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Chicago Walking Tour: Historic Skyscrapers
About This Tour
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.
As a certified nonprofit, all CAC ticket purchases directly support our education efforts and community engagement projects.
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.
As a certified nonprofit, all CAC ticket purchases directly support our education efforts and community engagement projects.
What's Included
✓ Included
- Admission to the Galleries of the Chicago Architecture Center
- Narration by a professional and certified Guide
- Historic walking tour of Chicago's architecture
✗ Not Included
- Food and drinks
- Coat check
- Storage for luggage and strollers
Itinerary
1
Meet here to start the tour.
2
View the building from the outside
3
View the building from the outside
4
View the exterior of the building
5
View the building from the outside
6
View the exterior of the building
7
This building is not directly part of the tour, however, the tour ticket includes admission to the galleries at the Chicago Architecture Center
Good to Know
- 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.