Chicago, 11.30 am on a Saturday. They call it the windy city but there is no wind today, as you walk through Michigan Avenue. The sun is softly hitting you in the face and, although it’s cold, you have a warm feeling. There is a bunch of people on the street today but it’s not too packed or too busy. As you walk by, you feel happy; you feel you fit into this urban grid. The skyscrapers, aren’t really high at all – the scale feels right and the streets are wide and sunny. Then you realize you don’t ever want to leave this city; you realize you fell in love with it.
Chicago’s architecture (its scale, its disposition in the urban grid and its composition) makes the city such an amazing place to discover. Some architecture lovers appreciate this charm on a daily basis and know these buildings by heart, but if you don’t, check out this list and enjoy Chicago’s magnificent architecture. After all, it is the best city in North America.
1. Aqua Tower
Location: 225 N Columbus Dr. (Google)
Architect: Gang Studio
Year: 2009
Description: Aqua Tower, completed in 2009, became the tallest building in the United States. This figure will be soon surpassed by Vista Tower, also by Jeanne Gang (see point 6 of this list). Taking inspiration from striated limestone outcropping – a common feature in the Great Lakes region – the façade undulates in and out. Floor slabs across the height tower vary according to use, views and sunlight creating an undulating and sculptural elevation. Read more here.
2. The Poetry Foundation
Location: 61 W Superior St. (Google)
Architect: John Ronan Architects
Year: 2011
Description: The new home for the Poetry Foundation was designed by John Ronan Architects and built in 2011, being 26,000 sq ft its project area. Yet so small it is one of the most effective buildings in terms of concept. Like a poem that invites multiple readings, the space encourages repeated visits, revealing itself slowly over time. That is why the building is organized in a series of layers. Read more here.
3. John Hancock Center
Location: 875 N Michigan Ave. (Google)
Architect: Skidmore, Owing and Merrill (SOM)
Year: 1968
Description: At the time of its completion, John Hancock Center became the world’s second-tallest structure. This tower was so relevant for SOM because it meant the beginning of a skyscraper career. After then, they went on to design Sears Tower (1973, tallest in the world for over twenty years) and the Burj khalifa (2010, currently the world’s tallest building). Don’t miss the signature lounge at John Hancock Center, which is very nice at sunset. Read more here.
4. Robie House
Location: 5757 S Woodlawn Ave. (Google)
Architect: Frank Lloyd Wright
Year: 1910
Description: Frederick C. Robie House is a masterpiece of the Prairie style and a forerunner of modernism in architecture. Lloyd Wright broke down old barriers, creating a residential design with a horizontal roofline, large overhanging eaves, continuous ribbons of windows, and a wide-open living space at its center. Read more here.
5. The Art Institute of Chicago
Location: 111 South Michigan Ave. (Google)
Architect: Renzo Piano (modern wing)
Year: 2012
Description: The Art Institute of Chicago, one of the oldest and largest museums in the United States, was founded in 1879. In 2012, the Modern Wing by Renzo Piano opened as the new home for the museum’s collection of 20th and 21st-century art. Don’t miss the Nichols Bridgeway across the museum, also by Renzo Piano. Read more here.
6. Vista Tower
Location: 363 E Wacker Dr (Google)
Architect: Gang Studio
Year: 2020 (expected)
Description: This 101-story, 1,191 ft (363 m) skyscraper will soon become Chicago’s third-tallest structure – and the tallest structure in the world designed by a woman. Looking up from the river and park, the tower presents itself as three interconnected volumes of differing heights. The mixed-use tower will be the home of the Wanda Vista Hotel and 406 condominium residences. Read more here.
7. Apple Michigan Avenue
Location: 401 N Michigan Ave (Google)
Architect: Foster + Partners
Year: 2017
Description: Located at the intersection of the Chicago River and North Michigan Avenue, Apple Michigan Avenue cascades down from Pioneer Court to the river’s edge solving the constraints of a very difficult site. Completed in 2017, Chicago’s Apple store became another in the portfolio of Foster + Partners in addition to Istanbul (2014), London (2016) and Milan (2018) amongst others. Read more here.
8. Lake Shore Drive Apartments
Location: 880 N Lake Shore Dr. (Google)
Architect: Mies van der Rohe
Year: 1951
Description: Mies van der Rohe’s design for these towers was initially not accepted because it was considered to be too extreme (yikes!). The materials are common: steel, aluminum and glass. Yet what made these buildings so special was the structural clarity and composition, which followed his principle “less is more” as it is demonstrated in his self-proclaimed “skin and bones” architecture. Read more here.
9. Charnley-Persky House
Location: 1365 N Astor St. (Google)
Architect: Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright
Year: 1891-1892
Description: Charnley-Persky House is one of the oldest houses of Chicago (with Glessner and Clarke Houses) and it is said to be the first modern house in Chicago. The red house next to it was built shortly before, and the differences are amazing. Tours are offered on Wednesday afternoons. Read more here.
10. Willis Tower
Location: 233 South Wacker Drive (Google)
Architect: Skidmore, Owing and Merrill (SOM)
Year: 1973
Description: At the time of its completion in 1973, the Willis Tower was the tallest building on earth, holding this rank for over 25 years! You can go up to the top and be amazed by the 360º views of Chicago, Lake Michigan and the Illinois plain – on a clear day you might be able to see up to 50 miles and 4 states. Read more here.
11. Lincoln Park Zoo’s South Pond
Location: 2001 N Clark St. (Google)
Architect: Gang Studio
Year: 2010
Description: Lincoln Park Zoo’s South Pond was built in 1908 and it reflected the Victorian romantic and leisurely concept of nature in the city. Almost a century later, Studio Gang transformed this early 19th century urban pond into an ecological habitat buzzing with life. This wood pavilion works as an outdoor classroom and as a structure that frames the superb skyline views at this point. Read more here.
12. Marina Towers
Location: 300 North State St. (Google)
Architect: Bertrand Goldberg
Year: 1964
Description: Marina Tower, with its iconic corn cob towers, and identical floor plans, became the first circular apartment buildings in history. It was designed as a self-contained town, full of residential and commercial units – a revolutionary concept at the time. The successful building gave Goldberg the opportunity to continue building residential towers in Chicago where he expressed his architecture theories. Read more here.
13. Museum of Contemporary Art of Chicago
Location: 220 East Chicago Ave. (Google)
Architect: Josef Paul Kleihues
Year: 1996
Description: The MCA was the first project in the United States by Josef Paul Kleihues, the German architect behind Berlin’s reconstruction after the fall of Berlin Wall. The Museum of Contemporary Art of Chicago opened its doors in 1996 with an exposition of Frida Kahlo, the first in the US! Don’t miss a remarkable aspect of the museum: the stairwell. Read more here.
14. IIT McCormick Tribune Campus Center
Location: 3201 S State St. (Google)
Architect: OMA
Year: 2003
Description: The McCormick Tribune Campus Center was Rem Koolhaas’ first building in the United States. The project seeks to reinvigorate the urbanism inherent – but long since neglected – in Mies van der Rohe’s 1940 masterplan for the Illinois Institute of Technology. The large single-storey Campus Center provides a focal point for the previously sundered halves of the campus, and features a noise-absorbing steel tube wrapping the Elevated metro that runs directly over the building. Read more here.
15. Crown Hall
Location: 3360 S. State St. (Google)
Architect: Mies van der Rohe
Year: 1956
Description: The Crown Hall is a straightforward expression of construction and materiality. The building was designed with an open aiming to avoid the disruption of columns. With a ceiling height of 18 feet and a massive floor area of 120′ by 220′, the architecture school contains perfect studio spaces that allow creative interaction among users with barely no interruptions within the interior space. Read more here.
16. Ed Kaplan Family Institute
Location: 3137 S Federal St (Google)
Architect: John Ronan Architects
Year: 2018
Description: The Ed Kaplan Family Institute for Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship, completed in 2018, is the first new academic building at IIT in over forty years. It was designed by IIT architecture professor John Ronan, is the new home of the school’s Institute of Design, which previously was in the Loop. Conceived as a hybrid of campus space and building, the design is organized around two open-air courtyards through which visitors enter the building, and which serve as collision nodes for chance meetings and information exchange across departments. Read more here.
17. River City
Location: 800 S Wells St (Google)
Architect: Bertrand Goldberg
Year: 1986
Description: Building on the concept of the iconic Marina City, Bertrand Goldberg envisioned River City as a tall, dense riverfront “city-within-a-city.” After more than a decade of revisions and battles with city planners and investors, the project was built in a smaller snake-like form. Goldberg said this was an “unfolding” of the original tower plan. Behind rusticated stone arches evoking railroad viaducts is a massive mixed-use complex with commercial space and a 70-slip marina. Read more here.
18. The Joe and Rika Mansueto Library
Location: S Ellis Ave + 57th St. (Google)
Architect: Helmut Jahn
Year: 2011
Description: The Joe and Rika Mansueto Library is one of the many stunning buildings around University of Chicago. The library tries to solve a storage space problem: 3.5 million books needed an Automated Storage and Retrieval System. The structural grid-shell of 120 x 240 ft. and the insulated glazing represent a very minimal and intelligent system for mediating between the varying exterior conditions and the desired interior comfort. Read more here.
19. Oak Park & Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio
Location: 951 Chicago Avenue (Google)
Architect: Frank Lloyd Wright
Year: 1889
Description: Frank Lloyd Wright used his first home to experiment with design concepts that contain the seeds of his architectural philosophy. In his adjacent studio, Wright and his associates developed a new American architecture – the Prairie style. The successful design of his house and studio led to neighbours commissioning a big number of houses around Oak Park, including the birthplace of Ernest Hemingway. Find all these projects on the map. Read more here.
20. Unity Temple
Location: 875 Lake St. (Google)
Architect: Frank Lloyd Wright
Year: 1908
Description: Before the Robie House, Fallingwater, and the Guggenheim Museum, Frank Lloyd Wright’s career was just beginning to take off in Oak Park and more precisely with a specific project: Unity Temple. The church is poised as an important work for the Modernist movement in the early 20th Century, but it was also the foundation from which the Prairie School would originate into Wright’s architectural language. Read more here.
21. Baha’i House of Worship
Location: 100 Linden Ave. (Google)
Architect: Louis Bourgeois and Alfred Shaw (interiors)
Year: 1921-1953
Description: Plans to construct a Bahá’í temple in the Chicago area emerged in 1903, but it would be another 50 years before the temple was finished.The building’s architect, Louis Bourgeois, was a French Canadian who joined the Bahá’í faith more than a decade before working on the temple. He began his work on the structure in 1920 and moved his studio to a building across the street from the site, to be closer to his project. It was completed in 1953 as one of only seven Baha’i temples in the world. It has nine sides and is surrounded by exquisite gardens and fountains. The diameter of the dome is 90 ft. Read more here.
22. BP Bridge
Location: Chicago, IL 60601 (Google)
Architect: Frank Gehry
Year: 2004
Description: With a length of 935 ft (285 m), the winding footbridge creates a wheelchair-friendly crossing over Columbus Drive, connecting Millennium Park with the lakefront Maggie Daley Park. It was built in 2004 and it has several biomorphic allusions and extensive sculptural use of stainless steel plates expressing abstraction. Read more here.
23. Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Location: 201 E Randolph St. (Google)
Architect: Frank Gehry
Year: 2004
Description: Jay Pritzker Pavilion is a highly sculptural design element intended to act as a focal point for the Millennium Park. This open-air venue features performances by the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra, as well as jazz, blues, and other world music performances. Clad in stainless steel panels, the pavillion frames the stage opening and connects to an overhead trellis of curved steel pipes. Read more here.
[BONUS] Farnsworth House
Location: 14520 River Rd, Plano, IL 60545 (Google)
Architect: Mies van der Rohe
Year: 1951
Description: The Farnsworth House, though located in Plano (Illinois), was one of the architecture masterpieces that I was most excited to visit while in Illinois, so I’ve decided to include it at the end of this list. The steel and glass house was commissioned by Edith Farnsworth, M.D., a prominent Chicago nephrologist, as a place where she could engage in her hobbies—playing the violin, translating poetry, and enjoying nature. Mies created a 1,500-square-foot (140 m2) structure that is widely recognized as an iconic masterpiece of International Style of architecture. Read more here.
This list could keep going forever, so if you want more amazing architecture check these and other amazing buildings of Chicago on the map below or download the Free Architecture Guide of Chicago.
Learn where to Take The Best Skyline Pictures in Chicago
Virginia Duran 
Chicago is impressive. I can see how it is an architect’s dream place.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is 😀 Any favourite building? If you had to choose 1 or 2 which ones would you say?
LikeLike
I really like the hospital building and was sad to hear that it is going to be demolished. And of course I love the Poetry building.
LikeLike
Aaaah, The Poetry Foundation I miss so much that building, my favourite little spot of Chicago. I really hope the hospital doesn’t get demolished, is a shame the US doesn’t take preservation more seriously. If Italians had that attitude there would be nothing left of ancient architecture!
LikeLike
Marina Towers is the essence of efficient design, with maximum window space for minimum floor area. And it looks like something from nature with no sharp angles. It was also well before its time with a reinforced concrete core that would have saved the Twin Towers if they had been designed with one.
LikeLike
Marina Towers is one of the best buildings built in Chicago in the 60s. I had the chance to visit it on a regular basis since several friends lived there and must agree with you in its space efficience. Did you have the chance to visit Chicago?
LikeLike
Yo estuve hace años por allí y desafortunadamente no me dio a todo. Pongo en mi “to-do list” aquellos que no pude. ¡Genial!
LikeLike
Gracias por saludar Marta, no sabía que habías estado por Chicago. Espero que no fueses en invierno por lo menos hahaha. De los que viste, ¿algún favorito?
LikeLike
Fui en Pascua y tuvimos desde frío invernal hasta calor de manga corta. En fin…
Yo me quedo con la casa Robbie. :):):):)
Aunque aproveché para ver la casa Farnsworth y sin duda me quedo con esa visita :):)
LikeLike
Hahaha típico clima Chicagoan. Este año hasta abril estuvo nevando, un infierno. Aaah la casa Farnsworth, ¿no se te hizo raro después de haberla estudiado infinitas veces el estar allí? me encantó la visita aunque estuviera en obras.
LikeLike
TOTALMENTE!!! me la conocía de memoria y EXISTÍA!! 🙂 jajjaja
el viaje a Chicago fue la razón (en parte por la cual abrí mi blog) y fue mi primera entrada!! http://lalibretaroja.wordpress.com/2010/05/19/la-ciudad-ventosa/
LikeLike
Excuse me, my English is not so good and therefore I have not read the whole text. But the photos have I really enjoyed it. Since I love books, I naturally liked the pictures from the “Poetry Foundation” very. What to sit for a lovely place there behind these large windows in the sun, and to read as many books to have. Chicago I only know from the movie “Blues Brothers” and I did not know that there are so many exciting buildings there. Much of what looks like real art! But best of all I liked the cover. The warm yellow light that seems out of the building in the freezing winter is just awesome. Thank you for this wonderful “journey” by an obviously very beautiful city.
LikeLike
Thanks so much for making the effort to write all that 🙂 I perfectly understood. I have to say that The Poetry Foundation is my favourite little spot of Chicago. The space is such a nice place to read or even create. In general, it’s just an amazing city full of art and interesting places to visit. More upcoming articles on Chicago, stay tunned 😀
LikeLike
what a fabulous compilation! hope to make it there one day. though I shan’t ever go out on those little glass boxes on the sears tower 😦 loving the arts institute and that lovely wood pavilion…
LikeLike
You must visit Chicago at least once, it’s better than New York believe me 😉 The Art Institute is just great, there are so many interesting pieces too besides the great building which is always a pleasure to visit. And the wood pavilion is one of my favourite spots, is close to the zoo so there are always happy people around 😀
LikeLike
The title should read “If you Love Architecture” as I am not an architect but I salivate over buildings of all kinds! I visited Chicago in the late 80s and took a couple of tours with an architectural conservation group (tried to Google it but don’t remember the name). I can’t go into the whole story here, but I was so enamored of the buildings I saw in the city, when I came home to LA I joined the newly formed Los Angeles Conservancy (which came into being mainly because of the arson fires at the Central Library) and became a docent… this in turn gave me a love of my own downtown area and all the wonderful 1920s buildings… and now the new buildings constructed since the late 80s… and eventually led me on a whole new path… you never know where life is going to lead you if you keep your eyes and mind open! I really enjoy all your posts…
LikeLike
Haha you’re not the first person to tell me about the title and… you’re right 😀 next time I will replace it for architecture lovers which is more accurate. I am happy to hear that Chicago was really inspiring to you and that you even got a career change due to your visit. I love these stories and yes, you never know! I am currently trying to be as open minded as possible and I see great things coming with the startup school…
LikeLike
Fantastic list. My first job out of college was in the old “Santa Fe” building on Michigan Avenue. Int he warm months, I would take my lunch and eat in Grant Park or somewhere else on the lakefront. Chicago’s skyline is my favorite.
Small correction: The current MCA building opened in the 1996. When I lived in the city, I used to spend weekend afternoons wandering around that building. Those stairs are very cool.
LikeLike
Really? So you actually know what I was talking about in the introduction. I used to work beside Millenium Park so I had lunch around that area in summer. Chicago is such a happy place, if you know how to appreciate its architecture and other amazing aspects.
Thanks about the MCA building, just changed it 😉
LikeLike
Wow…….makes me want to visit………thanks
LikeLike
You should, Chicago is such a beautiful city. But don’t visit during winter, is just horrible 🙂
LikeLike
I call it art of making art. Architects compete who is going to build the tallest, the most spectacular, the most beautiful building ever. I can´t say who is the winner because they all look fabulous at the end.
LikeLike
That’s a very nice way to say it. I can’t say which of this buildings is the best, I just love all of them. However, The Poetry Foundation is very outstanding. Is not a skyscraper ok, but is such a beautiful comfortable space. I love coming here any time I get a chance. Have you ever visited Chicago?
LikeLike
I enjoyed looking at all the buildings you identified in your list of “23 Buildings You Shouldn’t Miss…” — some of which I was not familiar with until reading your post.Thank you! I’m a member of the Baha’i Faith and was happy to see that you included the Baha’i House of Worship in Wilmette on your list. I hope your readers visit and take advantage of this special place for private prayer and meditation.
LikeLike
The Baha’i House of Worship is like this little gem in the middle of America. It was one of my recent discoveries in Chicago and now I come here from time to time. I do recommend this place to everyone, it’s indeed very inspiring.
LikeLike
Fascinating art.
LikeLike
Thank Jalal 🙂
LikeLike
I love Chicago; my kind of town.
LikeLike
Me too 😀
LikeLike
Reblogged this on digger666.
LikeLike
Thanks for sending me this link too, Virginia! –John
LikeLike
Thanks John! Hope you are having a lovely week 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
So many lovely buildings, Virginia. This must have taken you hours! Definitely a labour of love. 🙂
LikeLike
Thanks for your kind words 🙂 It was a labour of love, I do love these buildings (and miss them too). Hope this list becomes unseful to you some day 😀
LikeLike
You do such a fantastic job of displaying the treasures in our city. I have lived in Tenn and Ohio and worked in number of other states, but there is nothing like sweet home Chicago in spite of the sometimes cruel winters. Keep putting our best foot forward. I enjoy reading about this things and I live here. Thanks for the like of my post “Snow Blinds”.
LikeLike
You’re right, nothing like sweet home Chicago! Oh, I miss the city so much, can’t wait to be back 😀 (but definitely not in winter haha)
LikeLike
Hello Virginia! This post is excellent. I’m not an architect but I love architecture, so now I know what to visit if I travel to Chicago. By the way, thanks for liking my post “Door to the Past: Outside of Presidio Building”.
Kind greetings,
Marianne
LikeLike
Hello Marianne, I’ve received a lot of criticism for the title but what I meant is for people who love architecture. I’m glad you’ll be willing to visit all these amazing buildings 🙂
Cheers, Virginia
LikeLike
Oh, really? I don’t see anything bad about the title, it makes me know that those are great architectural projects to be admired.
Greetings
LikeLike
That’s the attitude, thanks 😀
LikeLike
Thank you, I really enjoyed
LikeLike
Glad to hear that 😀
LikeLike
Pingback: Spertus Institute for Jewish Studies & My Photographic Approach » Angie McMonigal PhotographyAngie McMonigal Photography
Pingback: The Free Architecture Guide of Chicago | Virginia Duran
Wonderful post Virginia. What incredible choices you’ve found. I’m always curious about Frank Lloyd Wright houses – not to live in, but to see how he used the space. The Robie House really reminds me of the Meyer May house he did in Grand Rapids, Michigan just before (or maybe simultaneously) this one. I love the Wood Pavilion – haven’t seen it yet. Hopefully soon! 🙂 ~Terri
LikeLike
Terri! Glad you liked these buildings, I had a hard time chosing which to leave aside- I love Chicago’s architecture. The wood pavilion is amazing (design+construction)! I haven’t visited the Meyer May house yet. Did you liked it? Is it hard to get there?
LikeLike
The Meyer May house is in the historic part of Grand Rapids, and is very easy to find. It’s surrounded by typical Victorian houses, which further demonstrates what a radical departure Wright’s designs were. At the time, I’m sure most of the neighbors thought he was a kook! ~James
LikeLike
Haha I’m pretty sure they thought that! I will try to visit it next time I am in Chicago because it seems not so far away! Thanks for sharing. Kind regards to both of you 🙂
LikeLike
Pingback: La Casa-Estudio de Frank Lloyd Wright en Oak Park (Illinois)
Pingback: Into the Heartland: 10 Links You’ll Love | GALLIVANCE
Hi Virginia,
We just love this post and wanted to let you know that we featured a link to it today as part of our “Slice of Americana Series” that we’re running this July. You can check it out at the link below. Thanks for writing so beautifully!
All the Best, Terri & James
LikeLike
Terri, James,
Just saw this :))) thanks for inlcuding my article on the list! Just came back from China (no internet at all) and can’t wait to read all the new stories of your blog 😀
LikeLike
Welcome home Virginia. Can’t wait to hear all about China! 🙂 ~Terri
LikeLike
Love your views of Chicago. I’ve not seen all these locations and have something to look forward to next visit.
LikeLike
Hello Lulu,
Hope you got some inspiration for future plans in Chicago. Any favourites on the list? I will return soon to Chicago and can’t wait to see some of these buildings again :))
LikeLike
We hosted a German exchange student years ago. He was interested in architecture so we took him to Chicago. He loved it. I’m only sorry we didn’t have this post to guide us. We missed a lot.
LikeLike
aaw thanks for the kinds words 🙂 Chicago is one of my favourite cities in the world, I find its architecture amazing. I glad to hear that your European student liked Chicago. Did you get to see all the spots of the list?
LikeLike
Thanks. Delighted to have found your blog. I was constantly amazed when I visited how stunning the architecture of the city was. Regards from Thom at the immortal jukebox (plugged in and ready to play).
LikeLike
Thom, thanks for your kind words 🙂 Any favourites on the list?
LikeLike
Pingback: La Casa-Estudio de Frank Lloyd Wright en Oak Park (Illinois) | In ArQadia
Pingback: Architecture: Farnsworth House | Virginia Duran
Thank you very much for your articles! As an art history teacher the more I learn the more I want to visit. Chicago is in my list, of course!
LikeLike
If you’re passionate about art and architecture, Chicago should be number one on your list! But don’t go there in winter, you’ll freeze 😛
LikeLike
Pingback: Architecture: How would you turn a poem into a building? | Virginia Duran
Pingback: 10 Sites To Take The Best Skyline Pictures in Chicago (Winter Version) | Virginia Duran
Pingback: Chicago – 2008 | Disperser Tracks
Pingback: 152 – Bahai Mandala | Mandala of the Day
Pingback: 23 Spots You Shouldn’t Miss in Paris If You Love Architecture | Virginia Duran Blog
Pingback: Amazing Art & Architecture #AtoZChallenge – Buttontapper Press
Reblogged this on MyleneFengDesign and commented:
I love Chicago!
LikeLike
Such an amazing city! Thank you 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Prentice Women’s Hospital, 333 E. Superior Street is demolished in 2014.
LikeLike
Yes, that’s true! I loved that building so much. How is the now one?
LikeLike
Hello there would be more information of aon center with respect to plans, cuts and structure?
LikeLike
Hi Diego! That’s all I found online unfortunately. I previously wrote this article https://skylinearchitecture.wordpress.com/2013/04/15/aon-center-elegance-and-contrast/ but even if its more descriptive, ‘s doesn’t contain plans and sections. It’s quite similar to Madrid’s Torre Picasso, that may be of help?
LikeLike
Wow, just amazing article. My favourite is Charnley-Persky House.
LikeLike
Aw, a classic of architecture which is often overlooked! Did you visit recently? It’s been years that I don’t go!
LikeLike
Your article is great. I have enjoyed a lot reading it. I visited Chicago in 1997…and I definitely have to return , maybe next year . I remember I enjoyed a lot my stay. Actually I stayed in Lombard, but with the train I reached easily Chicago. I walked from the Station to the Loop and even to Michigan Avenue. I mean is a great city to walk¡¡ and I went in october, but the weather was great, I might be lucky, but I remember I left the jacket at the hotel, and adventured myself from Lombard to Chicago with just my wallet¡¡ I mean, the sun was shining and I thought, it won’t be cold afternoon. And that’s right. I had a great time. all 3 days I stayed there. then i went to Atlanta, and the weather was almost the same. so, I imagine chicago must be cold during january and february, as in every city. Anyway, I enjoyed a lot the architecture, I even got a ticket for the Symphony¡¡¡ I was so lucky. and I remember, after the concert I walked up to John Hancock Center, I went to the observatory and I literally fell in love with the city. I could even see the airport¡¡¡ the Hancock is definitely the most impressive building of Chicago and the most beautiful. The city is full of very interesting buildings, but the city itself is lovely to walk and live downtown. Lombard was nice, of course, but while I was travelling from Chicago to Lombard on the train I was thinking, I wish I had an appartment in Downtown. For example in Maria Towers with those lovely balconies¡¡¡ or the Aqua Tower. the photo that you’ve put is amazing. when I see that photo I imagine myself everymorning having my breakfast in my balcony ( in summer) what a great view.
Well.I could write for hours about the beauties of Chicago, so I leave it here. Thanks again for such a nice article. Best regards.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Santi, I am very happy to read my city treated you well. Maybe you will visit it again? Although I now live in London, I know I’ll be back at some point. And yes, Hancock Tower is probably the best place in town 🙂
Take care,
Virginia
LikeLike
Pingback: Chicago’s Architectural Concentration – Midwest Archives Conference 2018
Great compilation, I loved it. I am a big fan of art and museums are my favorite places to visit and mine all time favorite is Art museum. Thank you for sharing this wonderful information.
LikeLike
I like how you list it down.Thanks for posting this and Best Regards!
LikeLike
Thanks for reading 🙂
LikeLike
Pingback: The 5 Best North American Cities to Travel for Architecture | Virginia Duran