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A visit to the Windy City just isn't complete without a stroll down Michigan Avenue or, even better, a narrated architectural tour organized by the Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF). The first stop could easily be the place CAF selected for its popular Shop and Tour Center, designed by VOA Associates, located in The Railway Exchange Building (also known as the Santa Fe Building) that was designed and built by Daniel H. Burnham in 1904. It was here that Burnham, assisted by Edward H. Bennett, wrote the plan of Chicago, the first comprehensive development outline offered to an American city.
"People know that Chicago is this great architectural center, but ironically very few know the history," says Nick Luzietti, principal of VOAs Chicago office. "The Foundation provides the details and facts." You might have trouble picking a neighborhood to explore-there are more than 74 different tours-and deciding whether to go on foot or by boat, bicycle, or bus. But securing a tour guide is never a problem. The Foundation has 400 volunteers who are eager to show off the city's architecture and design legacy.
It was this homegrown enthusiasm and civic pride that led to the creation of CAF in 1966 by architects, local preservationists, and citizens who wanted to save one of Chicago's oldest residences, the H.H. Richardson...