Architectural River Cruise. Photo by Anne Evans.

If you find your­self in Chicago this hol­i­day sea­son, you might want to immerse your­self in the rich archi­tec­tural his­tory of this great city. There is no bet­ter way to do that than to take one of the Chicago Architectural Foundation’s (CAF) 80+ river, walk­ing and bus tours.

Chicago Architecture Foundation River Cruise

It’s not too late to go on CAF’s world-famous Official Architecture River Cruises aboard the heated cabin of the Chicago’s First Lady. Tours depart every day through­out the day through November 22.

See www.architecture.org for full schedule.

Bus Tours

Highlights by Bus

Fridays and Saturdays at 9:30am

This three and a half hour bus tour high­lights Chicago’s wide range of archi­tec­tural influ­ence and design, explor­ing archi­tec­tural land­marks such as the Mies van der Rohe’s IIT cam­pus, the Rookery in down­town Chicago, and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House.  The tour cov­ers over 30 miles of the city includ­ing: Barack Obama’s neigh­bor­hood, the Loop, Hyde Park, the Gold Coast, and his­toric neigh­bor­hoods and campuses.

Devil in the White City Bus Tour

Nov 3, 8, 12, 22 and Dec 1, 6, 17 at 10am.

This com­pelling bus tour and slide pre­sen­ta­tion is based upon Erik Larson’s best­selling novel that chron­i­cles the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition and the emer­gence of America’s first mass murderer.

Downtown Walking Tours

Palmer House

Saturday, Nov 7 and Dec 5 at 10:30am. This new 45-minute walk­ing tour goes behind the scenes of this remark­able Chicago land­mark. One of the old­est continuously-operated hotels in the world, the restora­tion of this his­toric trea­sure is an inspir­ing tale of per­se­ver­ance, tal­ent, and vision.

*Tour meets in the WABASH AVENUE lobby (between Monroe and Adams)

Modern Wing Tours – Art Institute of Chicago

Nov 14 and 18, Dec 12 and 16, Jan 9 and 20 at 12pm. Docents exam­ine the con­text for the Renzo Piano-designed addi­tion and its incor­po­ra­tion into the campus’s over­all design.

Preserving Chicago Landmarks

Nov 28 and Dec 26 at 12:30 pm. This tour explores why choices to pre­serve are made and how those deci­sions shape the future of Chicago.

Historic Downtown (South Loop): Rise of the Skyscraper

Daily at 10am

Chicago Old and New: Intersections

Mondays and Wednesdays at 11am through the end of November. Focusing on five inter­sec­tions in the Loop, this tour looks at the archi­tec­tural ele­ments that cre­ate Chicago’s unique urban fabric.

Magnificent Mile

Nov 7 and 10, Dec 8 and 19 at 10am. Docents explain the area’s trans­for­ma­tion from an indus­trial, vice rid­den dis­trict to the grand shop­ping mecca that we know today while explor­ing the area’s eclec­tic mix of archi­tec­ture design.

Modern Skyscrapers

Daily at 1pm. This tour exam­ines many of the build­ings that helped place Chicago on the fore­front of the mod­ern archi­tec­tural move­ment, from Mies van der Rohe’s Federal Center to the Art Institute’s new Modern Wing.

Historic Downtown (North Loop): Treasures

Nov-Feb: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 2pm

Downtown Deco

November-March Thursday, Saturday at 11am

Explore some of Chicago’s famous art deco inte­ri­ors and exte­rior spaces.

Tiffany Treasures in Chicago

Wednesdays at 3pm. This tour looks at the mag­nif­i­cent work of the Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company in four late-19th cen­tury build­ings: the Art Institute of Chicago, the Marquette Building, the Chicago Cultural Center, and Macy’s on State Street.

Willis Tower and 311 S. Wacker Drive

First Tuesday of the Month at 12:15pm

For a full sched­ule and ticket prices, visit www.architecture.org.

Related posts:

1. Architectural Tours of Chicago
2. Chicago Model City Exhibition
3. Washington DC History on Foot walk­ing tours
4. Magnificent Mile Festival of Lights River Cruise and Other Special Offers
5. Holiday Happenings in Washington County, Ohio