Chicago Architecture Center — Attraction in Chicago

I recently attended the "MODERNISM: REVIVING THE LOOP" tour and overall found it to be an enriching experience. The docent was knowledgeable. Her explanations were detailed and engaging.

However, I feel compelled to address an unfortunate comment made during the tour. When we arrived at the Daley Plaza Federal Building, the docent made an inappropriate remark to my son, saying something along the lines of, "Stay out of trouble that would take you inside." As an American family with brown skin, we found this comment unsettling and reflective of an implicit racial bias. It is particularly distressing because my son, who is well-educated and lives just a few blocks away from the center, is also a member of the center, as are we. Such remarks are unnecessary and detract from an otherwise excellent tour experience.

While I appreciate the docent's expertise and the overall quality of the tour, I hope that future tours can be conducted with greater sensitivity and awareness to avoid similar issues. Everyone should feel welcomed and respected, regardless of their background.

Overall, I would still recommend the tour for its educational value but advise the organization to ensure all participants feel equally valued and respected. We’ve taken many tours and this is our first negative experience.

"Please refrain from assuming that brown skin and black, long, tight curls automatically equate to criminal behavior in males. Consider the wisdom in this quote from J. Adams: “ Everyone but White people lose their identity. White people keep their identity. White people keep their racial/cultural, nation-state, heritage identities, but Black people, Indigenous people, Asian people, Latino people all get subsumed...

Underwhelming two story exhibit with too many wallposter boards with just…words. We spent about 30 minutes here. Interesting information but a shame that a majority couldn’t be presented in a more digestible and designed more visually appealing for the viewer. Which is ironic given this is an architecture center of Chicago. They tell you to start upstairs before moving down to the first floor exhibit, and I’m starting to think they do this bc they don’t want to you be completely disappointed after the more impressive first floor interactive city model and video (about 10 minutes of entertainment). Before this center opened years ago this city model was open to the public (for free) on Michigan avenue so i didn’t find it that impressive in a now darkened room with lights flashing on it to represent key buildings and the breadth of the Chicago fire.

If you are tourists that have done Chicago so many times, check it out on Groupon for a discount and some variability on sightseeing. Otherwise, Visit the gift shop on the way down Michigan Ave, it’s free and more entertaining and worth the time.

My family was also greeted by a well intentioned and kind and elderly Caucasian CAC volunteer, who unfortunately lacked awareness over cultural differences and diversity. It was jarring to be asked repeatedly, where are you from, after we stated we are located in Wicker Park. I am a Chicago born Asian AMERICAN and English is my first language. I am not defined by the Asian country of my ethnicity. That was...

If you're considering taking the boat tour: DO IT. You'll see so much of this beautiful city's architecture in such a short time. The tour takes the North Branch as far as Goose Island, the South Branch as far as the 18th St. bridge, and the main branch as far as the lake. You'll hear interesting information the whole time, and it didn't feel crowded.

If you take the boat tour, it's worth spending $5 extra to visit the center itself, which is just up the stairs from the boat launch site. There are some very cool scale models of the city, Wrigley Field, and some other large buildings, plus rotating exhibits, interactive information, and great docents. It will only be ~45 minutes, but it's a good 45 minutes.

If you liked the architecture tour and the center itself, you may find it worth buying a membership ($75) to go on some tours. During my five days in Chicago, I took four walking tours downtown (which cost me $0 with my membership) plus one site tour (of the Rookery, including up the stairs and to the top floor, for $5 with my membership, so those five tours (about ten hours total) cost me $80. These docents are volunteers with usually 10-20 years of experience. They know their stuff and they love what they do, and they'll take you to some great places. I also took one architecture tour with another group in town, one that advertised great ratings on TripAdvisor, etc. While the locations were great, the guide made some questionable claims that I am confident CAC docents...