»Neighborhood Tours Info

Architectural Interest

Goethe Brownstones

The architecture of the Gold Coast neighborhood is dominated by three primary styles: the Queen Anne, the Richardsonian Romanesque and the Georgian revival style.

Archbishop's Residence

The Queen Anne Style
The Queen Anne style can be spotted from the use of gables, transepts, angles, recesses, balconies and towers. One of the most typical examples of this style is the Cardinal’s residence at 1555 North State Parkway with its picturesque roofline of many chimneys, turrets, dormers and gables designed by Alfred F. Pashley in 1880.

1250 N. Lake Shore Drive

1254 N. Lake Shore Drive

Astor Street Townhouses
designed by Charles Palmer

The Richardsonian Romanesque Style
Round-arches and lintels in rock-faced masonry, often emphasized with contrasting stone, easily identify the second style, the Richardsonian Romanesque. Round or polygonal turrets and projecting bays crowned by conical roofs are other characteristics of this style. Eastern architect Henry Hobson Richardson created this Romanesque style of building.

One of the best remaining examples of Richardson’s personal work is the Glessner House built in 1886 on Prairie Avenue. Unfortunately another of his design, the MacVeagh House built in 1885 on Lake Shore Drive, has been demolished. However, his style influenced many architects who built homes in the Gold Coast. One such architect, Charles W. Palmer, used the Richardsonian Romanesque style for the town houses at 1316-1326 North Astor Street in 1889. The style is reflected in the round and full arches, the turret windows, and the massive stone texture.

MacVeagh House, 1400 N. Lake Shore Drive
designed by Henry Richardson
photo from the Chicago History Museum

Patterson McCormick Residence

The Georgian Revival Style
These picturesque styles were replaced by a new style of symmetry and formal order brought to Chicago as a result of the World’s Columbian Exposition. It was made popular by the East Coast firm McKim, Mead and White. This style for residential building was the Georgian revival, influenced by Georgian England and its American adaptation.

The Georgian revival style is strictly rectangular in plan and has symmetrical facades. The roofline is usually marked by a classical cornice, railing, or balustrade. The Patterson-McCormick mansion at 1500 North Astor is an early example of the Georgian revival style. Stanford White designed the house in 1892, and the style is marked by its symmetrical and box-like structure.

Schiller Brownstones

These architectural styles continue to define the unique character of the Gold Coast and connect it to its illustrious past. A walk through the neighborhood will reveal the beauty in the styles and magnificence that is being preserved today.

Neighborhood Tours

Architectural Walking Tours

Gold Coast Walking Tour presented by Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF)
Discover the architectural treasures of the Gold Coast. See residential architecture along Lake Shore Drive and in the Astor Street Historic District, including elegant homes in the Romanesque, Queen Anne, Tudor, Art Deco, and Modern styles. Learn about the remarkable people who lived here and events that occurred in this gracious and exclusive enclave.

Saturday at 10:00am in 2008: April 26, June 14, September 13, October 18.
Wednesday at 6:00pm in 2008: July 16, August 6.
Meet: Clark Street and North Avenue, at the standing Lincoln statue in the park behind the Chicago History Museum (60 W, 1600 N).
Cost: $10; seniors and students $5; CAF members free.
Duration: 2 hours.

Dearborn Street Walking Tour presented by Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF)
Take a delightful walk along three blocks of the Gold Coast's multifaceted Dearborn Street. You will see one of the city's most beautiful collections of architecturally diverse residences, plus a Gothic-style church and historic institutions such as the Latin School and the 3Arts. Glimpse the history of a neighborhood that established itself following the Chicago Fire, survived the encroachment of commercial areas in the mid-1900s, and now is experiencing a new era of grandeur and community involvement.

Wednesday at 6:30pm in 2008: May 21, June 25, July 23, August 20.
Meet: Southern edge of the park directly north of the Dearborn Street/North Avenue intersection (1600 N and 50 W).
Cost: $5; CAF members free.
Duration: 1 hour.

No reservations necessary for walking tours. All tours operate rain or shine. For information on other tours and education given by the CAF, look on their website: www.architecture.org

Charnley-Persky House and Madlener House Tours presented by
The Society of Architectural Historians
Public tours of the Charnley-Persky House are available on a regular basis on Wednesdays and Saturdays, with appointments available any day of the week for groups of ten or more. Photography is allowed. The tour entrance is through the garden door at the south end of the building. Reservations are required only for groups of ten or more and should be made well ahead of time. The house is closed from December 24 through January 1 each year.

Wednesday Tours: Tours include the interior of the Charnley-Persky House.
Time: 12 noon
Cost: free
Duration: approximately 45 minutes

Saturday Tours: Tours include the interiors of both the Charnley-Persky and Madlener houses, as well as an exterior tour of the 1400 block of North Astor Street.
Times: April through November - 10:00am & 1:00pm; December through March - 10:00am only
Cost: $10 adults; $5 seniors and students age 18 and under (The Charnley-Persky House only portion of the tour is available for $5 adults; $3.50 seniors and students.)
Duration: approximately 90 minutes

All teachers with a valid State of Illinois ID are admitted free of charge as are students under the age of 18. For prerecorded tour information call (312) 915-0105, and for additional information on tours and area architecture, please contact The Society of Architectural Historians (www.sah.org) housed at the Charnley-Persky House.

Bicycle Tours

Bobby's Bike Hike - Guided Bicycle Tours
Day Tour: Cycle past major sights north of the Chicago River - including the Magnificent Mile and Oak Street, historical sites in the Gold Coast and Old Town, and a Lincoln Park Zoo and lakefront stint with our impressive skyline view.
Schedule: Daily 1:30pm, April 1 - November 30, 2008
Meet: River East Docks (465 N. McClurg Court)
Cost: $30 Adults; $25 Students & Seniors; $20 Children - 12 to 4; $5 Children under 4
(includes bike, helmet and guide)
Duration: 3 hours
Reservations: (312) 915-0995 recommended.

For more information, go to their website: www.bobbysbikehike.com There is also a night ride tour taking in all the downtown attractions south of the Chicago River and a gardens tour.

The Graham Foundation

An additional resource in our neighborhood is the Graham Foundation for the Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, www.grahamfoundation.org The mission of the Graham Foundation is to nurture and enrich an informed and creative public dialogue concerning architecture and the built environment.

The Foundation is located at 4 West Burton Place in the Madlener House. The work of architect Richard Schmidt and designer Hugh Garden, the House was built in 1901-02 for Albert Fridolin Madlener and his wife Elsa, both of whom came from prominent pioneer Chicago Families.