From Cuts to Cult: Chicago Meat Past to Present
We’ve been hinting at our second, quarterly “Detour” for some time, and now we have the details for you. “From Cuts to Cult: Chicago Meat Past and Present” is an exclusive, one-time-only food history tour around the Fulton Market Meatpacking District. We’re doing it Saturday, June 1, 1:30pm-4:30pm, and the $125 tickets go on sale this […]
Chicago-California Dreams Pt. 1: West Oakland Train Station
Despite living there, I’d never considered the historic connection between the Bay Area and Chicago. After all, a huge geographical distance separates these regions. Plus, what would hard-working, gritty, flat and super-sized Chicago have anything to do with easygoing, wealthy, hilly, super liberal San Francisco? A historic train station can belie this presumption. Oakland Train […]
The Who, What, and Why of Our Nonsensical Downtown Walk
Last Friday Chicago Detours held a one-off event called “A Nonsensical Walk of Indoor Spaces.” A lot of planning and preparation went into this particular nonsensical downtown walk two-hour rush through downtown Chicago. Here is a review of this special event and a replay of some of the memorable moments. What’s a Nonsensical Downtown Walk? We started […]
Gifts for Curious People: Gift Cards Now Available
Our blog is primarily for giving our dear readers new insights into Chicago architecture, history and culture. But every once in a while we will indeed use it to toot our own horn. Consider this some tooting. We now have gift cards for people you love who love Chicago! You can buy these gift cards […]
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 […]
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 […]
Chicago Detours Artist in Residence Program Exhibition
I’m very fortunate and honored to have been selected as the first Artist in Residence for Chicago Detours, a tour company that offers creative, guided tours of architecture, history and culture. My project will explore this creative contextualizing through poetry comics. I’m super excited about this opportunity! The pictured poetry comics here came from twelve […]
Old-Fashioned Travel Advice With New Smartphone Apps
I’ve seen people all around Chicago and Europe using smartphones and iPads in ridiculous ways that actually make travel less efficient and disconnects them from their environment. It’s totally crazy to gaze at major works of art and architecture primarily through your smartphone viewfinder, for example, when a masterpiece is right in front of your […]
Chicago Tourism Industry Improvements at O’Hare
At the Choose Chicago Annual Meeting in April, Chairman of the Board Bruce Rauner encouraged feedback on our ideas for promoting Chicago tourism. We all want the city to be a top destination for business and leisure travelers. Here is one person’s two cents on how to make it happen. Promote Chicago Tourism Through Marketing […]
Middle Eastern Explorations in Albany Park
Sometimes I need a break from going downtown just about every day. Our office is in the Loop and many of our tours, too. In order to build a tour business, and not just a tour hobby, one has to start where the visitors are – both from afar and from the suburbs. Chicago Detours […]
