Frank Gehry designed the BP Bridge, which meanders across Columbus Drive in 925ft of sultry serpentine curves.

The Daley Center is probably best known for its plaza, where Picasso's fantastic steel creature holds court. Chicagoans shuddered at first, but the beast may now be as famous (and beloved) as "Hizzoner da Mare" himself, who governed the cit..

The Rookery is one of the earliest designs by Chicago architectural firm Burnham & Root, and is the most impressive landmark rehabilitation in the Loop. Noted for the richness of its design and detailing, the 12-story facade of red granite, terra-cot..

Architectural "bad boy" Helmut Jahn, known for bucking accepted trends, designed this State of Illinois facility to resemble the domes you're used to seeing on government buildings. Though quirky, the shape makes possible the soaring atrium..

Set majestically on the north side of the river, this sparkling structure was built in two stages (30 stories to the south in 1920 and 21 to the north in 1924, both designed by Graham, Anderson, Probst & White). The white terra-cotta exterior, its si..

Corporate headquarters of the Tribune Company's vast empire, this soaring tower (Hood & Howells), built in 1925, is a true "cathedral of commerce." Besides its dramatic Gothic style, the "Trib Tower" is known for the fragments and..

Navy Pier has enjoyed many lives since it was first built in 1916 as a passenger and freight terminal. Then it served as a naval training station during World War II and as a campus for the University of Illinois. It has hosted festivals, conventions..

It's worth the views up and down the lakefront to walk out to the Adler, which occupies a beautiful setting. The oldest planetarium in the Western Hemisphere, it is also renowned for its fine collection of historic astronomical instruments and its sp..

Want to look up your family tree? This respected institution, completed in 1893, ranks among the top independent research libraries in the country for genealogists and scholars in the humanities. Rotating exhibits-on such diverse topics as Alice in W..

Designed by H.H. Richardson in 1886, the Glessner House revolutionized domestic American architecture with its open floor plan and plain facade. John Glessner, a manufacturer of farm implements, commissioned the house at a time when labor unrest alar..

Cornerstone of the Prairie Avenue Historic District, Glessner House was designed for a wealthy farm-implement manufacturer by Henry Hobson Richardson in 1886. The house revolutionized domestic American architecture with its open floor plan and unador..

Quaint graystones with delicate wrought-iron railings and miniature front gardens characterize Chicago's historic Astor Street, in the Gold Coast. The street was named for John Jacob Astor, whos American Fur Co. traded in the area before the settleme..

For a slice of Chicago history, check out this cemetery, just north of Wrigley Field, where notable architecture and sculpture mark the resting places of many of the city's movers and shakers. Developed in 1860, Graceland received many of the corpses..

A bastion of scholarship, the University of Chicago (U of C) has spent its first century as a world leader in research and education. Called "the teacher of teachers," one in seven alumni works in education and a great number of them serve ..

While the institute is dedicated to the study of languages, history and cultures of the ancient Near East, its museum contains one of the world's choicest collections of Near Eastern art and antiquities. Most of its 75,000 artifacts were collected by..

Frank Lloyd Wright called this Unitarian temple "my jewel," and it's easy to see why. Built for the sake of expense of unadorned concrete, the rectangular interlocking forms contain a worship space and social hall. Framed by rectilinear bal..

This home made its designer, Frank Lloyd Wright, world famous and helped "break the box" of traditional architecture. The Robie family lived here only for a year or so, after which time the house passed through a number of different owners...

Wright first built this house in 1889 and continued to remodel and add to it over time; his alterations reveal his architectural growth. Restored to its 1909 appearance, when Wright last lived there, the original structure features the horizontal ban..

If you have a day to spend, it's worth the jaunt to this suburban zoo. Its 216 acres fan out around a central fountain, and 15 miles of footpaths wind through the lovely grounds. The zoo's exhibit highlights include Seven Seas with its dolphin presen..

Formerly known as the Railway Exchange Building, this 1904 design by D.H. Burnham & Co., finely detailed in pale terra-cotta, combines the structure of the Chicago school with the white Neoclassical ornament popularized by the 1893 World's Columbian ..