Touristy Abby Baum (2024)

15/05/2020

Ravenswood Event Center • Chicago, IL

This 3-floor event space used to be a billboard factory. Today, the space hosts weddings and other events. The first floor also showcases a collection of vintage sports cars.

@ Ravenswood Event Center

19/04/2020

The Palmer House Hilton • Chicago, IL

As a member of Historic Hotels of America, this hotel was the first hotel with elevators, and electric lightbulbs and telephones in the guest rooms in Chicago. It is also noted as the longest continuously operating hotel in North America.

@ The Palmer House Hilton

29/03/2020

McCormick Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum • Chicago, IL

The public can go inside this Chicago River bridgehouse and see the gears of a moveable bridge. This bridgehouse is also a museum and guests can read about the history and information regarding how the bridge works.

@ McCormick Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum

20/03/2020

Trail Ridge Road • Estes Park and Grand Lake, CO

This road takes you from one end of Rocky Mountain National Park to the other. It typically remains closed until early summer due to snow and extreme winds as the top is in the alpine tundra. Before the road was built, Native Americans used Trail Ridge to cross the mountains to go hunting.

@ Trail Ridge Road

01/03/2020

Essaney Film Manufacturing Company • Chicago, IL

This movie studio was founded in 1907 and is best known for the creation of the Charlie Chaplin comedies in 1915. It was then absorbed in Warner Brothers in the 1920s. The studio is now closed, but this structure still stands.

23/02/2020

The Wicker Park Secret Agent Supply Co. • Chicago, IL

This spy gadget shop houses 826Chicago, a children’s writing center and workshop. This nonprofit is one of eight 826 nonprofit branches. Each branch has a different cover. Besides this secret agent shop, covers include the Pirate Supply store in San Francisco, Robot Supply and Repair in Ann Arbor, and the Echo Park Time Travel Mart. Proceeds from all of these stores benefit 826.

@ Wicker Park Secret Agent Supply Co.

16/02/2020

Marktown • East Chicago, IN

This is the only English-style town in North America where cars are meant to be parked on sidewalks so people can walk in the street. This historic town was built in 1917 as a place for people who worked for a steel manufacturing firm to live near where they worked. Many of the properties were abandoned after the company was sold.

@ Marktown

12/02/2020

Mars Cheese Castle • Kenosha, WI

Known as a “cheese landmark”, this specialty food store is best known for its cheese and sausage. Mario Ventura, Sr., opened this shop in 1947. The castle is based off of a castle in Italy that his mother owned. Mars is for his name, Mario, inspired by the Roman god Mars. The cheese castle also sells other items such as beer, wine, condiments, and souvenirs. There is also an in-store deli.

@ Mars Cheese Factory

26/01/2020

Pabst Brewery Complex • Milwaukee, WI

This facility housed the brewery of the Pabst Brewing Company. It was closed in 1997 and is now a residential complex. The complex also houses a hotel, and Jackson’s Blue Ribbon Pub & Grill. The former corporate office is now under the name “Best Place” after the founders Jacob and Phillip Best. Housed there is an antique gift shop, Blue Ribbon Hall, and the “Little Tavern on the Hill.”

12/01/2020

Winter Garden • Chicago, IL

On the ninth floor of the Harold Washington Library Center is an atrium filled with natural light, a glass ceiling, and plenty of plants. This is the perfect place to go for studying, working, or reading in a beautiful setting.

@ Harold Washington Library

05/01/2020

Elks National Memorial • Chicago, IL

This memorial honors the members of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, a fraternal order founded in 1868 as a social club, who served in WWI. It is known as “one of the most magnificent war memorials in the world.” The memorial has been rededicated in 1946, 1976, and 1994 to honor veterans of WWII, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.

@ The Elks National Memorial and Headquarters

23/12/2019

Dulcelandia • Chicago, IL

This Little Village shop is the “largest retail and wholesale distributor of Mexican candy in the Midwest.” Their products cover over 1,000 types of Mexican and American candies and treats as well as piñatas and other decorations.

@ Dulcelandia

19/12/2019

Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower • Chicago, IL

The home of the headquarters of Health Care Service Corporation overlooks Chicago’s Grant Park and Millennium Park. The building often shows support of “health care issues, local events, and charities” by displaying messages at night with the lights of the offices inside.

@ Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower

17/12/2019

Grosse Point Lighthouse • Evanston, IL

After many shipwrecks and shipping disasters in Lake Michigan, Evanston residents lobbied to build a lighthouse. Construction was completed in 1873. This lighthouse still operates year-round and is open to the public for tours throughout the summer months.

@ Grosse Point Light

11/12/2019

Stony Island Arts Bank • Chicago, IL

This restored bank building now serves as a “hybrid gallery, media archive, library, and community center” on Chicago’s south side. They have collections from Jonhnson Publishing (Ebony and Jet Magazine), University of Chicago Glass Lantern Slides, Edward J. Williams, and Frankie Knuckles (a vinyl collection of house music).

@ Stony Island Arts Bank

09/12/2019

Busy Beaver Button Co. • Chicago, IL

This button company was started in a college apartment in 1995. Today, they have created over 85,000 designs. They also design custom buttons for people who want to design their own! Their office space in Logan Square features a button museum where you can see some older buttons, or check out their online museum on their website!

@ Busy Beaver Button Co.

05/12/2019

Milwaukee Public Market • Milwaukee, WI

Located in the Historic Third Ward is this public market that leases out space to local vendors. This was inspired by Pike Place Market in Seattle as a place to support local businesses.

@ Milwaukee Public Market

02/12/2019

Old Chicago Inn Featuring Room 13 • Chicago, IL

This 1920s-themed bed and breakfast sits above a prohibition-era-themed speakeasy called Room 13. Guests must know the password to enter the speakeasy once they enter through a small alley doorway.

@ Old Chicago Inn featuring Room 13

27/11/2019

The Chicago Board of Trade Building • Chicago, IL

This giant Art-Deco building in downtown Chicago was the tallest building in Chicago when it was built in 1930. This building includes a beautiful lobby, and an empty vault containing steel safe. In the past, the safe would store important trading receipts and silver bars.

@ Chicago Board of Trade Building

25/11/2019

House of Blues Foundation Room VIP Club • Chicago, IL

This popular Chicago music venue has an exclusive club located on the fourth floor that hosts members ranging from “corporate CEOs to rock stars.” The club includes three “prayer room” dedicated to Divinity, Buddha, and Ganesh - all represented by the statue in the room.

@ House of Blues Chicago

19/11/2019

Starshaped Press • Chicago. IL

This letterpress and design studio in Chicago creates all of their print materials with the studio’s antique metal and wood type collection. A majority of their type was created in Chicago and is 75-150 years old.

@ Starshaped Press

13/11/2019

Airstream Building • Chicago, IL

This office building in the Lincoln Square/Ravenswood neighbored of Chicago has a 1960s Airstream trailer on its roof. It was added during a renovation in 1989 as a way to add a whimsical addition for the building’s employees.

@ The Airstream

11/11/2019

The Blackstone Hotel • Chicago, IL

The Blackstone Hotel in downtown Chicago is known for hosting celebrities. It was given the nickname the “Hotel of Presidents” for the numerous presidents it hosted during the 20th century. It was built on the site of Timothy Blackstone’s mansion, the mansion of the founding president of the Union Stock Yards.

@ The Blackstone Hotel

07/11/2019

James M. Nederlander Theatre • Chicago, IL

This Broadway In Chicago theater opened in 1926 as the Oriental Theatre. It served as a movie theater and vaudeville venue. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

@ James M. Nederlander Theatre

03/11/2019

Dream Lake • Estes Park, CO

This alpine lake is located east of the continental divide. It is a popular hike for visitors with amazing views.

@ Dream Lake

30/10/2019

The Stanley Hotel • Estes Park, CO

This famously haunted hotel opened in 1909 as a “resort for upper class easterners and a health retreat for sufferers if pulmonary tuberculosis.” This hotel is known for being the inspiration for the Overlook Hotel in The Shining by Stephen King.
@ Stanley Hotel

30/10/2019

The Stanley Hotel • Estes Park, CO

This famously haunted hotel opened in 1909 as a “resort for upper class easterners and a health retreat for sufferers if pulmonary tuberculosis.” This hotel is known for being the inspiration for the Overlook Hotel in The Shining by Stephen King.

@ Stanley Hotel

28/10/2019

Writers Theatre • Glencoe, IL

This theater was called the “top regional theatre in the nation” By the Wall Street Journal. Almost as great as the shows performed here is the architecture of the building built in 2016.

@ Writers Theatre

23/10/2019

American Toby Jug Museum • Evanston, IL

This museum features over 8,000 drinking Toby Jugs collected overtime by Stephen M. Mullins. The jugs are arranged in chronological order ranging from the mid-18th century to the 21st century.

@ The American Toby Jug Museum

21/10/2019

James Turrell Skyspace • Chicago, IL

This sculpture designed by James Turrell sits on the University of Illinois at Chicago campus. Skyspace sculptures allow people to look at the sky as if looking through a frame.

@ University of Illinois at Chicago

Touristy Abby Baum

15/05/2020

19/04/2020

29/03/2020

20/03/2020

01/03/2020

23/02/2020

16/02/2020

12/02/2020

26/01/2020

12/01/2020

05/01/2020

23/12/2019

19/12/2019

17/12/2019

11/12/2019

09/12/2019

05/12/2019

02/12/2019

27/11/2019

25/11/2019

19/11/2019

13/11/2019

11/11/2019

07/11/2019

03/11/2019

30/10/2019

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