World Travel Guide

Home -  City Guide  - Chicago  - Key Attractions
Key Attractions

Art Institute of Chicago
The bronze lions guarding the main entrance of the Art Institute of Chicago have become true symbols of the city. The Institute is packed with examples of over 5000 years of human artistry, from all over the world. Of particular interest and relevance to those visiting the USA are the collections of African, Ancient American and 'modern' American art from the seventeenth century to 1955, including the definitive 'American Gothic', by Grant Wood. The Institute can also claim to be the French Impressionist capital of the American Mid-West. Its collection includes work by Mary Cassatt, the only American to be included in the French Impressionist Movement. The Institute is also popular with locals as a lunch venue in the summer and autumn when the outdoor Garden Restaurant is open.

111 South Michigan Avenue
Tel: (312) 443 3600.
Website: www.artic.edu/aic/index.html
Transport: Adams station; bus 3, 4, 6, 14, 60, 126, 129, 145, 147 or 151.
Opening hours: Mon, Wed and Thurs 1030-1630; Tues 1030-2000; Sat and Sun 1000-1700.
Admission: US$8 (concessions available); free on Tues.

Grant Park
In the 1890s, this was a marshy wasteland earmarked for development until it was saved by the wealthy Montgomery Ward and transformed by the landscaping plans of the Olmstead Brothers, who based their ideas on the formality of Versailles. The most popular landmark is the Buckingham Fountain (on Congress Parkway and Columbus Drive), modelled on a fountain at Versailles. Between 1 May and 1 October, an illuminated water performance takes place from dusk until 2300. The fountain itself flows from 1000 onwards.

From East Randolph Street (north) to Roosevelt Road (south), Michigan Avenue (west), lakefront (east)
Tel: (312) 742 7529.
Transport: Randolph, Madison, Adams and Roosevelt stations.
Opening hours: Daily 24 hours.
Admission: Free.

Museum of Broadcast Communications
With America's image, both to itself and the rest of the world, so defined through broadcast media, this museum offers a fascinating display of radio, TV and video exhibits, footage, advertising commercials and archive programmes (over 70,000). Visitors can examine the history of these media in the American context or simply wallow in an extended feast of nostalgia.

Chicago Cultural Center, 78 East Washington Boulevard
Tel: (312) 629 6000.
Website: www.mbcnet.org
Transport: Randolph station.
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 1000-1630, Sun 1200-1700.
Admission: Free (US$2 charge for unlimited video viewing).

Sears Tower
This famous city landmark was once the world's tallest building with 110 storeys (losing its title in 1996 to the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur). Needless to say the views are fantastic, but so are the queues and the waiting rooms before you get to the Skydeck on the 103rd floor. Every year, 1.5 million visitors come to take the 70-second ride in the lift ('elevator'). Once at the top, if the weather is clear, the views reach Michigan, Wisconsin and Indiana, up to 80km (50 miles) away. The Sears Tower guides are keen to inform people that, by using different criteria - highest occupied floor (469m/1431ft), highest roof (475m/1450ft), highest antenna (567m/1730ft) - this is still the world's tallest building. It is owned by TrizecHahn, a real estate and property management company and is a working office building. The Skydeck has recently undergone a four-million-Dollar renovation, turning it into a multimedia experience aimed at both adults and children, who are specifically catered for by the 'Knee High' attractions and exhibits.

233 South Wacker Drive, entrance on Jackson Boulevard
Tel: (312) 875 9696. Fax: (312) 906 1118.
Website: www.sears-tower.com
Transport: Quincy station; bus 1, 7, 60, 126, 129, 151 or 156.
Opening hours: Daily 0900-2300.
Admission: US$9.50 (concessions available).

John Hancock Center
Although not as tall as the Sears Tower, the Center is still very high - at 344m (1127ft) - and is usually less crowded. There is an excellent observation gallery on the 94th floor, which also has the outside Skywalk. One floor up, on the 95th, is the Signature Room, which is a good spot for a cocktail to accompany the sunset views to the west and the panorama of Lake Michigan to the east. Architecturally, the building is striking because of its two massive X-shaped cross-braces. It is also possible to tour Chicago without leaving the building by following the 'Windows on Chicago' virtual reality tour of 80 city sights and by viewing the Chicago history wall.

875 North Michigan Avenue
Tel: (312) 751 3681 or (800) 875 VIEW or 8439, toll free in the USA and Canada.
Website: www.hancock-observatory.com
Transport: Chicago station; bus 125, 145, 146, 147 or 151.
Opening hours: Daily 0900-2400.
Admission: US$8.50 (concessions available).

Navy Pier and the Waterfront
The 800m-long (half-mile) pier, built in 1916, was once the city's municipal wharf and a military pier, and the only pier actually completed out of several proposed under the Burnham Plan of 1906. After an extensive refurbishment and building programme it now forms part of a much larger recreation complex, which includes over 20 hectares (50 acres) of parkland, gardens, boat cruises, shops and restaurants. The entertainment features cover an outdoor amphitheatre, a 15-storey Ferris Wheel (the first one ever - not this one - was built in Chicago in 1893 for the World's Columbia Exposition), the carousel, an IMAX film theatre and The Chicago Children's Museum. Here, interactive, hands-on, family, children and school-orientated exhibits are designed to provoke thought and discussion.

600 East Grand Avenue
Tel: (800) 595 PIER or 7437, toll free in the USA and Canada.
Website: www.navypier.com
Transport: Bus 29, 56, 65, 66 or 124.
Opening hours: Sun-Thurs 1000-2200, Fri and Sat 1000-2400 (May-mid-Sep); Mon-Thurs 1000-2000, Fri and Sat 1000-2200, Sun 1000-1900 (Nov-May); Mon-Thurs 1000-2100, Fri and Sat 1000-2300, Sun 1000-1900 (mid-Sep-Oct).
Admission: By individual venues.

Chicago Children's Musuem
700 East Grand Avenue
Tel: (312) 527 1000.
Website: www.chichildrensmuseum.org
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 1000-1700 (until 2000 Thurs).
Admission: US$5.

Marshall Field's
One of the earliest department stores in the world, Marshall Field's is to Chicago what Harrods is to London - much more than just a place to go shopping. 'Give the woman what she wants' was the founder's motto right from the beginning in 1852. The store was built in a turn-of the-nineteenth century, neo-classical style in five stages and finally opened in 1907. It is still the second largest department store in the world (after Macy's in New York). A visit is as much an architectural experience as a consumer one. This is a true emporium with distinct courtyards, one resembling an Italian palazzo. There are over 180,000 sq metres (two million sq ft) of floor space set around a huge light well, a striking Tiffany dome of mosaic glass, a calming fountain and gilded pillars. There are two food courts, the main one on the seventh floor and the other one is 'Down Under', as the basement area is officially named. Frango mints are a renowned speciality of the store and are meticulously hand-dipped on the 13th floor. The authentic Chicago experience is to be had here at Christmas time - a traditional lunch of old-style chicken pot pie, under the enormous Christmas tree.

111 North State Street
Tel: (312) 781 1000.
Website: www.marshallfields.com
Transport: Randolph station.
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0945-1900, Sat 1000-1800 and Sun 1100-1800.
Admission: Free.



Copyright © 2001 Columbus Publishing
    
GENERAL
City Overview
City Statistics
Cost of Living
 
GETTING THERE
Air
Road
Rail
 
GETTING AROUND
Getting Around
 
BUSINESS
Business
 
SIGHTSEEING
Sightseeing
Key Attractions
Further Distractions
Tours of the City
Excursions
 
ENTERTAINMENT
Nightlife
Sport
Shopping
Culture
Special Events
Food and Drink