Chicago
The Fort Dearborn battle, in which a group of local Native Americans rebelled against the incursion of white settlers, is thought to have occurred on this…
Must-see attractions in Chicago
Chicago
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…
Chicago
The 1930s Supreme Life Building was the spot where John H Johnson Jr, the publishing mogul who founded Ebony magazine, got the idea for his empire, which…
St Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral
Wicker Park, Bucktown & Ukrainian Village
Take a minute to wander past St Nicholas, which is the less traditional of the neighborhood’s main Ukrainian churches. Built in 1913, its 13 domes…
Chicago
This odd, mod building is where Poetry magazine is published. The reading room makes a nice refuge from inclement weather. Pop in and grab a book or…
Chicago
Famed architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe designed the buildings at 230 S Dearborn St (aka the Kluczynski Building) and 219 S Dearborn St (aka the Dirksen…
Chicago
McCormick Place is the largest convention center in the country, spread over four halls. 'Vast' isn't big enough to describe it. A high-rise hotel and 10…
Chicago
The building's exterior will send sculpture lovers into paroxysms of joy – the facade bears 24 life-size religious figures and 53 smaller ones, with even…
Wicker Park, Bucktown & Ukrainian Village
This church was founded by traditionalists from nearby St Nicholas cathedral, who broke away over liturgical differences and built this showy church in…
Chicago
Helmut Jahn designed State Street Village on the Illinois Institute of Technology campus. Jahn studied at IIT in his younger days, and his strip of…
Chicago
Examples of stylish architecture from the past can be found throughout Bronzeville, and you can see some fine homes along two blocks of Calumet Ave…
Chicago
The nuclear age began at the University of Chicago: Enrico Fermi and his Manhattan Project cronies built a reactor and carried out the world's first…
Chicago
Renzo Piano designed this silver, pedestrian-only span. It arches from Millennium Park over Monroe St to the Art Institute’s small, 3rd-floor sculpture…
Chicago
The Formal Garden sits in Humboldt Park's southern expanse, near where Humboldt Dr and Luis Munoz Marin Dr intersect. It's rich with jelly-bean-colored…
Chicago
The 1904 Santa Fe Building is a terra-cotta beauty where architect Daniel Burnham kept his offices. Enter the lobby and look up at the vast light well…
Chicago
The exterior wall of this school (ie the north-side wall, facing 18th Pl) is the canvas for a 1990s tile mosaic that shows a diverse range of Mexican…
Chicago
In the median of Martin Luther King Jr Dr, near 35th St, the Victory Monument was erected in 1928 in honor of the African American soldiers who fought in…
William Rainey Harper Memorial Library
Chicago
Once inside the building, head to the East Tower's 3rd floor, where the reading room (called the Cathey Learning Center) offers a terrific chill-out spot…
Chicago
Artist Claes Oldenburg – known for his gigantic shuttlecocks in Kansas City and oversized cherry spoon in Minneapolis – delivered this 96ft, baseball-bat…
Chicago
The mod, glassy Center on Halsted is the Midwest's largest LGBT community center. It's mostly a social service organization for locals, but visitors can…
Chicago Fire Department Training Academy
Chicago
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…
Chicago
In the front median of the Adler Planetarium, the bronze Copernicus statue shows 16th-century Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus holding a compass and…
Chicago
Modeled after a 15th-century French château, the William K Kimball House dates from 1892. It now houses the US Soccer Federation, along with next-door…
Chicago
This lovely little park in the Prairie Avenue Historic District makes for a nice stroll thanks to its ornamental fountain, manicured gardens and winding…
Chicago
A classic 1891 design by Holabird & Roche, the Pontiac features the same flowing masonry surfaces as the architects’ famed Monadnock Building in the Loop.
Chicago
The Romanesque revival-style church was built between 1885 and 1892 and was a hub for the city's Irish immigrants. Its smooth masonry contrasts with the…
Chicago
Part of the Prairie Avenue Historic District, the Romanesque 1886 Coleman House now serves as part of the headquarters for the US Soccer Federation.
Chicago
This 45-ton, steel sculpture marks the western end of the Paseo Boricua, aka Puerto Rican Promenade. It has a twin a half mile east at Artesian Ave.
Chicago
Elijah Muhammad, founder of the Nation of Islam, built the 21-room mansion at the corner of Woodlawn Ave and 49th St in 1971. Louis Farrakhan, the group's…
Chicago
This 1870 limestone beauty in the Prairie Avenue Historic District combines classical and French motifs. It's now a private event space.
Chicago
Muhammad Ali lived for a time in this large brick Tudor home, less than a block from his spiritual mentor Elijah Muhammad.
Chicago
Henry Moore sculpted the 13ft bronze piece outside the Adler Planetarium in 1980. It does indeed mark the time of day by casting a shadow on the ground.
Chicago
Built in 1926, the exquisite 150-seat chapel is worth a peek for its harmonious use of architecture, sculpture, woodcarvings and stained glass.
Chicago
Built in 1886, the former headquarters for the legendary Linotype company has been converted into snazzy loft-style condo apartments.
Wicker Park, Bucktown & Ukrainian Village
On the 3rd floor of this apartment building writer Nelson Algren created some of his greatest works about life in the once down-and-out neighborhood. A…
St Valentine's Day Massacre Site
Chicago
At this infamous spot on February 14, 1929, Al Capone's henchmen, dressed as cops, lined up seven members of Bugs Moran's gang against the garage wall…
Chicago
You can visit Barack Obama’s barber Zariff and the bulletproof-glass-encased presidential barber chair at the Hyde Park Hair Salon. Staff don't mind if…
Chicago
Gospel fans can make the pilgrimage to the Greater Salem Baptist Church where gospel great Mahalia Jackson was a lifelong member.