Chicago isn't just a city with skyscrapers-it's a living textbook of modern architecture. From the birth of the first steel-frame skyscraper to the sleek glass towers of today, the city's skyline tells a story of innovation, ambition, and bold design. At the heart of that story is the Chicago Architecture Center is a nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring public understanding and appreciation of architecture, design, and the built environment. Also known as Chicago Architecture Center, it operates out of the historic Chicago Riverwalk and serves over 250,000 visitors annually.
What You’ll Find at the Chicago Architecture Center
The Chicago Architecture Center isn’t a museum with dusty exhibits behind glass. It’s an active hub where you can touch models, walk through scaled-down city blocks, and hear firsthand from architects who shaped the city. The center’s main exhibit, Chicago: City of Architecture, lets you explore the city’s evolution through interactive displays, original blueprints, and a 1,500-square-foot model of downtown Chicago built at 1:800 scale. You can zoom in on the Willis Tower, the Aqua Building, and the historic Marquette Building-all labeled with their construction dates, materials, and architects.
The center also hosts rotating exhibits. In 2025, one of the most talked-about displays focused on the rise of sustainable design in Chicago. It showed how buildings like the Pixel Building and the 150 North Riverside Plaza cut energy use by over 40% through passive solar design, green roofs, and rainwater harvesting systems. These aren’t theoretical ideas-they’re real, working buildings that changed how developers think about efficiency.
Architecture Tours: More Than Just a Bus Ride
If you want to really understand Chicago’s architecture, you need to get on the water. The center runs the most popular architectural boat tour in the city, departing from its own dock on the Chicago River. These aren’t your average sightseeing cruises. Each boat has a certified architectural guide who doesn’t just point at buildings-they explain why they were built that way.
For example, you’ll learn how the 1871 Great Chicago Fire forced the city to rebuild faster and taller, leading to the invention of the steel-frame skyscraper. You’ll hear how Louis Sullivan’s ornamental terra cotta facades on the Carson Pirie Scott Building weren’t just decoration-they were a way to make tall buildings feel human at street level. The tour lasts 90 minutes and covers over 50 buildings, including the Tribune Tower, the Wrigley Building, and the recently restored Chicago Board of Trade.
There are also walking tours. The Loop Interior Architecture Tour takes you inside historic office buildings you’d normally walk past. You’ll see the grand marble lobbies of the Chicago Temple Building, the stained-glass skylights of the Rookery, and the original elevator operators’ stations still in use at the Monadnock Building. These tours are limited to 12 people, so you get real time to ask questions.
Learning Opportunities for All Ages
The Chicago Architecture Center doesn’t just cater to tourists. It’s a major education hub for students, teachers, and lifelong learners. Every year, over 15,000 K-12 students participate in programs designed around the Illinois state standards for architecture and urban planning. One standout program, Design Your City, lets middle schoolers work with real architects to redesign a block of their neighborhood. Last year, a group from South Chicago proposed a flood-resistant community center with solar panels and rooftop gardens. Their design was displayed at the center for three months.
For adults, there are weekend workshops. You can spend a Saturday learning how to read architectural drawings, or take a class on historic preservation techniques. In 2025, the center launched a new series called Architects in the Wild, where participants shadow real design teams on site visits to under-construction projects. One participant, a retired engineer from Wisconsin, ended up volunteering as a documentation assistant for a public housing retrofit project after the class.
There’s even a program for teens called Young Architects. It’s free, runs for 10 weeks after school, and includes a stipend. Past participants have gone on to study architecture at the University of Illinois, Harvard, and MIT. One graduate, now a licensed architect in Chicago, says the program was the first time she saw herself as someone who could design buildings-not just live in them.
Behind the Scenes: How the Center Operates
The Chicago Architecture Center is run by a small team of 18 full-time staff, supported by over 200 volunteers-many of them retired architects, engineers, or urban planners. They don’t take government funding. Instead, they rely on ticket sales, private donations, and corporate sponsorships from firms like Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) and Perkins&Will. This independence lets them stay neutral. They don’t promote any one firm or style. They just show you what’s there, why it matters, and how it affects your daily life.
The center also maintains a public archive. You can request access to original blueprints from the 1920s, photographs of the 1934 World’s Fair buildings, or even the handwritten notes from Daniel Burnham’s planning meetings for the 1909 Plan of Chicago. These aren’t locked away-they’re digitized and searchable online, with physical copies available for viewing in their reading room.
Why This Matters Beyond the City
Chicago’s architecture isn’t just local history. It shaped how cities around the world are built. The concept of the skyscraper? Chicago invented it. The idea of zoning laws to separate homes from factories? Chicago led the nation. The push for green roofs and energy-efficient facades? Chicago’s building code was the first in the U.S. to require them.
When you walk through the center, you’re not just looking at old buildings. You’re seeing the roots of modern urban life. The same design principles that made Chicago’s skyline possible are now being used in Tokyo, Singapore, and even Lagos. The center doesn’t just preserve the past-it helps people understand how architecture solves problems today.
Planning Your Visit
Location: 111 East Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL. Open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with extended hours on weekends. Admission is $18 for adults, $12 for students and seniors, and free for kids under 12. You can book tickets online or walk in-though tours fill up fast on weekends.
Pro tip: The best time to visit is early in the week. Tuesday mornings are quiet, and you can often get a personal tour from a volunteer architect if you ask. The boat tours leave every 30 minutes starting at 10 a.m. and run until 5 p.m. Bring a jacket-the river wind is real, even in spring.
Don’t miss the gift shop. It’s one of the best in the city for architecture books, scale-model kits of Chicago buildings, and posters of historic elevators. One popular item is a set of postcards showing the 12 tallest buildings in 1900 versus 2025. The difference is staggering.
Are the architecture tours wheelchair accessible?
Yes. All boat tours have wheelchair-accessible boarding ramps and seating areas. The Chicago Architecture Center building is fully ADA compliant, with elevators, accessible restrooms, and tactile models for visually impaired visitors. Sign language interpretation is available upon request with 48 hours’ notice.
Can I take photos during the tours?
Absolutely. Photography is encouraged. The center even provides free downloadable photo guides on their website with recommended angles for capturing the most iconic buildings. Tripods are allowed on walking tours but not on the boats due to space constraints.
Do I need prior knowledge of architecture to enjoy the tours?
No. The guides are trained to explain concepts in plain language. You don’t need to know what a cornice or a spandrel is. They’ll show you how the building works, why it looks the way it does, and how it affects people who live and work nearby. Most visitors have no background in design-and leave with a whole new way of seeing cities.
Are there discounts for groups or schools?
Yes. Groups of 10 or more get a 20% discount on admission and tours. Schools can apply for free or reduced-cost field trips through the center’s Education Fund, which is supported by private donors. Applications open in January each year.
Is the Chicago Architecture Center open year-round?
Yes. The center is open every day except Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day. Boat tours run rain or shine-just dress for the weather. In winter, the river views are especially clear, and the ice forming along the edges makes for stunning photos.