For one weekend a year, the Chicago Architecture Center welcomes visitors to explore over 170 sites across more than 20 neighborhoods on Oct. 14 and 15.
This year, the event is focused on themes including neighborhood investment, community engagement and historic preservation.
The annual free city-wide festival makes countless buildings available to the public for two days. This year’s installment features schools, churches, businesses and landmarks including the Walt Disney house and birthplace and the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre.
The event features self-guided historical tours to take attendees on an adventure through Chicago’s rich architectural history. Visitors can get behind-the-scenes access to historical sites that are not otherwise publicly accessible and get involved in a variety of programs including talks.
Buildings included in the Open House list are curated by the CAC’s staff members with the year’s themes in mind. Curators also aim to represent the cultural diversity of Chicago and the uniqueness of each neighborhood.
Here’s a list of neighborhoods featured in the event:
- Downtown
- Andersonville/Edgewater
- Auburn Gresham
- Austin
- Avondale
- Beverly/Morgan Park
- Bronzeville
- Chatham/South Shore
- East Garfield Park
- Englewood
- Garfield Park/North Lawndale
- Hermosa
- Humboldt Park
- Hyde Park/Woodlawn
- Lincoln Square/Ravenswood
- Little Village/Pilsen
- Logan Square
- Near North Side
- Near South Side
- Near West Side
- Pullman
- Ukrainian Village/West Town
- Uptown
The CAC recommends visitors to navigate between the various sites using the CTA, Metra and Divvy bikes.
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You can create an itinerary, look at the event schedule, navigate the site map and browse different places to visit with the Chicago Architecture Center app available on iPhone here and Android here.
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