-

Getty Images/Ingram Publishing


The famed firm of Burnham and Root built the Rookery – named for the site's previous building, a temporary city hall that was popular with roosting pigeons – in 1888; Frank Lloyd Wright remodeled the two-story lobby atrium 19 years later. It's renowned for its contrast in styles: though it may look hulking and fortress-like outside, it’s light and airy inside. You can walk in and look around for free. Tours ($10 to $15) are available weekdays at 11am, noon and 1pm.

The walkabouts last 30 minutes, except on Monday and Wednesday when they run for 45 minutes and include access to the Burnham Library. It's best to reserve tickets in advance, but you can also walk up and purchase them at the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust outpost/shop in the lobby. Next door is a small gift shop that sells a variety of Wright–themed books, housewares and jewelry.

Transportation

  • metro: Brown, Orange, Purple, Pink Line to Quincy

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Chicago attractions

1. Money Museum

0.06 MILES

This small museum in the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago is fun for a quick browse. The best exhibits include a giant glass cube stuffed with one million …

2. Chicago Board of Trade

0.08 MILES

The Board of Trade is a 1930 art deco gem. Inside, manic traders swap futures and options – or, at least, they used to. Most trading is done these days by…

3. Flamingo

0.13 MILES

Alexander Calder’s soaring red-pink sculpture provides some much-needed relief from the stark facades of the federal buildings around it. Calder dedicated…

4. Kluczynski Federal Building

0.13 MILES

No discussion of famed Loop architecture is complete without mentioning the boxy, metal-and-glass style of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, whose functional,…

5. Marquette Building

0.14 MILES

The architects behind the 1896 Marquette Building made natural light and ventilation vital components. The most impressive features, however, are the…

6. Monadnock Building

0.15 MILES

Architecture buffs on a pilgrimage bow down to the Monadnock, two buildings in one that depict a crucial juncture in skyscraper development. The north…

7. Chicago Federal Center

0.16 MILES

Famed architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe designed the buildings at 230 S Dearborn St (aka the Kluczynski Building) and 219 S Dearborn St (aka the Dirksen…

8. Four Seasons

0.19 MILES

Russian-born artist Marc Chagall loved Chicago, and in 1974 he donated this grand mosaic to the city. Using thousands of bits of glass and stone, the…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "usa/chicago/the-loop/attractions/rookery/a/poi-sig/1100216/1319210",
      "destination": "Chicago",
      "continent": "North-America",
      "country": "USA",
      "region": "Illinois",
      "city": "Chicago",
      "position": "superzone"
    }