cans will be available. Obtain specific orientation to this area from the host committee table on floor 5.

Designated Smoking Area

Smoking is not allowed inside the hotel. The designated smoking area is located outside the Rush St. entrance to the South of the double stationary doors. The ashtrays can be located by trailing the outside wall South to the end.