Chicago Walking Tour: Historic Skyscrapers
Chicago is home to some of the world’s earliest skyscrapers. Get an up-close look at these 19th Century marvels, learn about innovations used to build them and discover how they transformed Chicago into a center of skyscraper design and engineering.
Highlights on this walking tour include Burnham and Root’s Rookery (1888), a transitional building with a Moorish and Romanesque exterior and a stunning interior atrium re-designed by Frank Lloyd Wright; Adler and Sullivan’s Auditorium Building (1889), a masterpiece of acoustical and structural engineering; and Holabird and Roche’s Marquette Building (1895), an outstanding example of the metal frame expression with traditional details and decorations.
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Options
Historic Skyscrapers
What's included in Chicago Walking Tour: Historic Skyscrapers
(Subject to Option Inclusions)Itinerary
Fine Arts Building
Meet here to start the tour.
Auditorium Building
View the building from the outside
The Rookery Building
View the building from the outside
Inclusions
- Admission to the Galleries of the Chicago Architecture Center
- Narration by a professional and certified Guide
- Historic walking tour of Chicago's architecture
- Food and drinks
- Coat check
- Storage for luggage and strollers
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- This tour will depart from the Fine Arts Building, 410 S Michigan Ave.
- Not recommended for young children.
- Pets are not allowed.
- Access to building interiors featured on this tour may be subject to change without notice due to weekend and holiday schedules or unforeseen closures.
Meet
Pickup and Dropoff
You will make your own way to the meeting points
Meeting Points
- This tour meets at 410 S. Michigan Ave., outside the Fine Arts Building.
End Points
- Monadnock Building. Actual ending location may vary.
Redeem
Ticket Redemption
Please arrive 10 minutes before departure at 410 S. Michigan Avenue and have your confirmation at hand. The docent will have your name on a list of attendees.