This walking tour down South Michigan Avenue explores what is considered the largest intact early “automobile row” in the U.S.  At its peak in the early 20th century, more than 100 different makes of automobiles were being sold on Motor Row. 

Today, the revitalized stretch of street showcases more than sixty of the original showrooms in what is now considered the landmark Motor Row District, with stunning examples of elaborately molded terra cotta, ornate facades, and intricately scrolled ironwork designed by notable architects such as Holabird & Roche, Alfred Alschuler, Christian Eckstorm, Philip Maher, and Albert Kahn.

SOLD OUT! In the late nineteenth century, Prairie Avenue was the most exclusive street in Chicago. Nearly ninety mansions lined the six blocks from 16th to 22nd streets, including the homes of the city’s three wealthiest citizens - department store owner Marshall Field, meat packer Philip D. Armour, and sleeping car manufacturer George M. Pullman.

Explore over two centuries of history – from the Battle of Fort Dearborn in 1812 through the neighborhood’s recent transformation into what is once again one of the most fashionable and desirable neighborhoods in Chicago.

SOLD OUT! Daniel Burnham was one Chicago’s greatest architects, and his 1909 Plan of Chicago still shapes the city we know today. Many people don’t realize that he spent the last three decades of his life living in what he called “bucolic Evanston.” The six-acre property included his home, a tea house, tennis courts, and a private beach.

Although his house was torn down in the 1930s and his property subdivided, many remnants of his time in Evanston remain, including homes built or remodeled by him for friends and neighbors.

This tour of what Burnham referred to as “the most beautiful city in the world” will be led by Kris Hartzell, Director of Facilities, Visitor Services, and Collections at the Evanston History Center, located in the landmark Charles Gates Dawes House.

This very special tour provides attendees with the rare opportunity to visit the interiors of several landmarked homes in the Prairie Avenue Historic District. See beautifully carved wood moldings, leaded glass windows, fireplaces in elaborate tile, mosaic, and marble, and much more!

Sites tentatively included on the 2026 tour:
-Marshall Field Jr. house, 1919 S. Prairie Avenue (Solon S. Beman, architect; 1883;
remodeling by Daniel H. Burnham & Co., 1902)
-Charles Purdy house, 213 E. Cullerton Street, (Thomas & Rapp, architects; 1891)
-William Reid house, 2013 S. Prairie Avenue (Beers, Clay & Dutton, architects; 1894)
-Harriet Rees house, 2017 S. Prairie Avenue (Cobb & Frost, architects, 1888)
-Second Presbyterian Church, 1936 S. Michigan Avenue (James Renwick Jr., architect, 1874; remodeling by Howard Van Doren Shaw, 1901)
-Trevi Square, formerly St. Luke’s Hospital (Charles S. Frost, 1906)
-The Chicago Firehouse Restaurant, originally Engine Company 104, 1401 S. Michigan Avenue (Charles F. Hermann, 1905)

An abbreviated tour of Glessner House including the main first floors rooms is also included.

Tour guides will also be stationed at various locations in the neighborhood to discuss and show photos of prominent lost houses including those of Marshall Field, George Pullman, Philip Armour, and others.

This walking tour down South Michigan Avenue explores what is considered the largest intact early “automobile row” in the U.S.  At its peak in the early 20th century, more than 100 different makes of automobiles were being sold on Motor Row. 

Today, the revitalized stretch of street showcases more than sixty of the original showrooms in what is now considered the landmark Motor Row District, with stunning examples of elaborately molded terra cotta, ornate facades, and intricately scrolled ironwork designed by notable architects such as Holabird & Roche, Alfred Alschuler, Christian Eckstorm, Philip Maher, and Albert Kahn.

The 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition - the “White City” - was considered so important in the history of Chicago that a star on the city’s flag was designated in its honor. It was also of national significance in the development of what came to be known as the “American Renaissance.” 

This walking tour of Jackson Park, with architect and historian John Waters, will locate the sites of landmarks of the fair, explore the fascinating vestiges of the fair that still remain, and show how the fair influenced the design of Jackson Park as we know it today.  The tour will meet at the base of reproduction of sculptor Daniel Chester French’s golden Statue of the Republic on Hayes Drive, which marks the location of the fair’s central Administration Building.

SOLD OUT! In the late nineteenth century, Prairie Avenue was the most exclusive street in Chicago. Nearly ninety mansions lined the six blocks from 16th to 22nd streets, including the homes of the city’s three wealthiest citizens - department store owner Marshall Field, meat packer Philip D. Armour, and sleeping car manufacturer George M. Pullman.

Explore over two centuries of history – from the Battle of Fort Dearborn in 1812 through the neighborhood’s recent transformation into what is once again one of the most fashionable and desirable neighborhoods in Chicago.