The Chicago Traveler

• After enjoying cocktails at Plan B, hop on a bus for a tour of four allegedly haunted bars as part of Boo & Brew. (Oct 30)
• Traverse the Trails of Terror, a half-mile of wooded trails in Peterson Park filled with creepy characters. Not suitable for small children. (ends Oct 31)
• ‘The Fear’ at Navy Pier is a tented, outdoor haunted house aimed at teens and adults, featuring zombies, werewolves, vampires, and more. (ends Nov 2)
• The Halloween Bash at Murphy’s Bleachers includes food, drinks, live music, a costume contest, and raffle prizes. Proceeds benefit the North Side Housing …read more

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• The 44th Annual Chicago International Film Festival begins this weekend, featuring over 100 films from 46 countries. (ends Oct 29)
• More than five dozen vendors from Chicago will sell art, antiques, jewelry, and more at the Fall French Market. The fair also includes French cooking demonstrations and kids’ activities. (Oct 17-19)
• Sixty local and national chefs are featured at the 20th annual Celebrity Chef Ball, including Top Chef: Chicago winner Stephanie Izard, contestant Valerie Bonan, and Top Chef: New York contender Radhika Desai. (Oct 17)
• Oracle Productions holds their third installment of terrifying entertainment, Disturbed III. The audience stands …read more

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• The 11th Annual Chicago Art Open presents drawings, paintings, photographs, and more by nearly 300 artists at Merchandise Mart. (ends Oct 19)
• Several local spas are taking part in the Pretty in Pink Fundraiser and offering fixed-price ($31) massages, facials, and other beauty treatments. Every participating spa and salon has made a donation to Breast Cancer Network of Strength. Be sure to mention “Pretty in Pink” when booking your appointment. (ends Oct 31)
• Want to see something spooky? Take the Chicago Hauntings Ghost Tour, featuring Hull House, the sites of the St Valentine’s Day Massacre and Eastland Disaster, and …read more

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The city of Chicago features numerous impressive buildings designed by famous architects. Even if you’ve never studied the field, you may have heard of prominent names like Daniel Burnham, Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, Stuart Cohen, or “the Chicago Seven.” Every Monday, The Chicago Traveler features at least one attractive piece of architecture in the Windy City. The Chicago Architecture Foundation is a nonprofit organization that is also passionate about educating the public on the incredible design that graces our city.
CAF offers over 80 tours, from downtown to suburbia, from a healthy walk to a comfy bus ride. Among the …read more

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The most popular cultural attraction in Chicago is the Field Museum of Natural History. Sitting along Lake Shore Drive and Lake Michigan, it is part of the Museum Campus along with the Adler Planetarium and the Shedd Aquarium.
After the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893, people wanted to create a permanent museum to hold many of the scientific and technological exhibits that had been on display. The Columbian Museum of Chicago was built in Jackson Park with the purpose of “accumulation and dissemination of knowledge, and the preservation and exhibition of objects illustrating art, archaeology, science and history.” (–FieldMuseum.org) In honor …read more

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The Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum opened in 1930 and was the first planetarium built in the Western Hemisphere. It is home to two full-size theaters, including the world’s first all-digital projection StarRider Theater. It stands on Northerly Island (next to Charter One Pavilion), which was initially meant to be the first of several man-made islands along the lakeshore.
In 1923, Dr. Walther Bauersfeld of the Carl Zeiss Corporation in Germany designed a projector fully capable of accurately reproducing the night sky. Placed in the center of a hemispherical room, the machine produced a precise celestial map onto the inner surface …read more

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The Chicago Board of Trade Building has towered over the LaSalle Street “canyon” since its completion in 1930. With 44 floors and standing at 605 feet (184 m), it was Chicago’s tallest building from 1930 until 1965 (when it was surpassed by the Daley Center). It has been listed as a National Historic Landmark since 1978 and is now the primary trading venue for the CME Group (the merger of the Chicago Board of Trade and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange).
Known for its art deco architecture, sculptures, and stone carving, the building is a popular attraction for both tourists and filmmakers. …read more

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Are you looking for something off the tourists’ beaten path? Check out the Freedom Center, home to the Chicago Tribune’s printing and distributing operations. For 25 years, this 940,000-square-foot (286,500-square-meter) facility next to the Chicago River has been producing as many as 70,000 newspapers per hour on huge presses for 1.7 million readers daily and 2.7 million on Sunday. (Until 1982, the paper was printed in the east wing of the Tribune Tower.) The Chicago Tribune company, along with other media businesses it operates, reaches approximately 60 percent of adults in Chicagoland every week.
Freedom Center got its name through an …read more

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 I have to admit, I love this time of year. While I’m not a fan of chilly weather or candy-greedy kids, I can’t get enough of all things creepy and spooky. If you enjoy an adrenaline rush and want to potentially bust some ghosts, grab a tour with Chicago Ghost Investigations. This paranormal research group will teach you how to use authentic ghost-hunting equipment, including cameras, sensors, and thermal scanners. CGI investigators will be there to guide you, but for approximately two hours, you are the ghost hunter. This mind-altering experience is incredibly fun but also very intense, so be …read more

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Fall is here, and you’re going around town still wearing last year’s fashions. Shame on you! The temperatures are starting to dip, so why not treat yourself to a new jacket… and maybe a new outfit to go with that jacket… and maybe some new shoes for that outfit… and you can’t forget the accessories… Obviously, this is a shopping trip that is going to require a few stops and some sage advice.
It’s time to call up some pals, including the Urban Shop Guide. They’ll take you on a tour through some of Chicago’s lively neighborhoods, visiting chic boutiques …read more

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