Chicago Architecture Tour: New Buildings

Discover the latest architectural developments in Chicago on a walking tour with the Chicago Architecture Center. Explore new buildings, their impact on the city, and compare them to older structures. Support education and community engagement by purchasing tickets.

Duration: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Chicago Architecture Center - Start at the Chicago Architecture Center. Introductory remarks.
    Note: stop durations are estimates.
  • Pioneer Court - Discuss some buildings surrounding Pioneer Court
  • Tribune Tower - Discuss recent renovations and additions to the Historic Tribune Tower.
  • Optima Signature Apartments - Discuss trends in…
What's Included
  • Admission to the Galleries of the Chicago Architecture Center.
  • Narration by a professional and certified guide.
What's Not Included
  • Coat check
  • Hotel pick-up or drop-off
  • Storage for luggage or strollers
Additional Information

Take a 90-minute journey exploring the glittering new additions around Chicago Architecture Center, particularly focusing on construction elements and their contribution to the cityscape.
‘What’s New’ showcases some of the newest enhancements to the structural environment around the Chicago Architecture Center. This pedestrian exploration centers around…

Location
Chicago Architecture Center
East Wacker Drive
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
5.0
(61 Ratings)
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Trip08806856623
Dec 12, 2024
Amazing. - We all had a great tour. Learned lots. Mary Ann was excited to teach us about her city. Chicago is an amazing place will return one day.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Davidfe6747uu
Nov 23, 2024
An Entre to Chicago's Loop - Took the Chicago Architecture Center's 90 minute walking tour entitled "Loop as Lab" with guide Karen. An excellent, highly enjoyable tour of the center of the city with background history on the planning behind many of the city's most interesting downtown buildings, A wonderful complement to the Architecture Center's crown jewel.....which is the not be missed river architecture cruise.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
G3256ghcarolp
Nov 14, 2024
Seeing past and future in the present - Mary Jo led our tour of “What’s New”. It was an engaging and informative 90 minutes in which we learned how the current trends in architecture both draw upon and also depart from trends of the past. The tour area, North of the river and East of Michigan Avenue is architecturally rich: historically it housed the first non-indigenous settler and in the present day, demonstrates forward thinking elements, including environmental, in building design and use of materials. In one view you can see representations of every important architectural period in between. I wholly recommend this tour experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Arwestphoenixarizona
Oct 23, 2024
Really - try not to miss!!! - We took an excellent tour with Mary Jo on October 16th. She was very knowledgeable and presented an abundance of information in a clear, easily understood manner. She was attentive to all of the people and answered all questions with what seemed like genuine interest. She demonstrated good humor and a love of what she did. We have been on many CAF tours and we are never disappointed . This one, however, went beyond.
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Lynnwahl
Sep 29, 2024
606 Tour - The 606 tour was outstanding! Really enjoyed it! The tour leader was excited and enthusiastic about the tour! She was very Knowledgeable too! I highly recommend this tour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Noraatc
Sep 26, 2024
Big thanks to our guide, Paula! - We arrived at the Chicago Architecture Center to take a walking tour “What’s New”at 5pm. Surprisingly, we were the only two tourists joining this wonderful tour led by charming and very knowledgeable docent, Paula. She showed us a variety of Chicago architectural gems and familiarized us with their stellar design done by different Chicago architectural firms. We have seen both older (Wrigley Building, Chicago Tribune building, Intercontinental Hotel, etc.) and newer landmarks (465 N.Park, the St. Regis, the Trump Tower). Each of these magnificent buildings has its own very recognizable face and unique architectural design. It was also very interesting to learn about different construction methods in the Windy City and the challenges the engineering firms faced in order to protect the buildings from fire and mitigate skyscrapers’ swaying in high winds. If you get lucky, Paula will be your guide in the city she loves. She generously shared her passion with us and we fell in love with Chicago from the first sight. Thank you so much, Paula!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rachelsj8404ej
Sep 3, 2024
Great tour! - Fun tour! Learned a lot about Chicago and the newest buildings! Would recommend any of the architecture center walking tours!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
U5314fsmichaels
Aug 18, 2024
Highly recommend all tours - Very informative! The knowledge of the docents is just incredible. I always learn something, no matter how many tours I take. Burt was a delight and a real trooper despite the rain.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
U19pgrichardt
Aug 14, 2024
What’s new? Great tour - It was a great way to discover this neighborhood of Chicago’s downtown. Our docent was very friendly. Rene made our experience unique and not boring at all! I loved how he brought personal experiences to some of the buildings. He kept the energy of this tour even though was a hot day, he was sure that we were in the shade or able to take breaks if needed! Definitely will take more tours with Rene or the CAC!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kellydx7373kr
Aug 13, 2024
What’s New in Chicago: a great tour! - This tour was just what we were looking for! As Chicago-area residents, we have already done tours on the river, watched shows about the history of Chicago, and been to the CAC. The What’s New Tour helped us learn about newer buildings and buildings yet-to-come. Maureen was our tour guide and was very friendly, knowledgeable, and a great teacher! I hope to do this tour in the future when there are new buildings to learn about.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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December 2024
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