For those chess players that love to travel, what places should be written on their to-see lists? Does your city have a public park with chess tables like Washington Square Park in NYC? Does your town have a resident who collects exotic or historic chess sets like Dr George Dean (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Dean)? Was your hometown the birthplace of a famous player like New Orleans and Paul Morphy? If so, is there a small museum, statue or monument for them? Does your city have a large, outdoor chess set for the general public to use, or is it home to a sculpture or statue related to chess like the Chess Players statues at Marshall Park in Washington DC? Are you fortunate to have a world famous chess club like the Marshall in NYC or the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St Louis in your area?
If you know of something a traveling chess player may find interesting then post it here in this thread. Website links or photos would be a plus!
Chicago has an outdoor chess pavilion (PDF) adjacent to North Avenue Beach. But come by bus, or walk/bike the lakefront path – the cost of parking in the beach lot is absurd.
Portland Oregon has a board or two in downtown Portland in Pioneer Square I believe it called, next to the courthouse. One of the local TV Stations has a studio that has windows looking at the square and weather guy often is standing in the square.
Washington Square Mall had some tables with boards but I never saw any one using them for playing chess but then I have not been there that often as I lived in Camas and now in Vancouver.
The Portland Chess Club is having a $10,000.00 prize fund tournament this August. The club has various activities most nights of the week.
Morro Bay, Calif. has a large outdoor chess board on the Embarcadero, with 4 or 5 inlaid chess boards on surrounding tables. On Saturdays from about 10-3, chess players from Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo put out the 2-3 foot tall pieces for people to use on the large outdoor board, and chess sets for the small tables.
The outdoor patio of the Au Bon Pain adjacent to Harvard Square in Cambridge, Mass., is home to several regular chess players. (Not their literal home. I hope.)
Westfield Shoppingtown Mall in Vancouver WA has recently added a large chess set. Crossroads Shopping Center in Bellevue WA has had one for years. Believe there are some in Vancouver BC Malls.
That’s exactly the kind of information I was hoping for.