Chicago is home to an exceptional public art collection, with more than 100 pieces in downtown alone, plus stellar works in neighborhoods throughout the city. Highlights include the monumental untitled Pablo Picasso sculpture in Daley Plaza; the only authentic Guimard Metro entrance in use outside of Paris; and Millennium Park’s Cloud Gate sculpture by artist Anish Kapoor - weighing 110 tons - one of the largest outdoor sculptures in the world.
Chicago’s acclaimed Field Museum houses Sue, the largest, most complete and best-preserved Tyrannosaurus Rex specimen ever found.
Chicago is the only U.S. city with four Tony Award–winning theaters: Steppenwolf Theatre Company (1985); The Goodman Theatre (1992); Victory Gardens Theater (2001); and Chicago Shakespeare Theater (2008).
There are thirty-seven operable, movable (bascule) bridges, the most found in any city, over the Chicago River. Downtown’s Millennium Park is home to the only Frank Gehry-designed bridge in the world.
Chicago is located on the shores of Lake Michigan. The city has 31 beaches that span 26 miles of Chicago’s lakefront. They are free and open to the public from Memorial Day through Labor Day.
@explorechicago is the city’s Twitter Concierge Service – tweet your questions for a quick response from a visitor services representative.
The city’s international reputation for inspired architecture began after the 1871 Great Chicago fire, when its blank landscape and reputation for innovation attracted famous and up-and-coming architects of the day. In fact, the world’s first skyscraper, the Home Insurance Building was built there in 1885.