Bustling downtown streets have largely been abandoned as life in Chicago has come to a grinding halt in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.
To capture the eerie phenomenon, videographers Rob Gigliotti, owner of RRG Photography, and Mark Segal, who owns Skypan International, used a 360-degree camera to film various landmarks in the Loop on April 2. The sunny spring day less than two weeks into Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s ongoing stay-at-home order. They cruised at about 15 miles per hour down normally bustling streets, with the camera atop a 10-foot pole.
Soundtracked by a loping guitar solo, the resulting video offers a stunning view of a city at a standstill. While some buses and trains can be seen running in the roughly 4 1/2-minute video, only a smattering of pedestrians and vehicles are seen braving the desolate cityscape.
If viewed on a mobile device, simply turn device to get 360 view. If on a desktop, click and hold mouse to pan around.
“It’s a crazy thing to see these spaces that are designed for people to be empty,” Gigliotti told the Sun-Times. “Chicago’s a thriving and busy city, and it was very strange to be out there at noon on a Thursday and no one was around. Not very many people, anyway.”
Gone are the notorious traffic jams along Michigan Avenue, as the camera passes the Art Institute, where a biker and jogger are the only people seen anywhere near the famous lions. Also nowhere to be found is the typical flood of tourists taking selfies in front of The Bean in Millennium Park, which has been fenced off to the public to encourage folks to stay home.
To capture the nearly empty “L” cars, the two attached the camera to a 35-foot pole.
Overall, the video portrays the wide open spaces of a metropolis brought to its knees by a new and deadly disease.
“It’s kind of a somber thing,” said Gigliotti. “You don’t want to be in this situation, but here we are.”