1920s Towers of Downtown Chicago and the Oddities of Zoning Laws
How can you tell when a tower was built? A few key features can help you winnow it down, as we prove with these 1920s towers in Chicago. We research stories from Chicago history, architecture and culture like this while developing our live virtual tours, in-person private tours, and custom content for corporate events. You can join us […]
Exploring a Downtown Chicago Religious Buildings
Earlier this summer, I had the joy of being guided around the Chicago Temple by our director Amanda Scotese. Those of you who have joined us for the Loop Interior Architecture Walking Tour have caught just a glimpse of what this marvelous skyscraper affords in history and architectural gems. Now we’re getting ready for our […]
Prairie Avenue Chicago: The City’s First Neighborhood of Mansions
Maybe you’ve heard of the elite Gold Coast neighborhood on the Near North Side, but how about the Historic District of Prairie Avenue? Potter Palmer constructed a million-dollar mansion on the formerly-swampy Lake Shore Drive in 1882, establishing the city’s most affluent neighborhood on the North Side. Still, it wasn’t Chicago’s first affluent neighborhood. Before […]
Experiencing Interior Architecture at CAF’s Open House Chicago
Between tours this past weekend, I tried my best to take advantage of Open House Chicago. The Chicago Architecture Foundation’s now-annual event, which they describe as “a free, city-wide, behind-the-scenes look at many the city’s great places and spaces.” You may know from our Loop Interior Architecture Walking Tour that Chicago Detours loves experiencing architecture from […]
How Sandburg Village Renewed Old Town
When I’m not nerding out on Chicago history here at Chicago Detours, I have a second job life-guarding at what I think is one of the most surreal places on the north side of Chicago – the private pools of the Carl Sandburg Village. This complex, located in the Old Town neighborhood consists of 9 […]
A Hidden Piece of Mies in Chicago
Many of us are familiar with at least the name of Mies van der Rohe. His iconic modernist buildings in Chicago include IIT’s campus, including the sublime Crown Hall, 860-880 Lake Shore Drive, and the Federal Center. (For a brief, but excellent overview of Mies, see Geoffrey Baer’s summary or join us for a custom private […]
Chicago’s Freight Tunnels: the Forgotten Underground
Beneath the skyscrapers of Chicago there is an unseen world that many Chicagoans are unaware of. Hidden deep below the skyscrapers of Chicago are underground freight tunnels. I always assumed them to be a myth, but they are quite important to the history of the city of Chicago. The extent of these tunnels is something […]
Chicago’s Forgotten Underground Freight Tunnels
Beneath the skyscrapers of Chicago there is an unseen world that many Chicagoans are unaware of. Hidden deep below the skyscrapers of Chicago’s Loop are underground freight tunnels. I always assumed them to be a myth, but they are quite important to the history of the city of Chicago. The extent of these tunnels might […]
The Historic South Side Pullman Neighborhood
Pullman – the man, the train car, and the neighborhood – holds a powerful place in Chicago history. George Pullman crafted a live/work community entirely according to his own personal specifications. I first began researching the role ethnicity played in the town and company of Pullman during a History of Immigration and U.S. Ethnic Identity […]
Chicago’s Flag: More than Stars and Stripes
Walking throughout Chicago’s Loop you see the Chicago flag flying high upon flagpoles, hanging from buildings, printed on t-shirts and stamped as arm tattoos on hipsters. The city of Chicago however did not always have a municipal flag. In 1917 the Chicago Flag Commission hosted a contest for the best design for a municipal flag […]