Chicago Walking Tour: Art Deco Skyscrapers

Step back in time and explore the opulent Art Deco skyscrapers of Chicago’s Roaring ‘20s. Discover the origins of Art Deco and admire iconic buildings on this engaging tour.

Duration: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Chicago River - Discuss buildings built in the Art Deco style along the riverfront
  • 333 Michigan Ave - View the exterior of the building
  • Carbide and Carbon Building - View the Carbide and Carbon Building
  • 66 E Wacker Pl - Visit the former Chicago Motor Club Building, 66 E Wacker Place
  • 182 W Lake St - Visit the Trustees System…
What's Included
  • Admission to the Chicago Architecture Center Galleries
  • Professional, certified guide narration
What's Not Included
  • Coat check
  • Hotel pick-up and drop-off
  • Storage for luggage or strollers
Additional Information

Explore the foyers of five lavish Art Deco towers constructed near the Chicago River’s shores during the commercial surge of the Roaring ‘20s. Understand how Art Deco embodied the period’s spirited optimism through its use of sumptuous materials and geometric adornment. Uncover the roots of Art Deco whilst appreciating edifices like the Carbide and…

Location
Chicago Architecture Center
East Wacker Drive
Meet inside the Chicago Architecture Center at 111 E Wacker Drive. Please arrive 15 minutes prior to your tour departure time.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.9
(55 Ratings)
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Sunshine798892
Jul 19, 2025
Beautiful Art Deco buildings to see - The tour docent was very informative, the buildings on the tour were excellent examples of Chicago’s art deco buildings, and many photos were taken. This tour is recommended for any fan of architecture, and particularly of art deco architecture.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jessenl5302vx
Jul 13, 2025
Step back in time - wonderful art deco tour - A wonderful tour of some amazing buildings. Great to walk in to the various skyscrapers and step back in time. Well worth the tour. Buy a membership if you want to do a few tours, great value.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Road42571883474
May 21, 2025
Very enjoyable and informative. - This is a wonderful walking tour. We visited a lot of landmarks like the Mart and the carbon and carbide building. Our guide, Ron Roman, was approachable, professional, and above all knowledgeable. We learn so much from the tour. Architectural tours is an activity. My family favors. So, we have done a lot of these tours, and Ron is one of the best guides we have.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kristenwd4182zf
Apr 19, 2025
An experience to remember! - The river cruise exceeded our expectations. It was beautiful and spectacular! Our tour guide Chris was very knowledgeable and his knowledge was expansive. Clearly, he has done his homework on every building and loves what he does. It was a highlight of our first trip to Chicago! Thank you for making it so memorable!!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
E1288snmaureenw
Mar 7, 2025
Art Deco: The Riverfront---a great tour! - I took the Art Deco Riverfront tour with Russ S today, and it was outstanding. He gave great details about the art deco characteristics of each building, and had very engaging stories at many of the stops. So knowledgeable! Highly recommend!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Michaelbv1373us
Feb 18, 2025
CAC Art Deco Lobbies - CAC provides some of the best tours with very informed and passionate docents. The tour guide was very friendly, and had many connections with staff of the buildings we toured inside to give us some great inside scoop. Will definitely book again in the future!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Michaelhr7467vu
Dec 14, 2024
Fun and informative - Very fun and informative tour. The buildings were beautiful and the docent, Marcia provided great context. I loved going into the lobbies and noticing the recurring themes.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
X6353xhkimh
Dec 12, 2024
Fantastic tour in spite of freezing cold!! - Mitch (our tour guide) was excellent!! Very knowledgeable, friendly, mindful of the fact it was 9 degrees when we started so asked us several times if we were ok or needed to step into another building to warm up. Just a fantastic tour of these beautiful historic buildings. Highly recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Luizinr
Oct 22, 2024
First Lady tour is perfect by all means - Amazing tour. Amazing guide with so much knowledge. We took a lot of pictures. Learnt so much about the city, all the stories about the architecture were amazing
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Anatsk
May 25, 2025
I paid for a tour that was already sold out - I arrived to pick up my ticket and it’s appears that I had paid for ticket that were sold out ?!?! . I have sent a request to TripAdvisor to get full refund . Of course i didn’t do the tour
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $35
up to 10 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).