Chicago Walking Tour: Historic Skyscrapers
Description
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.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Meet here to start the tour.
View the building from the outside
View the building from the outside
View the exterior of the building
View the building from the outside
View the exterior of the building
This building is not directly part of the tour, however, the tour ticket includes admission to the galleries at the Chicago Architecture Center
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- 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.
Reviews(72)
A wonderfully informative walking tour of Chicago’s development of skyscrapers Marcia was attentive, informative and supportive….and all as a volunteer!
Thank you for the fantastic review! We're so happy you enjoyed the Historic Skyscrapers tour with Marcia and hope to see you on more tours soon!
Russell was an excellent tour guide, and there was plenty of great information, even for someone that went to school for architecture.
Thank you for the great review! We're so happy to hear that, even as an architecture student, you found the tour insightful and informative. We hope to see you again!
Excellent tour of some historic skyscrapers in downtown Chicago. The docent was very knowledgeable about the history of skyscrapers and was able to point out building details that I would have missed on my own. Highly recommend.
Thank you for the great review! We're so happy you enjoyed the tour and hope to see you again the next time you visit Chicago!
Anthony was an excellent guide, made the history of the buildings come alive! Now I see all the elements we discussed referenced in so many buildings all around Chicago. LOVED the inside and outside aspects, the hidden lobby gems!
Thank you for the wonderful review! We're so happy you enjoyed the tour and hope to see you again!
This was a wonderful tour of Chicago's First Skyscrapers. Our tour guide was great! We visited the Auditorium Theater building, the Marquette Building, the Monadnock Building, the Rookery Building, the Fisher Building, the Manhattan Building, and a couple of others. Our guide told us about load-bearing buildings versus metal-frame buildings, beams and spandrels, the importance of windows (particularly bay windows) for light and ventilation, and much more.
We're so happy you enjoyed the tour and appreciate the great review!
A very interesting tour with John, our enthusiastic guide who gave us a really insightful view of Chicago architecture. Definitely recommended!
Thank you for the wonderful review! We're so happy you enjoyed the tour with John and hope to see you again the next time you visit Chicago. Ciao!
Really loved the Reliance Building tomorrow. Docent was very knowledgeable and made tour interesting! Will definitely do more tours soon. Thanks!
Thank you for the wonderful review! We're so happy you enjoyed the tour of the Reliance Building and hope to see you again!
Our guide was friendly a knowledgeable and gave us a great crash course in early Chicago architecture, we absolutely loved it!
Thank you for the great review! We're so happy you enjoyed the Historic Skyscrapers tour and hope to see you again!
We have taken many walking tours with the Chicago Architecture Center, and loved every one of them. This tour about Chicago’s first skyscrapers was the best of the best. The guide was fantastic. We highly recommend the tour!
Thank you for the great review! We're so happy you enjoyed the Chicago's First Skyscrapers tour and hope to see you again!
You can’t understand Chicago without understanding its historic first skyscrapers. These gems are worth seeing and preserving for many generations. I learned so much on this tour. I highly recommend!
Thank you for the great review! We're so happy you enjoyed the Historic Skyscrapers tour and hope to see you on more tours soon!
