Rarely has a building been placed in a more appropriate location: the fire department’s training school (also known as the Quinn Academy) stands on the very spot where the 1871 Great Chicago Fire began – between Clinton and Jefferson Sts.
Chicago Fire Department Training Academy
Chicago
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
5.49 MILES
Built in 1914, Wrigley Field – aka the Friendly Confines – is the second-oldest baseball park in the major leagues. It’s home to the Chicago Cubs and…
6.21 MILES
The MSI is the largest science museum in the Western hemisphere and a place to completely geek out. Highlights include a WWII German U-boat nestled in an…
1.18 MILES
The second-largest art museum in the country, the Art Institute houses a treasure trove from around the globe. The collection of impressionist and…
1.38 MILES
There's free admission to Millennium Park, the playful heart of the city. It shines with whimsical public art, both permanent and temporary exhibits, and…
0.72 MILES
Willis Tower is Chicago's tallest building (and one of the world's loftiest). Breathe deeply during the ear-popping, 70-second elevator ride to the 103rd…
Field Museum of Natural History
1.29 MILES
The Field Museum houses some 30 million artifacts and includes everything but the kitchen sink – beetles, mummies, gemstones, Bushman the stuffed ape –…
2.26 MILES
Half-mile-long Navy Pier is one of Chicago's most-visited attractions, sporting a 196ft Ferris wheel and other carnival rides ($9 to $18 each), an IMAX…
National Museum of Mexican Art
1.84 MILES
Founded in 1982, this vibrant museum – the largest Latinx arts institution in the US – has become one of the city’s best. The vivid permanent collection…
Nearby Chicago attractions
0.68 MILES
This wonderfully restored 1925 train station looks like it stepped right out of a gangster movie. In fact, it has been used to great effect in exactly…
0.69 MILES
Once the Chicago terminal of the Santa Fe Railroad, this stately 1885 building used to be the premier station for trains to and from California. Today it…
0.7 MILES
This 1912 factory building displays the history of printing on its tiled facade – above the door is a large mural showing a medieval printer's shop at…
0.72 MILES
Willis Tower is Chicago's tallest building (and one of the world's loftiest). Breathe deeply during the ear-popping, 70-second elevator ride to the 103rd…
0.72 MILES
A Chicago fire survivor, this 1852 church is one of the city’s oldest. Old St Pat’s is best known for its World’s Largest Block Party, a weekend bash in…
0.76 MILES
A classic 1891 design by Holabird & Roche, the Pontiac features the same flowing masonry surfaces as the architects’ famed Monadnock Building in the Loop.
0.78 MILES
The Board of Trade is a 1930 art deco gem. Inside, manic traders swap futures and options – or, at least, they used to. Most trading is done these days by…
0.8 MILES
This small museum in the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago is fun for a quick browse. The best exhibits include a giant glass cube stuffed with one million …