One of the many perks of volunteer during the Chicago Architecture Center’s annual Open House in Chicago is two free tickets (normally $35) for a CAC Tour. We chose the excellent Art Deco Skyscrapers: the Loop tour, featuring “five historic buildings within a five-block radius of Chicago’s financial district.”
Our veteran guide Mary Jane took about 10 of us to buildings around n or just off LaSalle, ending at the Spectacular Board of Trade. The visitors center video tracing the history of the trading floor is also a must see. (We also visited 33 Lasalle and another on Monroe or Madison.)
We stood outside to admire the exterior and then went into the lobby to admire the ornate elevators, old timey mail chutes, and clever light fixtures.
On our own, we dropped in at the Rookery to see the Frank Lloyd Wright updates and the wintrust building. We also found a good coffee shop with Publican pastries nearby, Brewlee, with an adjacent lobby to sit and rest up.
