walking tours

“I love the walking tours because I learn something every time plus it forces me to walk a little slower the next time I'm strolling next to these great buildings we have in Chicago.” –Alisa R. Chicago, IL

Get a closer look

Only a Chicago Architecture Foundation walking tour gets you up close to some of the most famous buildings in the world. Each tour is guided by an expert docent who reveals the people, places, and stories that have made Chicago a place for innovative architecture. Walking tours take a more in-depth look at buildings and sites and often include interior visits. The casual atmosphere of the tours allows for more questions and interaction with the docents.

The Chicago Architecture Foundation offers over 70 different walking tours all over Chicagoland.  A selection of tours is highlighted below:

Historic Downtown (south):  Rise of the Skyscraper

See some of the world’s first tall commercial buildings designed by pioneering architects such as Louis Sullivan, Daniel Burnham, and William Le Baron Jenney. From buildings built right after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 through the Art Deco era, we explore the buildings that created Chicago’s early fame as a center for innovative architecture. Learn more

Historic Downtown (north):  Treasures

See the cultural institutions created by Chicago’s business elite that complemented the city’s rise to prominence as a major economic power in the late 19th century. Community leaders such as Daniel Burnham, Marshall Field, Potter Palmer, and A. Montgomery Ward worked with the most prominent architects of their time to design a world-class city. Learn more

Modern Skyscrapers

Chicago’s reputation for innovative architecture continued after World War II as architects like Mies van der Rohe, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Helmut Jahn and others designed the quintessential modern American city. The spirit of innovation continues in the 21st century as Chicago builds environmentally sustainable structures and aspires to become the country’s “greenest” city. Learn more

Downtown Deco

Discover how the jazzy and exuberant Art Deco style influenced skyscraper design in Chicago. Learn about the impact landmarks like the Chicago Board of Trade, Bank of America (Field) Building, and Hard Rock Hotel (Carbide & Carbon Building) had on Chicago between the two World Wars. Soaring exteriors and luxurious interiors are featured. Learn more

Chicago Old & New: Intersections of streets, styles and cultures

See more than 130 years of Chicago architecture—from the 1870s to the present—while examining how intersections of streets, styles, and cultures communicate history and reflect the vibrancy of the city. Learn more

Millennium Park Revealed

Learn how top architects, artists and engineers collaborated with Chicago's movers and shakers to transform an ugly railway and surface parking lot into a park that has thrilled millions from around the world and become the envy of cities across the globe.  Learn more

NEIGHBORHOOD WALKING TOURS

Explore 19th- to 21st-century architecture at this world-famous zoo, second-oldest operating zoo in the country, dating to 1868. The tour features award-winning examples of Neoclassical, Prairie-Style, and Postmodern buildings, including the beautifully restored Cafe Brauer. Also highlighted are the state-of-the-art Small Mammal/Reptile House and the new Regenstein Center for African Apes. Learn more

Evanston Downtown

Voted suburbia’s best downtown by Chicago Tribune readers, Evanston has main-street charm but is becoming a skyscraper city, a battleground between developers and preservationists. This tour explores the old and new in this thriving retail, restaurant, office and residential center. Learn more

Native Americans, German immigrants, and a Bohemian artists’ colony have all called this eclectic neighborhood home. See a wide variety of historic and modern residential styles while exploring the history of this fascinating corner of Chicago. Learn more

Discover one of the best-preserved portions of Chicago’s 19th-century boulevard system. Logan and Kedzie Boulevards became prime locations for fine residential and civic buildings in the late 1800s. Today, this neighborhood contains examples of numerous architectural styles including Queen Anne, Victorian, and Prairie. Learn more

Explore the residential architectural styles of a turn-of-the-20th century historic neighborhood that has remained virtually intact, as well as the rapidly expanding DePaul University campus which is working to blend into the neighborhood. Learn more

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