Aerial Cities

The 24/7 entertainment capital of America requires some truly unique jobs – seen best from the air. Every day, specially trained scuba-diving engineers fine-tune the dancing fountains of the Bellagio, as window washers risk their lives rappelling down the glass pyramid of the Luxor. The colorful casinos, zip lines and shows might draw most of the attention, but just outside town are 200,000 acres of protected wilderness and a colossal pile of stone called Red Rock, a mecca for climbers.

A day in the skies over the Windy City is filled with surprises. Just after dawn, the “Legends of the Lake” – twin sisters Jennie and Julia Papilli – follow a ritual they began in 1946, swimming two miles in chilly Lake Michigan. Chicago is a city of skyscrapers, and while some visitors test the heights in glass observation boxes jutting out from the Willis Tower, others head to the 94th floor of the John Hancock Center for a ride that tilts an entire window and floor out over the sidewalk 1,000 feet below. One rooftop serves as a training ground for Chicago’s firefighters, while another is an exercise yard for inmates. Connecting it all is the city’s rusty iron heart, its iconic “L” train.

Filmed over Chief Seattle Days, which honor the Native American chief that gave the city its name, this episode connects past and present in one of the country’s most dynamic metropolitan areas. A tugboat towing timber to a lumberyard at the Port of Everett is a reminder of the industry that built Seattle, but there’s no missing the $4 billion urban campus of Amazon, which now occupies 19% of all prime office space in the city. From the air, viewers can also trace the journey of coffee giant Starbucks from its first store in Pike Place Market to its massive world headquarters at the Port of Seattle.