Need to go shopping? Out of cash? Don’t worry, I have just the thing for you!

From now until March 6, The Free Store will be open at Gallery 400. That’s right, everything in the store is free! You can find anything from clothes to music and even furniture. The store takes item donations from their customers, so you can bring anything you’re done using and they will be happy to find it a new home.

Check out The Free Store’s website for store hours and pictures.

http://freestorechicago.org/

USE YOUR U-PASS: The store is only a mile away, but, if you aren’t up for walking in the winter weather, you can take the 8 bus north to Van Buren St then walk west down Van Buren to Peoria St. Here are directions from Google Maps.

When you get back, let me know what cool things you found when you were shopping!

Miss the old haunted houses you used to go with your high school friends?  Chicago doesn’t offer a lot of haunted houses, but one of the most frightening (and seemingly most expensive) does exist just a train ride away from campus.

The folks behind Hades (one of Chicago’s best haunted houses) in Palatine have opened ‘Chronicles of the Cursed: Hades Emerges.’ on Grand Ave.  The website is scary enough…good luck in the actual house.  Admission is $20 and runs through Halloween.  Make sure to check the website as it’s not open every day.

If you’re the scared type and just looking for a pumpkin, you’re probably out of luck trying to take the ‘L’ to pumpkin patch.  Your best bet is a local grocery store.

USE YOUR U-PASS: Red Line-Grand & State, exit and walk 8 blocks West
Blue Line-Grand & Halsted, exit and walk 3 blocks East
Green Line-Clinton & Lake, exit and walk North on Clinton 2 blocks, go left on Kinzie for 1 block, go right at Jefferson and walk 1 block to Jefferson and Grand Ave. Or follow what Google says.

Chronicles of the Cursed

Today is the first in our new series, ‘Name that Building.’  U-PASSPORT will post a picture of a recognizable Chicago building, but only a portion of the building.  The first person in the comments to correctly name the building wins $15 Dragon Dollar$ for use on campus.

Make sure to use your real e-mail address in your comment submission to we can contact you for your prize.

Today’s picture:

What is this mystery building?

The Hancock as viewed from the south on Michigan Ave.

While it’s definitely a bit tourist-y, if you’ve never been to the top of the Hancock, it’s time to visit.  Especially for those new to the city, there’s no better view from above than the 94th floor of the city’s fourth tallest building.  The Hancock beats the Sears Tower in that it has an outside “skywalk” and it doesn’t force you to sit through lengthy videos about the structure.  You can see the lake, the loop, and almost everything else from north to south.

USE YOUR U-PASS: Take any train line, transfer to the Red Line and get off at Chicago.  The Hancock is only a couple blocks east or follow Google’s directions from the UIC Halsted Blue Line stop.

The John Hancock Observatory