Architecture

On October 19 and 20, you have the chance to peek behind those facades you’ve always wondered about, during Open House Chicago, when more than 350 locations open their doors to the public. It's hard to choose from so much variety, so we chose some highlights. 

Before the John Hancock Center, now 875 N. Michigan, was built 50 years ago, the tallest towers in Chicago were the Daley Center and Lake Point Tower. Soon after, the advances of the Hancock led to the Sears Tower and Standard Oil Building. Discover the influence and legacy of this Chicago icon. 

Chicago isn't the only place in the Midwest with exceptional architecture. Geoffrey Baer spotlights road trip-worthy destinations within driving distance of Chicago, from well-known marvels to hidden gems in unexpected places. 

Millennium Park, which opened fifteen years ago today, was supposed to be just another pleasant, dull park that would cover up railroad tracks. But the commissioning of internationally known artists and architects transformed it into an ever-popular, unique cultural destination.

Stanley Tigerman, a Chicago-based architect known for his idiosyncratic views and buildings, has died at the age of 88. He designed the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Skokie and the Anti-Cruelty Animal Shelter on LaSalle Street, among other vibrant buildings. 

The exterior of the McGraw-Hill Building on Michigan Avenue may look the same as it did when it was built in the twenties, but it underwent a controversial "façade-ectomy" after a battle between developers and preservationists – and it features sculptural panels by a neglected female artist.

Chicago is renowned for its architecture, but a small-scale, domestic building unique to this city often goes unrecognized: the Chicago bungalow. The history of this style of house encompasses the story of Chicago's immigrants and infamous discrimination.

During Open House Chicago, which is October 13 and 14, you can see things you've never seen before as more than 250 sites across Chicagoland open to the public for free. So many choices are overwhelming, so we've chosen a few highlights.

Take a tour of the new Chicago Architecture Center and discover its new features, including an expanded and newly interactive Chicago model and a skyscraper gallery. The Center is located inside a Mies van der Rohe building with a vantage of some of Chicago's most famous buildings.

Through two innovative programs, one anchored in a graphic novel and one providing women and young people of color with the skills necessary to enter the historically white male field of architecture, the Chicago Architecture Center aims to foster a sense of civic identity and stewardship.

The Bahá’i House of Worship on the lakefront north of Chicago is sometimes called the "silent teacher" for the way that it illustrates principles of the faith, many of which are incorporated into the striking, innovative, ornate design, which took 50 years to realize.

"You cannot show with the architecture that you are poor and you cannot show that you are rich." That is what architects Marc and Nada Breitman believe. Explore their socially minded works in photos and video with Geoffrey Baer.

For a brief period, the new Apple Store off the Chicago River looked like a giant Macbook. What other buildings take inspiration from objects, in subtle or outrageous ways? Discover examples from the blatant to the futuristic and inspired.

During Open House Chicago, which is October 14 and 15, you can see things you've never seen before as more than 200 sites across Chicago, Evanston, and Oak Park open to the public for free. So many choices are overwhelming, so we've chosen a few highlights.