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Photo: Knarfol at de.wikipedia, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Named for President Andrew Jackson and the site of the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893. The most prominent monument remaining from the event is the fully gilded "Statue of the Republic." Other sites include the Osaka Garden on the Wooded Island, a series of lagoons designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, and several well-hidden bird watching trails along the water.
Jackson Park is a 551.5-acre (223.2 ha) urban park on the shore of Lake Michigan on the South Side of Chicago. Straddling the Hyde Park, Woodlawn, and South Shore neighborhoods, the park was designed in 1871 by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux and remodeled in 1893 to serve as the site of the World's Columbian Exposition. It is one of the largest and most historically significant parks in the city, and many of the park's features are mementos of the fair—including the Garden of the Phoenix, the Statue of The Republic, and the Museum of Science and Industry.
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A museum, library, and education project in Chicago to commemorate the presidency of Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States.
No tour of Chicago's museums is complete without a visit to this one. Spend hours upon hours looking at really cool stuff you never even knew you didn't know about. So much to do, so little time. You can return for free the following day if you take your ticket to "Will Call" on the way out on your first day. Great for kids, with many hands-on exhibits and the famous Coal Mine; adults will enjoy the display of the German U-boat 'U-505'. The immense, beautiful building was itself built as part of the White City in 1893, and is the last of the grand buildings left in Hyde Park.
The Point
Promontory Point is a beautiful spot to take in the great skyline view, gaze off into the blue, watch summer fireworks, or take a swim in its submerged beach (north side of the point). (It's illegal, but everybody does it.) The Point was constructed under the depression era Works Progress Administration in the style of the Prairie School of park design.
This fabulously impractical house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright is one of the world's most famous examples of the Midwestern "Prairie School" of architecture, which aimed to create buildings with prominent horizontal lines evocative of the prairie landscape. The interior is bizarre, intended to remind its inhabitants of a ship, and is surrounded by stained art glass windows. You must take an official tour to see the interior, which lasts about an hour. Tours of the surrounding historic neighborhood are offered as well — it is best to make reservations online beforehand. Be sure to take a gander at the University of Chicago's Business School across the street, which was designed to emulate the style of the Robie House in a more modern fashion. It is one of eight buildings by Wright that is listed as
This giant Gothic church is named for the University founder, John D. Rockefeller, who intended it to be the "central and dominant feature" of the University. It may not be that, but it is impressive, with a huge organ and the second largest carillon in the world. A great way to view the chapel and experience its acoustics is by showing up for one of the Wednesday lunchtime organ concerts, or for the 11AM Sunday service.
The University of Chicago Oriental Institute has one of the best collections of ancient Egyptian and Near Eastern archeology in the world, which is moreover free, small, very well exhibited, and basically started by Indiana Jones. Some highlights include: much of the Assyrian "Fortress of Sargon," a colossal statue of King Tutankhamun, and the Mummy and Coffin of Meresamun. Visitors with a strong interest may want to devote several hours to pore over the dense exhibits, but the small museum can be quickly skimmed in 15 minutes.