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Chicago tours & attractions

Don’t leave without checking out these top sights..

Take a boat cruise through the heart of the city, see your reflection in “The Bean,” step outside one of the world’s tallest buildings. We’ve rounded up some of the city’s must-see sights, iconic attractions, and top tours to add to your itinerary. And don’t miss attraction passes for reduced admission to museums, activities, and beyond.

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Must-see Chicago attractions

Chicago Museum Campus

Shedd Aquarium

Chicago River

Millennium Park

Crown Fountain

DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center

Washington Park

Skydeck Chicago

Willis Tower

Museum Campus South

Museum of Science & Industry

Lake Michigan

360 CHICAGO

875 N. Michigan

Pullman National Historical Park

Historic Clock Tower

Lincoln Park Zoo

Lincoln Park

National Museum of Mexican Art

Garfield Park Conservatory

Garfield Park

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Prairie Avenue Chicago: The City’s First Neighborhood of Mansions

• October 25, 2012

Maybe you’ve heard of the elite Gold Coast neighborhood on the Near North Side, but how about the Historic District of Prairie Avenue? Potter Palmer constructed a million-dollar mansion on the formerly-swampy Lake Shore Drive in 1882, establishing the city’s most affluent neighborhood on the North Side. Still, it wasn’t Chicago’s first affluent neighborhood. Before the Gold Coast, there was “Millionaire’s Row,” an even denser cluster of mansions belonging to Chicago’s most prosperous people between the 1600 to 2200 blocks of Prairie Avenue on the Near South Side.

We research Chicago history and architecture like this while developing our  live virtual events  and custom corporate events. Join us for our public  virtual events  or book an exclusive team-building event for  your private group . We can also create custom tours and original content creation about this Chicago topic and countless others.

Prairie Avenue was Millionaire’s Row

Like many of Chicago’s main streets, Prairie Avenue evolved from a Native American trail that connected Chicago’s Fort Dearborn with Indiana’s Fort Wayne. The area became a desirable location because of its proximity to downtown business without the hassle of crossing the Chicago River. Things really flourished after the Great Fire of 1871. Prairie Avenue and its immediate surroundings were untouched, while the North Side was torched. Displaced people and businesses who could afford it relocated to the south of the Loop.

The Who’s Who of Chicago

Prairie Avenue was home to the men who made Chicago a global city. It featured the crème de la crème of Chicago gentry and architecture. To name a few highlights of this exclusive and close knit community:

• Marshall Field’s mansion was designed by Richard Morris Hunt (architect of the Vanderbilts’ “ The Breakers ” in Newport, Rhode Island).
• Daniel Burnham designed the home of John B. Sherman, one of the founders of the Union Stock Yard. Burnham met and then married Sherman’s daughter as a result of this commission. Down the line, he eventually lived in the mansion he’d designed.
• George Pullman enlisted Solon S. Beman to design his Prairie Avenue home after Beman designed the entire layout of his company town, “ Pullman . ” Beman was also architect for Marshall Field Jr.’s 43-room, 30,000-square-foot home (that is now six condos ) as well as W.W. Kimball’s (of piano and organ fame) home.
• Henry Ives Cobb , designer of the Newberry Library and many University of Chicago collegiate gothic buildings, designed two homes that are actually still standing today . Incredibly, his Rees House was hoisted up and moved down the street to make way for McCormick Place’s expansion in 2014.

End of an Era

Pollution and noise from nearby train yards, as well as encroaching districts of industry and “undesirable” activities eventually made Prairie Avenue and its Near South neighborhood less appealing to the wealthy leaders of Chicago. Palmer’s new setup in the Gold Coast also drew the aristocratic class to the North Side. Over the decades, factories, parking lots, and warehouses replaced the grand mansions. Only seven of these mansions still exist today. Only a heroic preservation effort saved them all from demolition. A small group of preservation-minded people, which eventually became the Chicago Architecture Foundation, saved H.H. Richardson ’s Romanesque Glessner House from the wrecking ball in 1966.

Visit the Museums of Prairie Avenue

I learned about this forgotten neighborhood when I interned for the Glessner and Clarke House Museums this past spring. The museums, along with the Prairie District Neighborhood Alliance have worked very hard in revitalizing the area and educating the public with their own house tours and an annual neighborhood tour to see historic home interiors. On our “Century of Contrasts South Loop Walking Tour,” we would step into the ornate rooms of this Gilded Age Mansion. We can still create a custom private tour that takes you there, of course.

The Glessner House courtyard as well as Women’s Park are available for schmancy weddings, corporate events, and banquets. The historic Wheeler Mansion, down the block from Glessner, has been beautifully restored. Today, it’s a boutique hotel and hosts a lively farmer’s market in the summer. Glessner House also often hosts special tours and presentations on history. The gorgeous Second Presbyterian Church , the favored church of Chicago’s Gilded Age gentry, offers guided tours of its 1874 architecture, including a stunning Arts and Crafts style renovation and painterly stained glass masterpieces. There’s lots to do to explore the up-and-coming Near South Side neighborhood, where the glamorous past is coming into clear view again.

— Marianna Foral, Research Intern

ABOUT CHICAGO DETOURS

In business since 2010, Chicago Detours is a passionate team of educators, historians and storytellers. We applied a decade of experience as one of Chicago’s  top-rated  tour companies to become a  virtual event  company in 2020. We bring curious people to explore, learn and interact about Chicago’s history, architecture and culture through custom tours, content production, and virtual events.

Chicago Detours is boutique tour company that tells neighborhood and city stories through in-person tours, virtual tours, and custom content for private group events.

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Private Tour Coordinator and Tour Guide

There is no shortage of things to discover in Chicago—I love being an urban explorer and uncovering its hidden places. I have an MA in Public History from Loyola University Chicago, and I have worked as a museum educator and kindergarten teacher. My desire to learn new things fuels my passion for educating others, which I get to experience every day as a Chicago tour guide. I live in the northern neighborhood of Rogers Park.

Whether you are a first-time visitor or a lifelong resident, the vibrant history and modern majesty of Chicago never ceases to amaze. I’m a graduate of Columbia College with an M.A. in Interdisciplinary Art. I’ve worked for many years as an educator at City Colleges of Chicago. As tour guide at Chicago Detours, I integrate my enthusiasm for culture and architecture with my passion as an educator. West Town/Noble Square area is home for me.

With our Chicago neighborhoods, vibrant cultural institutions and nearly two centuries of larger-than-life stories, there’s never a dull moment here! I’m a fifth generation Chicagoan and a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis. In addition to guiding tours, I’m a creative writer and amateur genealogist. I also enjoy the city’s dynamic theater scene. You can also read overlooked stories from 19th-century newspapers on my “Second Glance History” blog. I live in River North.

Chicago is unique as it always evolves into the future while holding on to the past. I’m fascinated by how people latch on to old architecture but happily pave over others. My background is in theater and performance and I’ve been a tour guide here for more than 10 years. Currently I’m finishing my Master’s in Public History at Loyola University because I love to teach the history of this scrappy city. I’m in the Edgewater neighborhood.

Operations Coordinator and Tour Guide

Chicago’s history is so fascinating, you could spend a lifetime uncovering its secrets…I’m willing to give it a try! I have an M.A. in US History from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas and then pursued doctoral studies in Urban History at the University of Illinois at Chicago. I love to learn new aspects of Chicago’s rich history and then share my knowledge as a tour guide with Chicago Detours. I live in Ravenswood.

Content Manager and Tour Guide

Chicago has so many neighborhoods, buildings, and by-ways that it’s hard to go long without seeing something new, or something familiar from a new angle. I studied Cinema History for my M.A. from the University of Chicago. I’ve worked as a culture writer for various publications and as an educator of the humanities at the City Colleges of Chicago. I’m thrilled to share my love of this city’s busy past and unique architectural spaces with Chicago Detours. I live in the Chicago neighborhood of Lincoln Park.

Amanda Scotese

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Fifth Avenue History & Hidden Secrets Virtual Tour

Virtual history tour of NYC's iconic Fifth Avenue and Rockefeller Center.

Learn the history and fascinating hidden stories behind the origins of NYC’s famous Fifth Avenue and Rockefeller Center on this engaging virtual tour!

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On this tour we will discuss:

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• Rockefeller Center
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New Desert Diamond Casino near Glendale is on track to open this year. Take a peek

A $450 million casino under construction in the West Valley near Loop 303 and Northern Avenue is on track to open by the end of the year, representatives from the Tohono O'odham Gaming Enterprise said Tuesday during a tour of the work.

The casino, called Desert Diamond Casino White Tanks at San Lucy, will include 900 slot machines, 48 table games, high-limit slots and table games, a VIP lounge, sportsbook and several food venues, including a Starbucks, Mike Bean, CEO of the Tohono O'odham Gaming Enterprise, said.

The casino is near Glendale on land that has been taken into trust for the tribe. The city of Surprise will be providing emergency services for the site.

The interior theme of the casino was designed to mimic a butterfly, with the ceiling designed to invoke the patterns on a butterfly’s wings.

High-end steakhouse, pub will be anchor restaurants

A Morton’s The Steakhouse will take one of the spaces for a large, sit-down restaurant. The high-end steakhouse will have indoor and outdoor dining and a wine room. The other sit-down restaurant space will be a pub-style restaurant called Pub Stop, which will also have indoor and outdoor seating.

The casino will also have a five-venue food hall with four restaurant options and a bar. The restaurants will offer different options, including rotisserie chicken, tacos, burgers and sandwiches. Bean said the development team is working on a system that will enable patrons to order food from different restaurants in the food hall in one order at a kiosk.

Indoor cigarette smoking will not be allowed, but there is a smoking area outside.

The project will create about 5,500 construction jobs, and the casino’s operations will create about 1,000 permanent jobs.

The casino and accompanying parking garage are the first phase of development for Desert Diamond Casino White Tanks at San Lucy.

The second phase planned at the site will include a 350-room hotel with convention and meeting space, a rooftop bar, a 2,500-seat entertainment venue and a hotel pool. After the hotel, Bean said future phases would be aimed at creating an “entertainment district” to complement the casino and neighboring attractions like the Wildlife World Zoo, which is across the street.

Construction on the first phase will last about 19 months, Randy Howe, project development director for the enterprise, said.  

The newest casino will be the fifth for the Tohono O'odham nation, which operates three casinos in southern Arizona, in Sahuarita, Tucson and Why, and a fourth location in the Phoenix metro near Westgate.

VAI Resort, Caesars, Ritz-Carlton: Biggest new hotels and renos opening in Arizona in 2024

Tribe allowed to expand land after flood

The nation was allowed to expand its reservation space to include by about 10,000 acres because of a settlement in the 1980s. The deal replaced land on the reservation that was destroyed by flooding when Painted Rock Dam was built. The nation was allowed to identify sites on unincorporated land in Maricopa, Pima or Pinal counties, according to the settlement. The newest casino is being built on 110 acres of that land.

The casino and accompanying development are planned for about 80 acres of the site, Howe said. The remainder of the land can be used by the nation as it sees fit, but the project development team will come up with several different ideas for possible planning that the tribe can use or modify, he said.

Next phase of Desert Diamond West Valley coming first

Bean said the next phase of the new casino is planned to come after the second phase of development at the Desert Diamond West Valley casino, which is near Westgate at Loop 101 and Northern Avenue. That expansion will also be a hotel, which will be 19 stories tall, with 450 rooms, a rooftop bar and convention space. A timeline for that development has not been finalized, he said.

The West Valley location sees about 10,000 patrons a day, Bean said. The new location will be smaller, so he anticipates slightly fewer customers per day.

Reach the reporter at  [email protected] . Follow her on X, formerly Twitter  @CorinaVanek .

Scottie Scheffler’s historic PGA Tour run continues at RBC Heritage

S cottie Scheffler continued his dominant run on the PGA Tour with a weather-delayed victory at the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links on Monday.

One week after solidifying his historic reign over men’s golf at the Masters, Scheffler shot a 19-under in Hilton Head, South Carolina, to win the Signature Event.

The world no. 1 has four wins in his last five PGA Tour starts. In March, he won the Arnold Palmer Invitational, a signature event, and the Players Championship. (At the Valero Texas Open, Scheffler’s putt to force a playoff lipped out . He finished T2.)

Scheffler, who didn’t play the Harbour Town back-nine before his first round, opened the tournament with a ho-hum 69. Inevitably, though, he surged past a field that included 28 of the top 30 players in the world with a 65 on Friday and 63 on Saturday.

Scheffler carried a five-shot lead into Monday with three holes left to play. In the end, his final round 68 was enough to stave off Sahith Theegala (-16), Wyndham Clark (-15), and Patrick Cantlay (-15). Justin Thomas, J.T. Poston, Patrick Rodgers, and Sepp Straka finished T5 at 14-under.

“I didn’t show up here just to have some sort of ceremony and have people tell me congratulations,” said Scheffler. “I came here with a purpose.”

Tiger Woods (2007-08) was the last player to win four out of five PGA Tour events, and the last player to win on the PGA Tour the week after claiming a major (2006).

Bernhard Langer (1985) last went back-to-back at the Masters and RBC.

“Coming off the high last week to going into here, not really with a ton of energy, not really with a ton of prep work,” Scheffler said. “I think it’s underrated how difficult it is to do the stuff that Tiger was doing, and win like every single week. It takes a lot out of you emotionally and physically, especially major championships.”

Scheffler earned $3.2 million of the $20 million RBC purse. He’s pocketed $18.7 million for his work in 10 tournaments this season.

Scheffler now has 11 wins and 33 top-fives in his last 60 worldwide starts. He hasn’t carded an official round over par since August.

“It’s pretty epic,” said Theegala, who played in the final group with Scheffler. “I was talking to Carl, my caddie, walking to 15 tee box. I was like, I grew up watching the end of Tiger, got to see Rory, DJ, Jordan, like all these guys kind of dominate for a period of time, and I was like, we could be in the midst of something really, really special.”

“It does not get boring,” Scheffler emphasized. “I think hitting a really well-struck golf shot close to the pin is like an addicting feeling.”

The second major of the year, the 2024 PGA Championship, tees off on May 16 at Valhalla in Louisville, Kentucky. Scheffler is almost a 3-1 favorite against the field. He’s +6000 to win all four majors in 2024.

Meanwhile, on the LPGA Tour, world No. 1 Nelly Korda just rattled off her fifth win in a row, at the first major of the season, the Chevron Championship. Keep up, Scottie.

The post Scottie Scheffler’s historic PGA Tour run continues at RBC Heritage appeared first on ClutchPoints .