6 Best Sights in Chicago, Illinois

A welcome visual and physical oasis amid the high-rise hubbub of North Michigan Avenue, this Gothic Revival house of worship is the oldest building on North Michigan Avenue apart from the Old Water Tower complex (which survived the Chicago Fire of 1871). Designed by Ralph Adams Cram, the church drew many of its congregants from the city's elite but now reflects the city's diversity. Local architect Howard Van Doren Shaw devised the cloister and companion buildings.

In July and August, free concerts are staged every Friday at 12:10 beside the courtyard fountain off Michigan Avenue; other months they're performed in the sanctuary.

One of Chicago's African American cornerstones, this church was founded in 1847 and served as an Underground Railroad stop. The present building, designed by Henry Starbuck, opened in 1891, and the rough-finished brick exterior is in keeping with the time. The interior has a tin ceiling and simple stained-glass windows. Many notable people have addressed the congregation, including President William B. McKinley, Booker T. Washington, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

A tower, arched doorways, and a large round window form bold masses on the exterior of this church, designed in 1887 by Daniel Burnham and John Root. The Romanesque interior, with vaulted arches, gives a feeling of breadth and spaciousness. The parish was organized to serve Irish workers at the nearby Union Stock Yards.

Constructed in 1874, this handsome Gothic Revival church was designed by James Renwick, also the architect of the Smithsonian's Castle and New York City's St. Patrick's Cathedral. The National Historic Landmark features one of the largest collections of Tiffany stained-glass windows anywhere.

Completed in 1923 and built to accommodate the area's growing number of Italian immigrants, this church is the oldest continuously operating Italian American church in Chicago. Its Romanesque Revival style was popular with the famous church architects Worthman and Steinbach, and its interior is filled with statues and striking stained-glass windows. 

This gorgeous Greek Revival building, erected in 1910, has an equally lavish interior. It was originally the Anshe Sholom Synagogue.