Facility Tours

Thursday, March 22, 2018, 1:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Columbia College Media Production Center

Maximum Participants: 30

On this one-hour tour, you’ll discover how the close working relationship between Columbia College and Jeanne Gang resulted in a playful, cutting-edge, Gold LEED Certified building which houses state-of-the-art production facilities for film, video, television and interactive arts and media.We’ll detail the functionality of each part of the building and the impact of the building on Columbia College and the South Loop neighborhood. The Media Production Center is open to the public only via this CAF tour.

Historic Treasures

Maximum Participants: 50

After the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893, Chicago was determined to become a great cultural—as well as commercial—metropolis, and this tour is a testament to that era’s ambitions. See buildings by Daniel Burnham, Louis Sullivan, Holabird and Roche and other noted architects. Hear about the city’s architectural gems and the men and women who inspired them. The tour also touches on Millennium Park, Chicago’s exciting 21st-century design that’s at once park, outdoor gallery, garden, and music venue.

* Image credit Eric Allix Rogers

Historic Sky Scraper Tour

Maximum Participants: 50

Highlights of this walking tour include: Burnham and Root’s Rookery (1888), with its Moorish and Romanesque exterior and its interior atrium redesigned by Frank Lloyd Wright; Adler and Sullivan’s Auditorium Building (1889), a masterpiece of acoustical and structural engineering; Holabird and Roche’s Marquette Building (1895), an outstanding example of Chicago commercial building design; and Holabird and Root’s Chicago Board of Trade Building (1930), a glamorous Art Deco skyscraper.

The Rookery

Maximum Participants: 20

Marvel at the exquisite beauty and grandeur of the highly ornamented brick and granite exterior, which some liken to a Moorish castle. Learn more about the method of construction and how the architects employed a combination of designs to maximize light and air in this early office building.
A discussion of the various renovations and restorations will help to understand the life of a downtown office building. You’ll also find out the interesting story of how The Rookery earned its name.