Architecture of Mysterious Chicago: Architecture, True Crime, and History

Everywhere you go in Chicago, history peaks through the cracks. The architecture in the loop is incomparable - you can see stunning art deco, classic beaux arts, elegant modernism, and bold post-modernism while standing in one spot! Learn not only about what makes these buildings special, but about the swindlers, gangsters, and criminal masterminds who were once inside of them.

Join MYSTERIOUS CHICAGO author Adam Selzer for an insightful evening of architecture and dark history as he shares the stories behind some of Chicago's most notable buildings - and the stories of the early gangland criminals who stalked State Street, strange murders, unsolved mysteries, and more. Inside of this incredible architecture lurked, blackmailers, airship crashes, "black widow" killers, con artists, and even some bits about the "houses of ill repute" that once dotted portions of the loop. And of course, there's the architecture and the architects behind it - who were pretty colorful characters themselves!

The walking tour is endlessly fascinating, ridiculously informative, and totally entertaining. You won't just learn what to look for in architecture, you'll hear which gangster jumped out of which building —all based on deep research, not just urban legends.

Adam Selzer is the author of Mysterious Chicago, H.H. Holmes: The True History of the White City Devil, and several other books, including the new Graceland Cemetery: Chicago Stories, Symbols, and Secrets and more. He hosts the popular Mysterious Chicago virtual tours and is a regular on the History and Travel Channels. Last week he was on the Discover Channel's "Expedition Files."

ADDITIONAL IN-PERSON DETAILS

-The tour begins in the historic Pickwick Place courtyard, on Jackson Boulevard between State Street and Wabash Avenue, across from the Barnes and Noble. The best address to punch into a map app is 20 E Jackson. It ends a couple of blocks away, outside of the Harold Washington Library, after proceeding on a path through the loop/financial district.

-This tour runs rain or shine.

-ADA Access limited by the quality of Chicago’s sidewalks.

-The starting location is convenient to public transportation; Pickwick Place is within two blocks of the Jackson Red or Blue line stops, the Library/Van Buren Brown Line, or the Adams/Wabash stop on the Brown, Pink, Green, Orange, or Purple lines). The #29 State bus also stops at Jackson Boulevard nearby.

-Plenty of parking lots and garages are nearby, but street parking and free parking are very hard to find in the Loop.

-Though all walking tours are "at your own risk," the most dangerous thing in this area around the financial district and several colleges is the traffic. We take school groups around this part of the loop all the time.