Chicago Like a Local blog

Unique perspectives on the city from the people who live here.

Latest blog posts

Architecture & history, Blog, Special events

How to celebrate Juneteenth in Chicago

Chicago wouldn’t be the world-class city it is today without a long line of influential African Americans, from Jean Baptiste Point du Sable and Ida…

Published on May 24, 2022 by Courtney Sprewer

Architecture & history, Blog, Special events

How to celebrate Women’s History Month in Chicago

The city of Chicago has been shaped by a long line of bold, pioneering women, from Jane Addams to Ida B. Wells, and Women’s History…

Published on February 24, 2022 by Choose Chicago

How to celebrate Black History Month in Chicago

Black History Month brings an annual spotlight to Black achievements, creativity, and history that too often get overlooked. In Chicago, our extensive African American cultural…

Published on January 31, 2022 by Rosalind Cummings-Yeates

The Plant in Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood. Photo by Eric Allix Rogers.

Architecture & history, Special events

Open House Chicago 2021: 11 architecture sites not to miss

Have you ever walked by a building and thought “I wonder what that looks like inside?” Maybe it’s the old-school brewery in your neighborhood or…

Published on October 7, 2021 by Joe Dixon

Architecture & history, Special events

Chicago Architecture Biennial 2021: 6 things to see and do

Architecture can be so much more than the decoration to our cities. It can be a symbol of history, growth, and hope, or even inequality.…

Published on September 20, 2021 by Joe Dixon

Architecture & history, Blog, Special events

Be a part of history at the grand opening of the Pullman National Monument

Step into Chicago’s storied history of the country’s first planned industrial community. The city’s first and only national park site will be honoring the Grand…

Published on August 20, 2021 by Rosalind Cummings-Yeates

Architecture & history, Neighborhoods, Sponsored

Take a walking tour of Chicago’s Kenwood neighborhood

Welcome to our new series of self-guided Chicago Greeter tours, presented by Bank of America. Each walking tour is created by a knowledgeable local to…

Chicago's Buckingham Fountain lit up with spouting water

Architecture & history, Neighborhoods, Sponsored

Take a walking tour of Chicago’s South Loop

Welcome to our new series of self-guided Chicago Greeter tours, presented by Bank of America. Each walking tour is created by a knowledgeable local to…

Architecture & history, Blog, Sponsored

Explore Balkrishna Doshi: Architecture for the People at Wrightwood 659

A retrospective of the work of renowned Indian architect and urban planner Balkrishna Doshi makes its North American debut in the exhibit Balkrishna Doshi: Architecture…

An exhibit at the Chicago Architecture Biennial 2019/2020

Last chance: Experience the Chicago Architecture Biennial

If you haven’t made it to the Cultural Center for the centerpiece exhibit of the Chicago Architecture Biennial you still have time — but not…

Published on December 11, 2019 by Hayley Grgurich

Architecture & history, Sponsored, Tours & attractions

Delve into Frank Lloyd Wright’s groundbreaking Chicago-area designs

While in Chicago, experience Wright’s architectural vision of unity, simplicity, and beauty, which launched a truly American architecture style at the beginning of the 20th…

Architecture & history, Museums, Sponsored

Explore the Chicago Architecture Center

There’s no better place to learn about the city’s dynamic history and amazing architecture than at the Chicago Architecture Center (CAC). Though established in 1966,…

Architecture & history, Arts, culture & entertainment

24 hours in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood

History lines the streets in Chicago’s landmark Bronzeville neighborhood. Dubbed the city’s “Black Metropolis,” this south side community served as the headquarters for African American…

Published on September 10, 2019 by Rosalind Cummings-Yeates

Explore Chicago’s historic Pullman neighborhood

In 1880, George Pullman set out to build a utopian community in Chicago. The neighborhood we know today as Pullman was the first industrial planned community…

Published on August 22, 2019 by Hayley Grgurich

7 spots to see Chicago history up close

You don’t have to visit a museum to experience Chicago history. There are details and stories of our city history hidden throughout Chicago – you…

Published on February 19, 2019 by Rosalind Cummings-Yeates

Explore Chicago’s hidden underground

There’s so much to see on the streets of Chicago. But most people never see what’s lurking just below the surface. The city hides layers…

Published on October 18, 2018 by Choose Chicago

8 haunted Chicago sights you probably didn’t know about

Chicago is heir to a bevy of spine-tingling ghost stories, from the Congress Hotel, reportedly one of the most haunted hotels in the country, to the site of the Valentine’s Day Massacre.

Published on October 1, 2018 by Choose Chicago

Chicago architecture: 10 iconic buildings not to miss

Chicago is a city of firsts — and nowhere is this better seen than in its architecture. The site of the now demolished Home Insurance Building (1884-1885), credited as the world's first skyscraper (at a diminutive 10 stories by today's standards), you could write a book on the significance of the Chicago cityscape — which is why so many have.

Published on September 3, 2018 by Choose Chicago