Marvels & Masterpieces: An Engineer’s Guide to Chicago Architecture

As an independent business, we have the flexibility and passion to create tour routes that aren’t necessarily what most tourists think to book when visiting Chicago — we leave that to the big-box companies. We have the freedom and drive to create tour experiences according to what we — as knowledgeable experts in Chicago history and architecture — find most fascinating about our city. And truly one of the most fascinating yet least appreciated aspects of any city is its many engineering stories. Chicago is literally the birthplace of the skyscraper: imagine what incredible stories of engineering feats it has to tell!

Join Inside Chicago Walking Tours on our newest route that dives into the engineering perspective of our world-famous architecture — it’s Chicago’s ONLY engineering-themed tour! On this route, you’ll cover more than 150 years of engineering evolution, learning from a real engineer (from the best engineering school in the country!), who makes the information accessible and graspable without ever dumbing it down. This is not “engineering for dummies”: it is engineering for all of us, as we believe that everyone can understand and be fascinated by these concepts if taught in an engaging and fun way.

You’ll see a building from the “father of the skyscraper,” who was actually an engineer and a classmate of Gustav Eiffel (as in, Eiffel Tower!). You’ll learn how a building might get a “haunted” reputation simply because it settled unevenly on its “floating” foundation. You’ll marvel at the numerous ways Chicago’s famous buildings handle forces coming from gravity and wind. You’ll learn about one of the greatest engineering feats of the United States, and why and how we accomplished it.

And of course, as on all of our tours, you’ll visit the interiors of a few buildings to truly get that sense that you’ve seen inside Chicago!