 |
|
| TOP CHICAGO AREA ATTRACTIONS |
| Sears Tower |
The view from the Skydeck on the 103rd floor of the Sears Tower is amazing! On a clear day, you can see 40-50 miles -- the city of Chicago and it beautiful architecture, Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin.
For your enjoyment on the way up, the elevators are equipped with 50-inch flat screen monitors that make you feel like you're blasting off through the top of the Sears Tower and into space - with views of the earth compliments of NASA and the Space Shuttle Endeavor.
The Skydeck also features interactive, museum-quality exhibits highlighting Chicago's history and historic characters. Interactive kiosks provide a tour of Chicago's landmarks. Knee-High Chicago is a kid-level display that extends all the way around the Skydeck. Cool cut-out windows put kids eye-to-eye with scenes from Chicago's most fascinating moments in history. The Skydeck also has high-tech, high-powered telescopes for a closer look at the city. |
| Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum |
| The Adler Planetarium is located on Lake Shore Drive at Chicago's Museum Campus. Opened in 1930 as the first planetarium in the western hemisphere, the Adler fuels the imagination of its visitors with all new exhibits, state-of-the-art computer technology and the world's first StarRider Theater, while showcasing a renowned collection of historical astronomy artifacts. |
| Navy Pier |
| Located on Lake Michigan, just East of Chicago’s Downtown, Navy Pier has been a Chicago landmark since it first opened in 1916. Originally designed as both a shipping and recreational facility, the Pier also served as a military training site during two world wars, a venue for concerts and exhibitions, and the temporary home for a once-fledgling University of Illinois’ Chicago campus. Today, Navy Pier showcases a unique collection of restaurants and shops in addition to unequaled recreational and exhibition facilities. |
| Millennium Park |
First planned in 1997 as a way to create new parkland in Grant Park and transform unsightly railroad tracks and parking lots, Millennium Park has evolved into the most significant millennium project in the world. And the reviews are already in. "Millennium Park," says one prominent civic leader, "will be a worthy creation for all time. It will define Chicago to the entire world as America’s greatest city."
Millennium Park is located in the heart of downtown Chicago. It is bordered by Michigan Avenue to the west, Columbus Drive to the east, Randolph Street to the North and Monroe Street to the South. |
| Shedd Aquarium |
| The Shedd Aquarium, located on Chicago's Museum Campus, is the world's largest indoor aquarium with more than 8,000 aquatic animals representing more than 700 species from all parts of the world. The Caribbean Reef, teaming with bright, colorful new corals and more than 60 species of animal, includes bonnet head sharks, southern stingrays, angelfish and a hawksbill sea turtle. Divers hand-feed sharks, sea turtles and eels at scheduled times during the day. The Marine Mammal Presentation, presented several times each day, features animal-care staff interacting with the dolphins and whales as they dive, spyhop and walk on their tails. |
| Museum of Science and Industry |
The Museum of Science and Industry is one of the most beloved and visited museums in the world. Its origins are tied to two great World's Fairs and the imagination of Chicago businessman Julius Rosenwald. Rosenwald, then Chairman of Sears Roebuck & Company, was inspired by a 1911 visit with his son to the Deutches Museum in Munich. He returned to Chicago determined to create America's first center for "industrial enlightenment," a vehicle for public science education. With the help of other Midwest business leaders, Rosenwald restored and converted the Palace of Fine Arts, the last remaining major structure from the 1893 World's Fair, into a new type of American museum, where visitors could interact with the exhibits, not just view displays and artifacts. In 1933, the Museum of Science and Industry opened to the public, at the same time as the Century of Progress Exposition.
The Museum of Science and Industry is the oldest science museum of its kind in the Western Hemisphere. It features over 800 exhibits and over 2,000 interactive units located in over 350,000 square feet of exhibit space and attracts approximately 2 million visitors per year. Just a few of the many interesting items you'll see include: a WWII captured German submarine; a 3,000-square-foot model railroad; baby-chick hatchery; nearly 20-foot walk-through human heart model; the Apollo 8 Spacecraft. |
| Lincoln Park Zoo |
Lincoln Park Zoo, located in Chicago, is among the oldest zoological gardens in the country (established in 1868) and is also among the most modern. A premier Chicago attraction, Lincoln Park Zoo each year welcomes more than three million visitors, providing them with remarkable educational experiences as well as fun and enjoyment. Its intimate setting enables guests, young and old alike, to experience the thrill of gazing directly into the eyes of a lowland gorilla and standing toe to toe with grazing giraffes. Famous also for its historical structures, the zoo has succeeded at combining state-of-the-art animal and visitor facilities with beautiful architectural reflections of past times and sensibilities.
As Lincoln Park continues to evolve into one of the finest zoos worldwide, the one element that will not change is its admission policy: Lincoln Park Zoo stands as one of the last free major cultural institutions in the United States and the only one left in Chicago. The Zoo is open 365 days a year.
In addition to observing all of the wonderful animals, Lincoln Park Zoo features its SBC Endangered Species Carousel ride, paddle boat and swan boat rides, the LPZOO Express train ride, the 4-D Virtual Safari simulator and a Safari Audio Tour. Note that there is a small fee for each of these specialty attractions. The Zoo also offers a variety of dining options and two gift shops. |
| Art Institute of Chicago |
The Art Institute of Chicago holds one of the world's great art collections. The following describes just a few of the wonderful exhibits:
The African & Amerindian collection includes an African exhibit of wood sculpture, masks, ceramics, furniture, textiles, and beadwork from West, Central, and Southern Africa and an Amerindian collection of Mesoamerican and Andean ceramics, sculpture, textiles, and metalwork, as well as South American Indian ceramics and figurative art.
The Ernest R. Graham Study Center for Architectural Drawings houses a distinguished collection of more than 130,000 architectural sketches and drawings.
The European Painting collection ranges from the Middle Ages to 1900 and numbers approximately 950 works. The greatest strength of the department is in French painting of the 19th century.
The European Decorative Arts collection of 25,000 objects includes furniture, ceramics, metalwork, glass, enamels, and ivory from 1100 to the present, and sculpture from the medieval period to 1900.
The holdings of the Department of Textiles contain more than 13,000 textiles, as well as 66,000 sample swatches, ranging from 300 B.C. to the present. The collection represents Europe, Asia, Peru, Mexico, Guatemala, Indonesia, North America, and Africa, with selections in pre-Columbian textiles, European vestments, tapestries, woven silks and velvets, printed fabrics, needlework, and lace.
Considered one of the finest and most comprehensive in the world, the collection of the Department of Modern and Contemporary Art includes more than 1,500 paintings and sculptures representing every significant movement in Europe and America throughout the 20th century. |
| Wrigley Field |
| The Chicago Cubs are Chicago's national league professional baseball team. They play their home games at the legendary Wrigley Field, located at W. Addison Street and N. Clark Street in Wrigleyville, on the north side of the city. The Chicago Cubs baseball season runs from April through September each year.
Famous names in Cubs history include players Ernie Banks, Ryne Sandberg, Ron Santo and Sammy Sosa, as well as announcers Jack Brickhouse and Harry Carray. |
| Soldier Field |
| Soldier Field is located on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, Illinois, and is currently home to the NFL's Chicago Bears. It reopened on September 27, 2003 after a complete rebuild (the second in the stadium's history). Many fans refer to the rebuilt stadium as the New Soldier Field.
With the current stadium capacity of 61,500, Soldier Field will become the smallest stadium in the NFL when the Indianapolis Colts move out of the RCA Dome in 2008.
|
| United Center |
| The United Center is an indoor sports arena located in the Near West Side community area of Chicago, Illinois, named after its corporate sponsor, United Airlines. The United Center is home to both the Chicago Blackhawks of the NHL and the Chicago Bulls of the NBA. The plan to build the arena was created by Bill Wirtz and Jerry Reinsdorf, the owners of the two sports teams, respectively. The United Center's predecessor was the indoor Chicago Stadium, which was demolished after the newer arena opened for business on August 18, 1994. A statue of Michael Jordan is located on the east side of the arena. United Airlines pays about $1.8 million per year until 2014 for its naming rights.
|
| Hancock Observatory |
| The Hancock Observatory is located on the 94th floor of the John Hancock Building 1,000 feet above the Magnificent Mile. It is the city's only open-air skywalk. Here you'll see a 360-degree incredible view of Chicago, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana and other parts of Illinois. The Soundscope talking telescopes give you realistic sound effects with narration in English, French, Japanese or Spanish. Skytours provides an overview of the city with 16 stops of one to three minutes each, available in English, Spanish and German. The Observatory is also home to the History Wall, with more than 100 photos on display featuring Chicago's history. Windows on Chicago is user-friendly technology that lets you "tour" more than 80 favorite Chicago attractions. The Observatory also provides for some unique photo opportunities. |
| US Cellular Field |
| The Chicago White Sox is a Major League Baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. The White Sox play in the American League Central Division, and their home park is U.S. Cellular Field. They are familiarly known as simply "The Sox", or more locally the "South Siders". |
| Field Museum |
| The Field Museum is located at Chicago's Museum Campus. It was incorporated in 1893 as the Columbian Museum of Chicago with its purpose the "accumulation and dissemination of knowledge, and the preservation and exhibition of objects illustrating art, archaeology, science and history." In 1905, the Museum's name was changed to Field Museum of Natural History to honor the Museum's first major benefactor, Marshall Field, and to better reflect its focus on the natural sciences. |
|
|
|
|
|
