The Chicago Architectural Foundation will host their annual Open House Chicago event this year on Saturday, October 19 and Sunday, October 20.

During this citywide event, more than 275 buildings will open their doors to an estimated 100,000 visitors. This is an exclusive opportunity to peek into homes, businesses and museums traditionally closed to the public. But even with careful planning, one might find the scope of Open House Chicago overwhelming. To make it more manageable, the Wood Dale Library will be escorting a group into the city on Sunday, October 20, to visit some of the buildings in Downtown Chicago.

Click Here to Register!

Here are the details:

• There is no charge to participate. The library will provide each participant with a roundtrip METRA ticket. We will leave as a group from the Wood Dale train station at 8:27 a.m. and will return at 4:30 p.m.
• You do need to stay with the group on both trains or your ticket will no longer be valid. If you return to Wood Dale earlier or later than the group, you will need to purchase a ticket.
• Free transportation will be available to the first 35 registrants. More people are welcome to join us, but you will need to purchase your own round-trip train ticket.
• Open House Chicago is totally free. There is never an entrance fee to visit buildings.
• We will take an hour-long break for lunch halfway through the day. We will be in an area with many options, from fast food joints to sit-down restaurants.
• Be aware that we will be walking for a few hours. Although the sites we will visit are only separated by a few blocks and we will be walking at a leisurely pace, the miles will add up as the day progresses. We recommend wearing comfortable clothing and shoes!
• Once in Chicago, we will break into two or three smaller groups to make it easier to keep together. Each group will have a leader usher you in and out of the buildings.
• There are over 275 buildings to visit, and a complete listing of them will be available after Labor Day at www.openhousechicago.org.
• After September 3, you will be able to pick up a copy of our itinerary at the library. This will list all of the buildings we plan to visit alongside the walking distance between them.
• You must register no later than Thursday, September 27 to be eligible for the free METRA ticket.
• The buildings we will visit will likely come from the following list:

Union Station                                       Berghoff Restaurant
The Chicago Board of Trade               Chicago Loop Synagogue
Chicago City Hall                                 The Rookery
The Palmer House                               The Metropolitan Club
The Lyric Opera House                        Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral

• It is unlikely we will have time to visit more than five or six buildings. We will adjust the itinerary as we move through the day and see how quickly (or slowly) we are working through the list.

• If you have questions, please call Bill at the library, 630-766-6762.

Open House Chicago: Waiver Form