During the Gilded Age, Chicago’s Prairie Avenue was regarded as “Millionaire’s Row.” The wealthy flocked to the area after the Civil War because it was close to the Loop, and it did not require its residents to cross the Chicago River.
On this walking tour with guide and researcher Tony Szabelski, stroll through the neighborhood that once boasted Second Empire, Queen Anne, and Richardson Romanesque-style homes. Learn about its rise to prominence, decline in the mid twentieth century, and the preservation efforts that led to the Prairie Avenue District to be added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. Hear tales of the famous specters that supposedly still linger in the remaining structures, such as the William W. Kimball House and Marshall Field Jr. Mansion.
Tour also includes free admission to the Chicago History Museum, good for one week from tour date.
Join tour guide and researcher Tony Szabelski to explore Lincoln Park’s history from the Couch Tomb to the site of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.
Content warning: Discussion of death by suicide in association with the High Bridge.
Tour runs about 90 minutes, begins at the Chicago History Museum, and ends at 2122 N. Clark St.
$25, $22.50 members
Members, please log in to see discounts applied.
Masks are optional for our outdoor walking tours. Learn more about our COVID-19 safety policies and procedures.
Join a CHM History Buff volunteer guide and whisk away to a time when Chicago’s rich and famous caroused on the coast. “Gold Coast” refers to a stretch of expensive lakefront property occupied by the city's wealthiest residents. Before the opening of the Michigan Avenue Bridge (now DuSable Bridge) in 1920, it was isolated from the downtown business district and home to only a few wealthy families, such as the McCormicks, Palmers, and Ryersons.
The area soon became the heart of the upper crust of Chicago society. Sociologist Harvey Warren Zorbaugh, who claimed that college boys returning from the East Coast dubbed the area the “Gold Coast,” immortalized it in his book The Gold Coast and the Slum: A Sociological Study of Chicago’s Near North Side. The density of wealth in the Gold Coast buffered it against the deterioration that threatened other portions of the North Side in the 1950s.
Gaze at ornate architecture by Frank Lloyd Wright and Louis Sullivan, step onto a rare wood-block alleyway, and take in Chicago’s early mansions, including the Archbishop’s Residence.
Tour runs 1.5 to 2 hours. Meet at the Chicago History Museum.
Tour also includes free admission to the Chicago History Museum, good for one week from tour date.
The Chicago History Museum sits on the edge of Old Town, a neighborhood rich in history. The Chicago area was home to the Potawatomi, whose villages were built on these lands. After they were forcibly removed, German farmers settled there to make their homes. Since then, it has served as an enclave for Puerto Rican migrants, a home to the first gay rights organization in the US, as well a vibrant arts scene.
Join CHM volunteer Carol Fitzgibbons to explore stories of recovery from the 1871 Great Chicago Fire and the neighborhood as the center of Chicago bohemianism in the 1960s and ’70s. Highlights include a post-Fire shelter cottage, the Midwest Buddhist Temple, numerous historic residences, and St. Michael’s Church, one of only seven buildings to survive the fire.
Tour runs 1.5 to 2 hours. Meet at the Chicago History Museum.
Tour also includes free admission to the Chicago History Museum, good for one week from tour date.
The Chicago History Museum is open and we look forward to welcoming you.
General Admission to the museum includes all permanent and temporary exhibitions.
Members, Remember to sign-in to your account or register for an account if you haven't already done so. After signing in at the upper right, select your desired tickets, and then click Add to cart. You will see your member discounts applied at the basket.
If you are an IL resident aged 18, you may register an account (see upper right corner). Then when logged in, you may reserve a maximum of two student tickets. Please have ID ready upon arrival.
If you are a resident of the City of Chicago and want to redeem your $2 discount, you may register an account (see upper right corner). Then when logged in, you may reserve a maximum of two discounted tickets. Please have ID ready upon arrival.
The Great Migration, a long-term movement of African Americans from the South to the urban North, transformed Chicago and other northern cities between 1916 and 1970. Chicago attracted slightly more than 500,000 of the approximately 7 million African Americans who left the South during these decades. Before this migration, African Americans constituted 2 percent of Chicago's population; by 1970, they were 33 percent. What had been in the nineteenth century a largely southern and rural African American culture became a culture deeply infused with urban sensibility in the twentieth century. And what had been a marginalized population in Chicago emerged by the mid-twentieth century as a powerful force in the city's political, economic, and cultural life
Join author and historian Bernard Turner on this walking tour and see the names and contributions of Chicago’s most influential African Americans on the Walk of Fame, landmarks, public art reflecting the histories of the neighborhood, and stories about the ways African Americans shaped the history and culture of this South Side neighborhood.
Tour also includes free admission to the Chicago History Museum, good for one week from tour date.
Explore the history of the Sheffield/DePaul neighborhood. Stroll past Victorian architecture and sites of Hollywood films. We’ll wrap up at Kelly’s Pub. Feel free to stick around and purchase a drink after the tour!
Tours run 1.5 to 2 hours. Meet at the street-level entrance of the Fullerton Red/Brown Line L stop.
$25, $22.50 members
Members, please log in to see discounts applied.
Masks are optional for our outdoor walking tours. Learn more about our COVID-19 safety policies and procedures.
Discounted general admission for NACADA conference members. Select your preferred date of visit.
Admission is free for IL residents on this date. Please register an online account at the top right of the page before ticket selection to apply Illinois resident discount. Advance tickets are not required for General Admission. Walk-in visitors welcome. Planning a group visit? Please call us at 312-642-4600 to make group reservations.
Members, Remember to sign-in to your account at the upper right or register for an account if you haven't already done so. After logging in please select the number of desired tickets and click Add To Cart. You will then see your member discount applied at the basket.
General Admission to the museum includes all permanent and temporary exhibitions.
Tour runs 1.5 to 2 hours. Meet outside the National Museum of Mexican Art, 1852 West 19th Street.
Tour also includes free admission to the Chicago History Museum, good for one week from tour date.
ed in partnership with Pilsen Public Art Tours.
Tour runs 3.5 to 4 hours and begins and ends at the Chicago History Museum.
$55; $45 members
Members, please log in to see discounts applied at checkout.
Masks are optional on bus tours.
Chicago is known for its public sculpture, though it also has a rich tradition in murals and other forms of decoration of public spaces. The first forms were the panoramas and cycloramas that were painted and exhibited before being sent on the road, a mockup of one is currently on display in City on Fire: Chicago 1871. The fire and the economic depression of the 1870s dampened enthusiasm for public art, but a rash of tombs, statutes, and fountains followed in the next decade. Augustus Saint-Gaudens was the most famous of those who worked here, completing both the naturalistic Abraham Lincoln and Bates Fountain (1887) near the museum itself in Lincoln Park. Hyde Park is no exception.
Join Artist and Educator Juarez Hawkins for a lively historical tour of the murals along the Metra underpasses linking Hyde Park Boulevard and Cornell Avenue in Hyde Park, one of the city’s most engaging neighborhoods. Take a close look at public art that tells distinctive stories about Chicago and its history, including Astrid Fuller’s Spirit of Hyde Park (1973) and William Walker’s Children of Goodwill (1977). We’ll also touch on the issues surrounding content, restoration, and reinterpretation.
Tour runs 1.5 to 2 hours. Meet at the Pepperland Apartment building at 1509–1517 E. 57th Street, adjacent to the 57th Street Metra Stop.
Tour also includes free admission to the Chicago History Museum, good for one week from tour date.
Enjoy the outdoors with a series of member-only tours of our Jaffee History Trail! Learn more about the trail’s history, as well as its natural and historical elements.
Please monitor your email inboxes on the day of the tour for any changes or cancellations due to inclement weather.
Questions? Contact Hannah Johnson, member relations manager, at hjohnson@chicagohistory.org.
Join professional guide and local resident Eduardo Arocho on a walk through Humboldt Park.
Side of Chicago, the community has been defined by its strong cultural presence throughout the ages. Humboldt Park was named after naturalist and geographer Alexander von Humboldt (1759–1859) in 1869. Interestingly, the one time that von Humboldt visited the United States, he did not travel to Chicago. The community was annexed into Chicago the same year as its naming, following the creation of the West Park System (which also includes Douglass and Garfield Park). These three parks––connected by the Boulevard Park System––were established to provide Chicago residents with some relief from the congested landscape of the city.
In a city known for its cultural and ethnic diversity, Humboldt Park stands out as the center of Puerto Rican culture in both Chicago and the American Midwest. Since the 1960s, it has been home to Chicago’s Puerto Rican community. This thought-provoking tour explores the history of the iconic West Side neighborhood through the public art proudly displayed along the six blocks of Division Street (Paseo Boricua) and in Humboldt Park.
Tour runs approximately 90 minutes. Meet at Ciclo Urbano, 2459 W. Division Street, Chicago, IL 60622.
Tour also includes free admission to the Chicago History Museum, good for one week from tour date.
Tour presented in partnership with
Did you know that Chicago is home to the very first gay rights organization in the United States AND the first Pride Parade in the world?
October is LGBT History Month, and we’re honoring it with two walking tours looking at some of Chicago’s LGBTQIA+ history with tour guide Mike McMains of Tours with Mike.
On this Downtowntour, you’ll discover Chicago’s hidden LGBTQ stories from the 19th century to today while exploring the city’s downtown area. You’ll learn why LGBTQ people were forced to live in the shadows in fear of legal and social repercussions, how they began to claim their own spaces in the city, and the development of one of the largest and most vibrant queer communities in the United States.
Attendees can enhance their tour experience by using their smartphones to view historical photographs related to the tour topics.
$25; $22.50 members
Tour begins at 11 East Ida B. Wells Drive, Chicago, IL 60605, covers about two miles, ends at the Daley Center (50 West Washington Street, Chicago, IL 60602), and is wheelchair accessible.
Did you know that Chicago is home to the very first gay rights organization in the United States AND the first Pride Parade in the world?
October is LGBT History Month, and we’re honoring it with two walking tours looking at some of Chicago’s LGBTQIA+ history with tour guide Mike McMains of Tours with Mike.
On this North Side tour, explore the businesses and organizations in the Northalsted (formerly Boystown) area in Lakeview. Today, it is one of the country’s largest LGBTQIA+ districts and the very first “gayborhood” to be governmentally recognized. It’s home to numerous bars, restaurants, shops, and social services and civil rights organizations. This area of North Halsted Street also features the Legacy Walk honoring notable LGBTQIA+ leaders.
Attendees can enhance their experience by using their smartphones to view historical photographs related to the tour topics.
$25; $22.50 members
Tour begins outside of the Belmont Red/Brown/Purple Line train station’s southern entrance in front of Dunkin Donuts (945 West Belmont Avenue, Chicago, IL 60657) covers just over one mile, ends at the Center on Halsted (3656 North Halsted Street, Chicago, IL 60613), and is wheelchair accessible.
Did you know the Chicago History Museum is situated on the southernmost point of Lincoln Park? Join author Connie Fairbanks and Chicago History Podcast host Tommy Henry to learn more about the history of the park, featuring stories of its statues, graves, and wily wildlife!
Join author and historian Bernard Turner on this bus tour of murals on the South Side of Chicago, particularly in Bronzeville. Learn about the history of the mural movement that began in the 1960s with the Wall of Respect, as well as its impact on the political landscape of Chicago and the Civil Rights Movement.
$55, $45 members
Tour runs 3-4 hours. This tour begins and ends at the Chicago History Museum.
Tour also includes free admission to the Chicago History Museum, good for one week from tour date.
Masks are optional but encouraged for our bus tours. Learn more about our COVID-19 safety policies and procedures.
This tour with Mike McMains of Tours with Mike puts a spotlight on the South Loop’s and Bronzeville’s fascinating neighborhood evolutions along with their hidden LGBTQIA+ histories.
When people think of Chicago’s LGBTQIA+ neighborhoods, North Side areas like Northalsted (Boystown) and Andersonville often come to mind first. The city’s South Side, however, had lively LGBTQIA+ activity generations before any North Side neighborhood and frequently shaped culture across the nation. This tour with Mike McMains of Tours with Mike puts a spotlight on the South Loop’s and Bronzeville’s fascinating neighborhood evolutions along with their hidden LGBTQIA+ histories, including the:
- “Mother of the Blues” and the “Godfather of House Music”
- Drag ball scene drawing diverse crowds from across the city
- First Black woman playwright to have a show on Broadway
- City’s most notorious former vice districts
- Legendary sites shaping house music
Attendees can enhance their tour experience by using their smartphones to view historical photographs related to the tour topics.
$50, $45 members
Tour runs approximately 90–120 minutes. This tour meets and ends in front of the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph St., Chicago, IL 60601
Tour also includes free admission to the Chicago History Museum, good for one week from tour date.
Masks are optional but encouraged for our bus tours. Learn more about our COVID-19 safety policies and procedures
Séances, slate writing, spirit cabinets—these are a few of the tools and tricks mediums like the notorious Bangs Sisters once used to convince Chicagoans they could speak to the dead. These services, which played upon genuine grief, always came with a price. Seek the truth with CHM director of exhibitions Paul Durica on this journey through the history of spirits and spiritualism in Chicago.
Tour runs 75–90 minutes. This tour begins at the Chicago Cultural Center (78 E. Washington St., Chicago, IL 60602) and ends at Orchestra Hall (Symphony Center, 220 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60604).
Tour also includes free admission to the Chicago History Museum, good for one week from tour date.
Admission is free for IL residents on this date. Please register an online account at the top right of the page before ticket selection to apply Illinois resident discount. Advance tickets are not required for General Admission. Walk-in visitors welcome. Planning a group visit? Please call us at 312-642-4600 to make group reservations.
Members, Remember to sign-in to your account at the upper right or register for an account if you haven't already done so. After logging in please select the number of desired tickets and click Add To Cart. You will then see your member discount applied at the basket.
General Admission to the museum includes all permanent and temporary exhibitions.
Explore the fountains of Lincoln Park and the Near North Side with Greg Borzo, author of Chicago’s Fabulous Fountains (2017).
$25; $22.50 members
Members, remember to sign-in to your account or register for an account if you haven't already done so. After signing in at the upper right, select your desired tickets, and then click "Add to Cart." Fill out the registrant fields and add your tickets to the final cart. You will see your member discounts applied in the check-out screen.
Please Note:
- Participants will be expected to sign a safety waiver.
- Participants should dress appropriately, wear a properly fitted helmet, and be prepared for an active biking tour through Chicago.
- Helmets are required. Those who do not wear helmets will not be allowed to participate. No exceptions or refunds.
- Participants are expected to be well-versed in city biking rules and bring their own functioning bicycles. CHM does not offer bicycles to rent.
- CHM opens at 12 p.m. on Sundays.
Noted author and Chicago historian Richard Lindberg leads this tour of famous and forgotten crime locations and residences in Chicago’s North Side lakefront neighborhoods. Listen as he recalls the life and times of John Dillinger, George "Bugs" Moran, and Emma Goldman, whom the press described as "Queen of the Anarchists.” Learn about pivotal events, including the 1929 St. Valentine's Day Massacre, 1946 "Catch Me Before I Kill More" case, and 1960 Summerdale Police Scandal. See sites such as the home of World War II Nazi saboteurs and the haunted hospital in Edgewater, where a voice from the grave identified a previously unknown killer.
Tour runs 3.5 to 4 hours and begins and ends at the Chicago History Museum, 1601 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60614.
Tour also includes free admission to the Chicago History Museum, good for one week from tour date.
Richard Lindberg is an award-winning author and journalist, and has written 20 books about Chicago history, sports, crime, and politics, including Tales of Forgotten Chicago and Gangland Chicago: Criminality and Lawlessness in the Windy City. His memoir, Whiskey Breakfast: My Swedish Family, My American Life, won the Chicago Writers Association 2012 Book of the Year Award for Traditionally Published Non-fiction.