Top Experiences in Marquette Building

Explore the architectural extravaganza of Chicago downtown and discover the most amazing and captivating facts about the first high-rises, city planning, and construction history.

Get a unique chance to combine touring by foot and by L train, and see the city’s most iconic landmarks like The Rookery Building, Chicago Cultural Center, First Arts Building, and more 19th and early 20th-century masterpieces. Be ready to see the City by the Lake from a new perspective and get to know it even closer as you stroll down its streets and travel by train.

Enjoy the small-group experience and don’t miss a thing as you travel
Discover the downtown and historical building together with your local knowledgeable guide
Marvel at architectural landmarks of the City by the Lake and get to know the stories behind them
Combine a walking tour with a train to see more landmarks and iconic sights on one tour.

We start our tour at one of the most interesting buildings in the Loop — the Fine Arts Building.  Built in 1884 as a showroom and office complex, the building was converted later into its present-day use.

Then we're off to the Harold Washington Chicago Public Library, the design of which was the winner of a competition to design a new library for the city.  From there, we'll view three Chicago landmarks built in the late 1800s, then visit the beautiful Marquette Building, the Field Building (built on the site of the world's first modern skyscraper) and then see the amazing atrium lobby of the world-renowned Rookery Building.

Next, we're off to the beautifully-restored Quincy L stop (authentic 1897 design) to take the train to our last stops.  We visit the iconic Macy's to see the beautiful Tiffany mosaic then we wrap up the tour at the Cultural Center to experience the world's largest Tiffany dome.

Make a day of it and book our Pedway or Historic Pubs tour for the afternoon!

The Loop is the heart of downtown Chicago. Within lies amazing art and architecture, great entertainment and shopping, history and horror and number of hidden gems. Christmastime adds another layer. It can be overwhelming, on your own. Kevin brings 5 decades of life and knowledge to bear, to explain the WHY behind the 'WOW'! The tour is fun, it's factual, it's personal and it's all yours in a small group setting.

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.

Eat, drink and discover Chicago's Loop and River North neighborhoods on our Chicago historic pub tour via the Brown Line!  Join us on this "over age 21" adventure for a combination of great Chicago stories and adult beverages as we tour historic sites and legendary pubs in the city’s Near North Side.

We'll kick off our Chicago tour at the beautiful Marquette Building then head to the Adams Street Brewery, part of The Berghoff, Chicago's oldest, continuously-operating restaurant for a drink and a snack. Next stop, we board the Brown Line for a brief train ride to River North.

In River North, we'll visit Brehon Pub with a fascinating story involving bribery and the Chicago media. The Green Door Tavern is next on our list. It's the oldest pub in Chicago and sits above a well-hidden, authentic Prohibition-era speakeasy. 

We'll then board the train again and make our way back to the Loop where we'll have "last call" at historic, antique-filled Monk's Pub.

Learn about the life and work of Louis Comfort Tiffany as we visit some of Chicago’s most magnificent art-glass and mosaic installations, each designed and crafted by the Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company.

In the late 19th Century, the Arts and Crafts movement revived an interest in decorative glass. New, well-regarded homes and public buildings from the era were considered incomplete without decorative glass or mosaics. Louis Comfort Tiffany, the preeminent practitioner of this art, gained great exposure for a chapel he designed for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Today, the city is home to one of the largest collections of Tiffany art glass in the United States. This tour introduces some remarkable examples of Tiffany's work.

As a certified nonprofit, all CAC ticket purchases directly support our education efforts and community engagement projects.

Take your shot at completing this Chicago Scavenger Hunt around the Loop and River North neighborhoods including the Riverwalk.
Complete this solo or build a ScavSquad of up to 5 people and discover the city like never before!
Use clues and hints within the app to complete the objectives (if you get stuck, you can skip and go back later).
Some objectives have prizes so do your best to complete as many objectives correctly.
Once complete, you can view the Leaderboard to see how you did against others.

On this tour your guide will take you on a walk around Chicago’s historic Loop District where you will get to see some of the oldest skyscrapers in the world and we'll take you inside some of the city’s most influential and iconic buildings.Your guide will share the history of Chicago and explain the multiple architectural influences that helped shape the city's incredible skyline!

Schedule:

10:00 AM
Meet your guide at The Fine Arts Building

10:15 AM
Visit the Marquette Building

10:30 AM
Visit The Rookery

11:00 AM
Visit The Palmer House

11:15 AM
Visit The Sullivan Center

11:30 AM
Lunch time!

12:00 PM
Visit The Chicago Athletic Association hotel

12:15 PM
Visit The Chicago Cultural Center

12:30 PM
Visit the Wrigley Building and the Tribune Tower

1:00 PM
End tour around the Wrigley Building

Dive into "Chicago's Artsy Cultural Landmarks – Walking Tour," a vibrant exploration of the city's iconic artistic and architectural gems. Start at the Chicago Cultural Center, home to the world's largest Tiffany stained-glass dome. Stroll through Millennium Park to admire "The Bean," Gehry's Pritzker Pavilion, and Plensa's Crown Fountain. Experience the grandeur of the Palmer House Hilton lobby, a palace of French-inspired elegance. Marvel at Calder's unique sculpture in the Mies Van der Rohe Federal Plaza, a modernist masterpiece. Discover the Tiffany mosaic murals in the Marquette Building, celebrating Jacques Marquette's adventures. Conclude with Picasso's mysterious sculpture at Daley Plaza, an artwork that invites endless interpretation. This tour is your gateway to the heart of Chicago's cultural and artistic splendor.

Embark on a unique journey with our Chicago architecture tour, where we unveil the city's exterior marvels and its lesser-known, stunning interior wonders. Led by experts, you'll explore hidden treasures such as intricate domes, dazzling mosaics, and exquisite craftsmanship seldom seen by the public eye.

Discover the ingenious solutions architects and engineers devised to overcome structural and lighting challenges, aiming to leave an indelible mark on the city's skyline. As we navigate through the iconic edifices of Chicago's Loop, immerse yourself in the rich narratives of magnates, miscreants, and stars who frequented these spaces in the Gilded Age and Roaring Twenties. Join us for an unparalleled architectural adventure.

Embark on a profound, downtown walk-around, to discover incredible stories and secrets of the city on this not to miss feet on the street experience! During our loop around "Da Loop" we will peel back the layers of this Great Big Onion Town, going in and out of extraordinary buildings, admiring amazing art and architecture along the way as we uncover how it all came to be. Expect an engaging, entertaining and wide-eye-opening tour du jour of my sweet home, Chicago.