Chicago Loop Walking Tour - Michigan Ave and Dearborn

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1. Hilton Chicago (Stevens Hotel 1927-1951)

When this iconic Chicago establishment opened in 1927 as the Sevens Hotel, it was the largest hotel in the world with three thousand guest rooms. What made the Stevens unique was not simply its exceptional size, lavish ballrooms, and opulent dining facilities; the hotel design included a private restroom and an exterior window for every guestroom. This feature would become standard decades later, but this was not the only reason why owners James W. Stevens and his son, Ernest Stevens, would become famous. The entepenuers risked their fortune and millions from investors to build “a city within a city.” A hotel guest could enjoy shopping, entertainment, and services that included a hospital, bowling alley, miniature golf course, candy factory, numerous shops, 1200-seat theater, and a twenty-seven-chair barber shop. The hotel went into recievership in the early years of the Great Depression and was acquired by the US Army in 1942. Hotel magnate Conrad Hilton acquired the property and the Palmer House Hotel in 1945.

2. Blackstone Hotel

The Blackstone Hotel, now known as the Renaissance Blackstone Hotel, is a historic hotel located in the Loop district of Chicago, Illinois. Built in 1908 and named for business executive Timothy Blackstone, the hotel was known primarily for its luxurious accommodations, as well as its history of hosting United States Presidents, so much so that it gained the moniker “Hotel of Presidents.” During the second half of the 20th-century, the hotel became run down and not suitable for use by 2000. After a lengthy rehabilitation project, the hotel reopened in 2008 as the Renaissance Blackstone Hotel. On May 29, 1998 the hotel was designated as a Chicago Landmark, and on May 8th, 1986 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

3. Congress Plaza Hotel

Completed in 1983, the Congress Plaza Hotel was built to accommodate the many people from around the world visiting Chicago for the World's Columbian Exposition. Louis Sullivan assisted in the design of the hotel's exterior. The hotel boasted the first air-conditioned ballroom in America, and following the completion of the second tower, the hotel offered over 1,000 guest rooms. Chicago's Congress Plaza Hotel offers guests a view of the ornate interiors of America's grand Gilded Age hotels with marble floors, glittering chandeliers, Grecian statues and mosaic archways that adorn the interior.

4. Fine Arts Building (Studebaker Building)

The Fine Arts Building was constructed between 1884 to 1885 and remains one of the most distinctive buildings along Michigan Avenue. The structure was designed by American architect Solon Spencer Beman (1853-1914) for the Studebaker Company, a leading manufacturer of carriages that would become one of the largest American car companies in the early 1900s. The company decided to remodel the building just a decade following its construction, creating spaces for numerous artist studios. From that point, the building became known as the Fine Arts Building. The structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and was designated a Chicago Landmark in 1978.

5. Motorola Building (Formerly the Santa Fe Building, or Railway Exchange Building)

Designed by Daniel Burnham's architectural firm, this building once served as the center of activity as Daniel Burnham and his team devised the "Plan of Chicago," which was published in 1909. The 17-story building, known for its porthole windows on the top floor, serves as a fine example of the Chicago School of Architectural style, which Burnham helped to create and popularize in the early 1900s. The building was originally known as The Santa Fe Building and was built as a railway exchange for the Santa Fe railway. This name adorned the building until 2012 until Motorola purchased the building and replaced the sign with one reading, "Motorola."

6. Pritzker Military Museum & Library

The Pritzker Military Museum and Library feature a collection of books and other materials on military history and citizen soldiers in America with a mission to increase understanding of military history and sacrifice. The museum houses a collection of prints, posters, photos, artifacts that cover early war and conflicts, 20th-century war and conflicts, modern war and conflicts, military reading lists, military leaders, and the armed forces, as well as a permanent exhibit called Medal of Honor. The museum also prides itself on being "a public forum to discuss the past, present, and future of the military." Admission is $5 or free for any member or person with an active military ID.

7. Chicago Athletic Association

The Chicago Athletic Association (CAA) opened in 1893 in congruence with the World’s Fair being held in Chicago. Designed by Henry Ives Cobb to feature crisscrossing arches that mimic the extravagant palace of the Doge in Venice, the 11-storied building is often described as Venetian Gothic. The Chicago Athletic Association catered to the city’s most elite men, such as Marshall Field, William Wrigley, Jr., AG Spaulding, and Cyrus McCormick. The CAA closed its doors in 2007 after 114 years in operation. Then in 2012, the building was purchased for $13 million by AJ Capital Partners, Agman Partners, and Geolo Capital. The partners hired Hartshorne Plunkard Architects and interior architects Roman + Williams to meticulously restore and modernize the CAA into a 241-room luxury hotel. The Chicago Athletic Association Hotel is currently one of the premier adaptive reuse projects in the city of Chicago.

8. Little Jewelers Building

Constructed between 1881-1882, the Jewelers Building at 15-17 S. Wabash Ave. remains the only surviving example of Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan's early work in Chicago's Loop District. Martin Ryerson, Chicago businessman and real estate investor, commissioned Adler & Sullivan to construct this building, which he rented to the Samuel A. Maxwell Company. Sullivan, often regarded as the "father of the skyscraper," provided his unique stylized floral, ornamental style to the building. During the early-20th-century, the building became known as the Little Jewelers Building, likely to differentiate between the larger Jewelers Building constructed on Wacker Street. The Little Jewelers Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 7, 1974 and designated a Chicago Landmark on December 18, 1981.

9. Palmer House Hilton

Originally known as “The Palmer,” the Palmer House Hilton Hotel has been one of the city's most important places for events and welcoming guests from the day the establishment opened its doors on September 26, 1871. The original Palmer hotel greeted only a few guests, however, as it was destroyed by fire 13 days later--one of hundreds of buildings destroyed by the Great Chicago Fire on October 9, 1871. The second Palmer House was completed in 1875. The third and final Palmer House was built between 1923 and 1925 and was acquired by Conrad Hilton in 1945. Thor Equities acquired the Palmer House Hilton in 2005 and announced its intention to sell the historic property in 2015.

10. Marc Chagall's "Four Seasons" Mosaic

Situated in front of the Chase Tower Plaza, Marc Chagall's "Four Seasons" mosaic is one of the most dazzling landmarks in Chicago's bustling Loop district. Stretching 70 feet in length and wrapping around a rectangular support, Chagall's mosaic was dedicated in 1974, a gift to the city from banking giant Frederick H. Prince. Twenty years after its dedication, the mosaic underwent extensive restoration, including the addition of a protective canopy to shield the installation from the elements.

11. Inland Steel Building

Completed in 1958, the Inland Steel Building was the first modern glass skyscraper erected in downtown Chicago since 1934, during the interwar period. Built with dynamic stainless steel and glass curtain walls, Miesian-inspired exposed structural frame and unobstructed office floors, the Inland Steel Building demonstrated the significant gains made during the war and post-war years and represented a new boom in Chicago skyscraper construction. Meanwhile, the name points to the building's occupant, Inland Steel, reminding us of a time when the American steel industry flourished.

12. The Marquette Building

Built in 1895 by the George A. Fuller Company, this Chicago landmark was one of the first steel-framed skyscrapers in the city. The building was named in honor of the French missionary Jacques Marquette, who with Louis Jolliet in 1674, became the first European to explorer and map the lands around Lake Michigan. The building was served as corporate headquarters to numerous railroad companies and other businesses over the years. During the mid-20th century, some of the historic buildings throughout the Loop such as Louis Sullivan's Stock Exchange were demolished in favor of new construction. The Marquette Building, like so many of the other historic buildings throughout the Loop, was saved due to the efforts of preservationists and community members who partnered with local government and business leaders. Since 1975, the building has been owned by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, a leading supporter of education that is also working with the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois to restore and share the history of this building. The Foundation operates an interactive exhibit on the building's first floor that is open to the public, as well as virtual exhibits that are available by clicking on the link below.

13. Monadnock Building

Located in the Loop District of Chicago, the Monadnock building, originally known as the Monadnock Block, is a skyscraper whose construction began in 1891. The oldest section of the building, the north half, was designed by the architectural firm Burnham and Root and was the tallest load-bearing brick building in the world. The southern half of the building was designed by Holabird and Roche in 1893 and features more ornamental design elements. At the time of its completion in 1893, the Monadnock Building was the largest office building in the world.

14. Calder's Flamingo

Calder’s Flamingo is an abstract sculpture by Alexander Calder that was installed in its current location in 1974. Measuring more than 50 feet tall, it rests in the rectangular plaza boarded by three federal Bauhaus style buildings in the heart of Chicago. This “sculpture’s vivid color and curvilinear form contrast dramatically with the angular steel and glass surroundings. However, Flamingo is constructed from similar materials and shares certain design principles with the architecture, thereby achieving successful integration within the plaza” (“Calder’s Flamingo”). The sculpture’s monumental size and open design allows visitors to walk under and through the sculpture. A reduced scale model of the sculpture is housed in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.

15. Fisher Building

Built in 1896, the Fisher Building stands as a reminder of the early influence of the Chicago School of Architecture and the subsequent emergence of the skyscraper. When completed, the Fisher Building was one of the tallest buildings in the world. Commissioned by paper tycoon Lucius Fisher, president of the Union Bag and Paper, it is located just north of the historic Printer's Row in Chicago. A 2001 renovation and restoration of the Fisher Building ostensibly converted it from an industrial space to that of residential use.

16. Manhattan Building

At the time of its completion in 1891, Chicago’s Manhattan Building was one of the most innovative buildings of the era. Designed by William Le Baron Jenney, he sought to push the limits of building height during a time when the traditional practices of architecture were being questioned and experiments with new designs and ideas began taking shape. At that time, constructing a building at such a height of 16-stories was generally thought to be unsafe. To remedy that concern, Jenney designed the Manhattan Building to feature horizontal sections and setbacks which creates an allusion of a shorter building. Today, the Manhattan Building is the third-oldest skyscraper in Chicago and is the earliest surviving skyscraper relying on an entirely steel skeletal support structure.

17. The Dearborn Station

Chicago's immense growth in the late 19th and early 20th century coincided with its existence as a major railway hub. The Dearborn Station, built in 1885, sat at the south end of the business district near the infamous "Loop," and is the only station remaining of Chicago's six major stations that emerged in the late 19th century. Its nine-story clock tower reminds us of a time when railway schedules heavily influenced the general flow of people's daily lives.

This Tour is a Walking Tour.

Chicago Loop Walking Tour - Michigan Ave and Dearborn

Created by Clio Admin on January 1st 2019, 7:45:48 pm.

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Description

This walking tour begins at the Chicago Hilton and includes stops at some of the city's other historic hotels to provide plenty of opportunities for rest and refreshments. The tour heads north along the west side of Michigan Avenue, so please be sure to check out the walking tours for Grant Park or customize this tour to include landmarks such as the Cloud Gate or the Art Institute of Chicago. After reaching the Palmer House, the tour turns west and then south along Dearborn, returning users near their starting point while offering additional stops at some of the city's most famous buildings and public art installations along the way. The tour concludes near its starting point at Dearborn Station, just two blocks from the Hilton Chicago and Blackstone Hotel where the tour began. Enjoy historic Chicago!

Entries on This Tour

Chicago Loop Walking Tour - Michigan Ave and Dearborn

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