Chicago Architecture Center

Get the inside scoop behind Chicago's famous spaces and places. Check out these upcoming departures and then visit https://bit.ly/4hW7vDz for ℹ️ & 🎟️

Architect Egerton Swartwout gave this 1924 Lincoln Park landmark a monumental dome and columned exterior, while inside, an immense rotunda is filled with colorful marble, frescoes, stained glass and statuary. https://bit.ly/4yy9rd9

Fall colors are poppin' in Millennium Park 🫶💅🤏 📸: @jimy_tee via Instagram

You know those great photos you took during Open House Chicago 2026? You could win CAC's Annual OHC Photo Competition! Deadline is October 25 at 11:59pm. Details: https://bit.ly/3TLlRQT 📸: Sara Keene - OHC Photo Competition Winner, Category: Detail

Need a little inspiration for your day? CAC Board Member Hebru Brantley is sharing his OHC picks! From iconic cultural institutions to historic buildings and contemporary design, Hebru's list gets you to some of the best spots in the city.

There's more to Open House Chicago than exploring buildings! Discover special events including tea ceremonies, architect chats, book talks, dance performances, live jazz, blues & classical music & more. https://bit.ly/3TVEzoV 📸: Performance at The Forum Bronzeville During OHC, Photo: Craig Shimala

For architecture lovers, history buffs and city explorers, this is the big one. Open House Chicago is this weekend! https://bit.ly/4yLSxJ4 📸: Intuit Art Museum #OHC2026

We’re thrilled to welcome artist Hebru Brantley to the Chicago Architecture Center Board of Trustees! Beyond his celebrated artwork, Hebru is deeply committed to inspiring young people through creativity, mentorship and artistic exploration. Welcome, Hebru! 🎨

Happy Indigenous Peoples Day. The Center for Native Futures, located in Chicago's Marquette Building, is the city's only Native artist-led fine arts gallery and a powerful platform for contemporary Indigenous artists. https://bit.ly/4jjhx5K

Did these sites make your Open House Chicago itinerary? #OHC2026

Bridge lift season has returned! 🌉 For more than a century, Chicago's movable bridges have been raised for river traffic. While bridgehouses once needed 24-hour staffing, today's operations have been greatly modernized. Visit the McCormick Bridgehouse this year's OHC. https://bit.ly/4ibDiTQ

They're so common in Chicago that people around the world refer to them as "Chicago bridges." But what is a trunnion bascule bridge? Docent Patti Kelly explains in this video.

🌟 Let's get ready to explore!! Just 9 days until Open House Chicago 2026! What sites are at the top of your list? Visit https://bit.ly/3glzja4 for complete site list and details.

🎉 2026 marks 60 years of the Chicago Architecture Center & to celebrate, we're launching a $60,000 Annual Giving Campaign to support education, programming & tours that inspire better living through design. Help support CAC's work for the next 60 years. https://bit.ly/4eewq5F

Every year, CAC works with a local artist to design special artwork for Open House Chicago. This year, Chicagoan Jaz Rodriguez's collection celebrates our city's iconic architectural styles and native flowers. Get your limited edition merch! https://bit.ly/46TCDAW

Still working on your OHC2026 itinerary? Add these must-see sites: openhousechicago.org

Chicago Stories on WTTW has returned! Catch CAC's Vice President of Education, Angela Esposito, on October 16th when she will be offering her expertise on the evolution of the skyscraper. Watch on @wttwchicago, or stream on the PBS app and https://bit.ly/4zfwjiz.

How does the CAC celebrate World Architecture Day? Oh not much...we just open a new location. 😮 💅 Check out CAC's new location at the Marquette Building. This new satellite location will serve as an additional tour departure site & retail location. Grand opening today! Reg. hours: Wed-Sat 11am-6pm

The Uptown is the largest freestanding theater in North America & remains a breathtaking space despite being shuttered for nearly 5 decades. The J. Geils Band took the Uptown stage for the theater's final concert before it went dark in 1981. Get inside during OHC2026 https://bit.ly/4xQdWQ1

Still working on your OHC itinerary? Consider adding these sites: And then visit https://bit.ly/3ROVvX8 for details on all of the sites participating in Open House Chicago this year. Open House Chicago is October 17-18, 2026

Check out these upcoming tours! https://bit.ly/4hW7vDz

Designed by John Wellborn Root and completed by Daniel Burnham, this former church found a surprising second life as a Vajrayana Buddhist temple. See it during Open House Chicago 2026 https://bit.ly/4iLfvLh 📸: Warren LeMay via Wikimedia Commons #OHC2026 #openhousechicago

You're going, right? Open House Chicago 2026? Consider this your official invite. Put these sites on your list to visit during OHC, Chicago's biggest architecture fest, October 17-18. https://bit.ly/3glzja4

When William LeBaron Jenney designed Chicago's 16-story Manhattan Building in 1891, many people were skeptical of buildings that tall. His solution? Horizontal bands and carefully placed details that draw the eye across the facade rather than up, making it feel less daunting. https://bit.ly/4xBylbs

Get out on a CAC tour! ℹ️ & 🎟️ : https://bit.ly/4hW7vDz

To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, check out the architects making stunning work in the city. From WTTW: 11 Latino Architects Whose Work Can Be Found Around Chicago. https://bit.ly/4xUBrIv 📸: Northeastern Illinois University's El Centro campus, Architect: JGMA, Photo: courtesy JGMA

It's proven that pics like these can lower your blood pressure. Ok, maybe not proven but we definitely feel calmer. 📸: @magesticsky via Instagram

In 2023, the City of Chicago proclaimed September 14 Carol Ross Barney Day at the CAC Gala. Today, we celebrate the visionary architect behind the Chicago Riverwalk and so many beloved public spaces across the city. https://bit.ly/4h7Y3OL 📸: Eric Allix Rogers, Ross Barney Architects

Are any of these on your OHC list so far? 📍 Visit https://bit.ly/3ROVvX8 for details on the fest and all of the sites. Open House Chicago, October 17-18

The views are just 🤌 📸: Photo taken from the Skydeck by @filoricanadventures via Instagram

🪨 Make No Little Boulders? The Rockery? Chicago needs you to help name a 50-ton boulder found during O'Hare's renovation. 🗞️ From the Chicago Tribune: Chicago asks for help naming 50-ton boulder unearthed at O’Hare. https://bit.ly/4708UW1 📸: Chicago Department of Aviation

🤔 Want to be a star at trivia night? 🤓 Get on some CAC walking tours. ℹ️ & 🎟️ https://bit.ly/4hW7vDz

Day or night, Chicago shows its brilliance. ✨ 📸: @sekrety_jc via Instagram

🚨 Don't miss out! Be among the first to receive the full site list for Open House Chicago 2026. Just sign up for the CAC newsletter: https://bit.ly/4dUy8qu 📢 Site announcement: September 9 📆 Open House Chicago 2026, October 17-18

In 1894, workers in Pullman went on strike after years of strict company policies, pay cuts & rents that stayed the same. The strike became a significant labor conflict leading to Labor Day becoming a federal holiday. https://bit.ly/46e8c7p 📸: Pullman Clock Tower, Architect: Solon S. Beman

✨ A new housing program gives Chicago creatives priority at 400 Lake Shore Drive. 🗞️ From Newcity: Making Room for Chicago's Creative Community 📸: 400 Lake Shore Drive, Architect: Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, Photographer: Related Midwest

Chicago's love affair with the bicycle is nothing new. From producing much of America's bicycles in the 1890s to hosting one of the nation's busiest urban cycling corridors today, the city has always loved life on two wheels. 🚲 Happy Bike the Drive day! 📸: Photographer: Eric Allix Rogers

You've taken the River Cruise...now it's time for a walking tour. Get out and explore with a CAC docent. ℹ️ & 🎟️ https://bit.ly/4hW7vDz

🏙️ Happy Skyscraper Day from the skyscraper city! Skyscrapers have the power to shape a city while also inspiring us all to dream big. Want to learn more? Visit https://bit.ly/3JuDF9Z for info on our tours, CAC membership & Open House Chicago. 📸: Willis Tower, Architect: Skidmore, Owings and Merrill

🧑‍💼 Client: I want a rectangular glass-and-steel building, but I don't want it to look like a rectangular glass-and-steel building. 🍺 Studio Gang: Hold my beer. 🎥 Learn more about this iconic building with docent, Jennifer.

🌔 Who caught the recent partial lunar eclipse? The reddish hue of the moon was the result of sunlight being filtered through the earth's atmosphere. NASA says it's like all of the world's sunrises & sunsets are projecting onto the moon at the same time. 📸: @alexschriner via Instagram

Best way to see the most cool buildings in one day? A CAC bus tour. Check out these upcoming departures. ℹ️ & 🎟️ : https://bit.ly/4hW7vDz

Prairie Style and a compact city lot are not a natural match. But Frank Lloyd Wright found a way. Built in Rogers Park in 1915, the Emil Bach House includes many of his signature Prairie Style elements in a compact, urban setting. https://bit.ly/46rLCrU

🌟 Open House Chicago is coming up quick! Sign up for the CAC newsletter to be among the first to know the complete site list: https://bit.ly/4dUy8qu

🤩 Not sure there is a more beautiful city in the world. 🤩 Great capture from CAC friend, @waywelling on Instagram

The land beneath Maggie Daley Park isn't really land at all. The entire park sits atop a parking garage, and the space was redesigned after the garage roof developed leaks. https://bit.ly/3BaGXOB

Learn more on these CAC tours. Old Town Triangle Uptown Palmer House Hotel Sheffield Historic District Info and tickets: https://bit.ly/4hW7vDz

⭐ Fun fact: 333 W. Wacker's reflective facade can make the skyline appear stretched, compressed, and distorted depending on where you're standing. ⭐ Fun Fact 2: It was where Ferris Bueller's dad worked in the iconic 80's movie. https://bit.ly/4c22eK7

📸 Happy National Photography Day! Cheers to all of the Chicago photographers out there! We appreciate your hard work and dedication to showing us the city through your lens. Your talent is unmatched! 📸 : @barrybutler9 via Instagram

Just another Chicago story of selling soap, selling gum and building icons. 💅 Learn more about the famous Wrigley Building in the video with CAC docent Patti Kelly Doyle.