Best Architecture Walking Tour Since Sliced Bread in Chicago, IL

This fun and creative Chicago architecture walking tour puts architecture in context of the arts and pop culture.

What does Michael Jackson’s Thriller have to do with the design of a post-modern skyscraper? Or Andy Warhol’s soup cans with modernism? The Best Architecture Walking Tour Since Sliced Bread is a creative tour of Chicago architecture, designed for curious people. You will learn about architectural styles through their connections with technology and culture, including pop culture. We’ll look at lots of eye candy while expanding our understanding of architectural styles and Chicago history. It’s a very visual and interactive tour.

All arts are a reflection of an age. Styles in creations like architecture, graphic design, fashion design and pop culture have similar qualities when they come from the same era. We will compare architecture with contemporaneous works other media to help us learn how to identify architectural styles and most all all, to understand their deeper connections with history. We will also consider how the advancements in technology and engineering have shaped buildings.

Why is this the “best” architecture walking tour since sliced bread? The fun and creative educational approach of this Chicago architecture walking tour makes it unlike any other architecture tour in the city. We know it’s absurd to call anything the “best.” We say this simply because the tour is the best for Detours-minded folks. The tour appeals to both Chicago locals and visitors. People well-versed in art history will enjoy it, as well as tour guests new to looking at art and architecture.

You will learn about various architectural styles, both by looking at buildings in front of us and at images and video on shared iPads.

This architecture walking tour goes south of the Michigan Avenue bridge. This is a route where many people walk but rarely look up. We conclude at the very new urban playground of Maggie Daley Park.

Best Architecture Walking Tour Highlights:
Chicago’s Underground Layers
Michigan Avenue Bridge
Carbide and Carbon Building
Mies van der Rohe’s Illinois Center
Diamond Building
Aqua Tower
The New Maggie Daley Park
Shared iPads with images of pop culture comparisons

Stories and Ideas:
Fort Dearborn and the “simple life”
Chicago School of Architecture
Art Deco and the Roaring ’20s
Mechanization and the spirit of modernist architecture
The fun shapes of post-modern forms
Recent trends in city living

Walking Tour includes:
Shared iPads with historic photos and video clips
Engaging tour guide commentary
Special gifts

Link to meeting point map:
http://www.chicagodetours.com/wp-content/uploads/architecture-walking-tour-meeting-point-fannie-may.pdf

Please Note: Lasts 1.5 hours. * Half-mile walking distance. * Walking tour ends at the playground of Maggie Daley Park.