Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
architecture-focused books, decorative accessories, and gifts. Allow a half-hour,
more if you want to browse in the store.
224 S. Michigan Ave. & 312/922-3432. www.architecture.org. Free admission. Exhibits daily 9:30am-4pm;
shop and tour desk Mon-Sat 9am-6:30pm and Sun 9am-6pm. Bus: 3, 4, 145, 147, or 151. Subway/El: Brown,
Green, Purple, or Orange line to Adams, or Red Line to Jackson.
Fine Arts Building A worthwhile brief stop for architecture and history
buffs, this 1885 building was originally a showroom for Studebaker carriages. In
1917, it was converted into an arts center with offices, shops, two theaters, and
studios for musicians, artists, and writers. Its upper stories sheltered a number of
well-known publications (The Saturday Evening Post, Dial) and provided offices
for such luminaries as Frank Lloyd Wright, sculptor Lorado Taft, and L. Frank
Baum, author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Harriet Monroe published her
magazine, Poetry, here and first introduced American readers to Carl Sandburg,
T. S. Eliot, and Ezra Pound. Before the literary lions prowled its halls, the build-
ing also served for a short time as a rallying base for suffragettes. Located
throughout the building are a number of interesting studios and musical-instru-
ment shops. Take at least a quick walk through the marble-and-wood lobby,
then take the vintage elevator to the top floor to see the spectacular murals.
Allow a half-hour.
410 S. Michigan Ave. & 312/427-7602. Free admission. Daily 7am-10pm. Bus: 3, 4, 145, 147, or 151. Subway/
El: Brown, Green, Purple, or Orange line to Adams, or Red Line to Jackson.
Auditorium Building and Theatre A truly grand theater with historic
landmark status, the Auditorium is worth a visit to experience late-19th-century
Chicago opulence. Designed and built in 1889 by Louis Sullivan and Dankmar
Adler, the Auditorium was a wonder of the world: the heaviest (110,000 tons)
and most massive modern edifice on earth, the most fireproof building ever con-
structed, and the tallest building in Chicago. It was also the first large-scale
building to be electrically lighted, and its theater was the first in the country to
install air-conditioning.
The 4,000-seat theater, which today is the scene for Broadway touring musi-
cals, is a marvel of visionary design and engineering. Originally the home of the
Chicago Opera Company, Sullivan and Adler's masterpiece is defined by power-
ful arches lit by thousands of bulbs and features Sullivan's trademark ornamenta-
tion—in this case, elaborate golden stenciling and gold plaster medallions. It's
equally renowned for otherworldly acoustics and unobstructed sight lines. In the
days when the Auditorium was the leading theater of Chicago, the hydraulically
operated stage could be lowered from view, creating a ballroom capable of accom-
modating 8,000 guests.
During World War II, the building sheltered GIs, and its theater stage was
turned into a bowling alley. The theater reopened in 1967 following a $3-mil-
lion renovation made possible through the fundraising efforts of the nonprofit
Auditorium Theatre Council. Remnants of the building's halcyon days remain.
Photo Op
For a great photo op, walk on Randolph Street toward the lake in the
morning. That's when the sun, rising in the east over the lake, hits the cliff
of buildings along South Michigan Avenue—giving you the perfect back-
drop for an only-in-Chicago picture.
Moments
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