Chicago Detours

15/01/2024

Support this humorous and poignant take on corruption in our dear state, Jan. 24 at Columbia College. Filmmakers in attendance! via Media Burn Independent Video Archive

Newly updated doc pokes fun at political corruption in IL. Special guests: Mike Flannery, Phil Ponce, Delmarie Cobb, and Tim Kazurinksy.

12/12/2023

Ok, so it isn't history and it isn't architecture BUT it's an awesome excuse to go downtown... The Magic Parlour offers a mind-blowing magic performance via Goodman Theatre Thu-Sun all winter long. .

Third-Generation Magician, Mentalist & Entertainer Dennis Watkins creates unforgettable corporate entertainment for events nationwide.

17/11/2023

See what ChatGPT thinks for your travel recommendations :)

25/07/2023

21/07/2023

21/07/2023

21/07/2023

04/05/2023

Downtown signs of summer.

29/04/2023

Been taking architecture students from Calgary’s SAIT Polytechnic university around Chicago since 2014! Such a pleasure.

25/04/2023

A very rare chance for a free virtual event with us! Invite anyone to join from afar. We are offering this as we support a special community project with the . Invite anyone to join you from afar! Tue, Apt 25 6pm-7pm CT. Register here: bit.ly/day-at-the-1893.

24/04/2023

You can join us for another free event Tuesday that explores the 1893 World’s Fair. This is our last fundraising push for Phase 1 of our project with the Design Museum of Chicago to make a free community tour. 6pm, this one is fun!

Rezdy Online Booking

18/04/2023

See rare images on this live virtual event that is FREE "Innovations at the 1893 World's Fair" on Wed, 4/19 at 6pm CT. Register here and please share:

Rezdy Online Booking

12/04/2023

Sunset in .

28/03/2023

On our free "Badass Women of History" virtual event this evening, the group collectively wrote a haiku about pilot Bessie Coleman:
Brave inspiration
What was harder, french or flight
Life taken too soon

Last FREE opportunity to join will be this Fri, Mar 31 at 6pm CT. Please tell your friends!

Rezdy Online Booking

27/03/2023

Monday, 3/27 or Friday, 3/31 at 6pm - a rare FREE opportunity to celebrate Women's History Month with us. Please invite more men to attend, this is not just for women. https://bit.ly/badass-women-virtual-event

24/03/2023

We've been quiet....and now we have something big to share! This awesome new project will be FREE for the public. Thank you in advance. 🔥 🙏 🤗

We at Chicago Detours have partnered with the Design Museum of Chicago to launch an entirely new approach to experiential education and we need your help. We are going...

15/03/2023

What is this symbol?

24/01/2023

Sunshine in January in Chicago! So monumental.

21/12/2022

Sending gratitude to all of you ❤️

Chicago Detours was started by one woman, grew to a team of ten employees, and hosted more than 150,000 virtual and in-person guests. We thank the many peopl...

13/10/2022

Want to come on a FREE virtual tour with us? As long as you have a CPL card, I can get you in for 6pm Thursday. Email [email protected].

Chicago is home to a thriving Polish community that has been an integral part of our city’s culture for generations. In celebration of Polish American History Month, join us for a spectacular virtual tour of Chicago's Polish Triangle! Explore historic Polish American stories of cultural, daily lif...

10/10/2022

Chicago is so pretty at night! Taken from the for a special fundraising event…congrats to for 20 years of saving incredible Chicago stories recorded on various video formats over the decades. If you’ve ever come on one of our tours, you probably watched a video on an iPad on one of our walking tours, or on a screen on a bus tour - most of them were from Media Burn. If you haven’t ever checked out their incredible collection, do i5. There are so many videos that are tear-jerking, politically relevant, hilarious, deeply reflective and nostalgic. Take a break from YouTube and connect with the Chicago of the ‘90s and beyond with them!

20/09/2022

Such a treat to be in the evening.

13/06/2022

12 years ago Chicago Detours started as a tour company for curious people. At that point, Chicago tourism didn’t look much beyond downtown. We wanted to show people true and genuine stories of Chicago people, both famous in history books and beloved community and family members who have contributed to make this city great. We have sought to open awareness to design and ingenuity in architecture, art, engineering, and businesses across history. We want to promote appreciation of our neighborhoods, like with this incredibly cultivated yard at a home in Pilsen. I never cease to be amazed now how what some people saw as a “quirky” approach to tourism back in 2010 (but we saw as fundamental) has now become so much more sought after and mainstream. Thank you to our followers for 12 years of business. For helping us thrive in 2020 while our industry crumbled around us. For wanting to join us on this journey of learning from the buildings, spaces, and stories of Chicago in order to become responsible citizens of the world.

22/05/2022

So pretty, and quiet at night!

20/05/2022

Twinsies! When I see two buildings like this I wonder, was it parents living next door to a married child and their family? Two siblings? Or were there more of these on the block now gone? What if the neighbors despise each other? What if each thinks their taste in having updated the building is superior?