Chicago, Illinois
Places to Visit
Millennium Park
What is now Millennium Park was first conceived in 1998 with the mission of creating new parkland in Grant Park to transform the unsightly railroad tracks and parking lots that had long dotted the lakefront. Over time, with Mayor Richard M. Daley’s vision and Frank Gehry’s involvement, the project evolved into the most ambitious public undertaking in Chicago’s history. Today, with its unprecedented combination of architecture, monumental sculpture and landscape design, the 24.5 acre Millennium Park has become the crowning achievement for Chicago in the tradition of its original founders. Highlights include the Frank Gehry-designed Jay Pritzker Pavilion, the most sophisticated outdoor concert venue of its kind in the United States; the interactive Crown Fountain by Jaume Plensa; the contemporary Lurie Garden designed by the team of Kathryn Gustafson, Piet Oudolf and Robert Israel; and Anish Kapoor’s hugely popular Cloud Gate sculpture on the AT&T Plaza.
The Field Museum
The Field Museum was founded to house the biological and anthropological collections assembled for the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893. These objects form the core of the Museum’s collections which have grown through world-wide expeditions, exchange, purchase, and gifts to more than twenty million specimens. The collections form the foundation of the Museum’s exhibition, research and education programs, which are further informed by a world-class natural history library of more than 250,000 volumes. Or just come to see Sue the world’s largest, most complete and most famous T. rex.
Shedd Aquarium
Founded in 1929 by John G. Shedd, a retired president of Marshall Field & Company, the Shedd features a stunning Wild Reef exhibit and the Oceanarium. Come see the sharks, the leaping dolphins, the chirping beluga whales — and so much more.
The Art Institute of Chicago
One of the great art museums of the world. Plan at least a half-day visit to make the rounds.
Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
One of the nation’s largest facilities devoted to the art of our time, the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) offers exhibitions of the most thought-provoking art created since 1945. The MCA documents contemporary visual culture through painting, sculpture, photography, video and film, and performance. Located in the heart of downtown Chicago, the MCA boasts a gift store, bookstore, restaurant, 300-seat theater, and a terraced sculpture garden with a great view of Lake Michigan.
Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum
America’s first planetarium.
Chicago Cultural Center
The Chicago Cultural Center was completed in 1897 and dedicated as the city’s original Chicago Public Library. Completed at a cost of nearly $2 million, this remarkable monument was inspired by the neo-classical style of the World’s Columbian Exposition held in Chicago in 1893. The building’s structure consists of three-foot thick masonry walls faced with Bedford limestone that are set 104 feet above a granite base. Sumptuous materials used in the interior design include rare imported marble, fine hardwood, stained-glass, and polished brass, as well as mosaics of Favrile glass, colored stone and mother-of-pearl. The building’s most notable features are its spectacular stained-glass domes. The 38-foot dome in the Preston Bradley Hall at the south end of the building is the world’s largest Tiffany stained-glass dome, valued at an estimated $35 million. As one of the most comprehensive free arts showcases in the United States, this landmark building is the setting for hundreds of programs and exhibitions presented annually by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. Through collaborative programming, admission-free exhibitions and programs covering a wide range of the performing, visual, and literary arts are presented on practically every day of the year.
The Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum
The Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum evolved out of a commitment to stimulate and preserve the appreciation of the richness and beauty of the Mexican culture in the city’s large Mexican community, as well as to educate the City of Chicago to the wealth and breadth of the Mexican culture. The Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum is the nation’s largest Latino arts institution and the only Latino museum accredited by the American Association of Museums.
Navy Pier Walk
Navy Pier Walk is Chicago’s leading, independent art foundation dedicated to the presentation of artists’ projects and exhibitions. NPW/2 brings contemporary art, artists and artistic practices to a diverse public in a nondiscriminatory setting. As such, the exhibition has evolved as a forum for dialogue on art outside the traditional context of the museum or gallery. By challenging conventional assumptions about public art, the exhibition encourages awareness and the questioning of one’s environment, culminating in a uniquely informative experience.
The Notebaert Nature Museum
The Chicago Academy of Sciences and its Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum inspire people to learn about and care for nature and the environment. The institution fosters environmental learning through the exhibits and education programs of the Museum and through the Academy’s collections, research, symposia, publications, events and other activities.We build understanding of global environmental issues by interpreting the effect those issues have on the Midwest. Be sure to see the Butterfly Haven.
International Museum of Surgical Science
A one of a kind experience.
Lincoln Park Zoo
Located within a verdant park just minutes north of Chicago, the zoo has been a natural, free oasis for generations of animal lovers, who come to hear a lion’s roar echo off nearby apartment buildings, see gorillas climb trees as the Sears Tower looms in the distance, or forget where they are as they immerse themselves in tropical rainforests, dry-thorn forests or spacious savannas. Be sure to visit the Lincoln Park Conservatory and the Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool.
Garfield Park Conservatory
One of the nation’s largest conservatories, and a Jens Jensen landmark.