Chicago Things to Do

"The best of both worlds" is the phrase that best summarizes this classic Loop theater. It is opulent enough to appeal to the most discriminating of tastes, but refined enough to satisfy the most discerning theatergoer. It is t... more

Midway Plaisance is an 80-acre strip which connected the Jackson and Washington Park exhibits during the Columbian World Exhibition of 1893. It was the first self-contained entertainment district in the city; it was so successf... more

This statue by Ludovico de Luigi replicates a similar statue that once stood in front of St. Mark's Basilica on the Piazza San Marco in Venice. In the copy, de Luigi's nine-foot horses are captured in mid-stride with their powe... more

Debate still rages over whether this was the first skyscraper ever built. To Chicagoans, there is no question. The technology of 1891 prevented the 16-story building from going any higher, for the steel frame had yet to be inve... more

Known as "the city of neighborhoods," Chicago is home to 77 diverse community areas, each with rich cultures and traditions. Explore vibrant communities and learn about heritage and ethnic backgrounds on four-hour walking tours... more

The Harold Washington Social Security Administration Building Plaza seems an strange place for a one-hundred foot tall Cor-Ten steel baseball bat. But then again sculptor Claes Oldenburg probably intended for passersby to stumb... more

Intended to reach the man on the street, according to its artist Jean Dubeffet, this sculpture will not fail to accomplish its mission for lack of foot traffic. Indeed, the busy James R. Thompson Center is always bustling with... more

Illinois is known as the the Land of Lincoln. But had this man's debates with Honest Abe gone differently, perhaps we would be in the Land of Douglas. Douglas was an influential politician who assumed celebrity status during th... more

Once again, Daniel Burnham struck it big, designing one of the most original and whimsical buildings in the city. In this case he truly lived up to his motto, "Make no little plans, they have no magic to stir man's blood." The... more

As "The Gateway to the Magnificent Mile," the Wrigley Building sits directly across from its famous counterpart, the Tribune Tower, just north of the Chicago River on Michigan Avenue. Built in the early 1920s by the founder of... more