Chicago Walking Tour: Art Deco Skyscrapers Loop

Take an architecture-focused walking tour of Chicago during this investigation of the city's most important period buildings and its critical role in the development of the movement's signature style. You're sure to come away with a newfound appreciation for the city's architectural history and the beauty of its many historic buildings and their interiors.

Start your art deco exploration of Chicago at least 15 minutes before your tour begins at the Chicago Architecture Center, located at 111 E. Wacker Dr. Then head out with your guide to begin your architecture immersion, starting with a history lesson.

The art deco style evolved during the period between World War I and World War II, referring more generally to a range of design movements that coalesced between the 1920s and 30s. Art deco design is known more generally for its geometric designs and its simplicity, frequently paired with bright colors and basic shapes that embraced the rising role of business and technology on the modern world. Art deco's influence touched everything from architecture to painting to sculpting and furniture design, spanning luxury objects created with exotic materials to mass-produced goods found in every home and office of the day, to the many buildings that defined the Chicago skyline.

During the course of your walk you'll stop to admire a range of exteriors and interiors that define this architectural heyday of the art deco and art moderne movements. The Jazz Age buildings of Chicago include a range of both stark cube-shaped and sleek streamlined structures, ranging from office buildings to apartment residences that dominated Chicago's downtown until the 1950s.