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Architecture of Money and Power Financial District Walking Tour

From USD $50.00

Duration: 90 Minutes (approx.)
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Product code: MONEYANDPOWER

Architecture of Money and Power Financial District Walking Tour Overview

This walking tour in the heart of Chicago’s financial district will take you and your private group to discover opulent architecture and secret stories. We explore architectural interiors of bank and insurance buildings from the turn of the century and beyond. You’ll hear about the flamboyant characters of the past, including stories of both greed and generosity. We’ll visit what was the largest and most technologically advanced building of the 1930s, and consider the background of skyscrapers as a symbol of financial power.

Architecture on this financial district walking tour will range from sleek art deco to glittering post-modern, with buildings constructed from the late 1800s into more present times. We’ll consider the roots of why bank buildings often look like temples. We’ll see ornate carved stone details and massive murals. Buildings include the Chicago Board of Trade, The Rookery, Union League Club, the Federal Center, Field Building and more.

We also venture to the “back door” of the Board of Trade. Here a time-warp exists in the middle of downtown Chicago, with historic bars, an old school pizza joint, a pawn shop, and the rickety tracks of the El train.

In keeping with Chicago Detours’ mission to explore stories and places locals don’t know, this tour will either tell lesser known stories behind famous buildings or take guests into buildings they might not normally notice right in the heart of the financial district.