The glass towers at North Riverside Plaza rise directly out of the Chicago River, suspended over the active train tracks that run through the city center. Built in the late nineteen sixties, this complex occupies the air rights above the…
Chicago Journalism History Walk
Trace the footsteps of the city's legendary muckrakers, columnists, and cartoonists from historic press rooms to subterranean taverns. You'll feel the ink-stained, hard-nosed spirit of Chicago's golden age of print.
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1. North Riverside Plaza
2. Oliver Building
The Oliver Building on Washington Street wears a facade of distinct, light-colored terra cotta that separates it from the heavier masonry on the block. Built in nineteen oh seven by D. H. Burnham and Company, the structure housed the…
3. Couch Alley
Couch Alley is a narrow, brick-paved passage wedged between the older commercial buildings of downtown Chicago. It takes its name from Ira Couch, an early hotelier who built the first Tremont House nearby in eighteen thirty-nine. Before…
4. Court House Place
The terracotta facade of Court House Place features intricate carvings of lawgivers like Moses, Solon, and King Alfred the Great. Originally built as the Cook County Criminal Court House in eighteen ninety-three, it served as the site for…
5. 333 N Michigan Ave
Three hundred thirty three North Michigan Avenue wears a limestone facade carved with figures of French explorers and indigenous leaders, capped by a distinctive jagged setback that mimics a mountain range. Built in nineteen twenty-eight,…
6. Billy Goat Tavern (The Original)
The Billy Goat Tavern sits below street level, tucked into the concrete pillars of the lower deck of Michigan Avenue. Sam Sianis and his uncle William Sianis turned this basement space into a refuge for reporters and editors from the…
7. Tribune Tower
The Tribune Tower rises with a jagged crown of limestone flying buttresses modeled after the thirteenth century butter tower of the Rouen Cathedral in France. In nineteen twenty-two, the Chicago Tribune launched an international…