Chicago Cultural Center

A free palace under a Tiffany glass dome

Hours: Daily 10am-5pm
Tickets: Free
Address: 78 E Washington St, at Michigan Avenue, facing Millennium Park

The building went up in 1897 as a library, and every stair and wall is crammed with marble and mosaic. Over Preston Bradley Hall sits a Tiffany dome of some 30,000 glass pieces, about 38 feet across, and your neck will ache before your eyes tire. Across the building the Grand Army of the Republic Hall has a second dome. The galleries rotate shows, and some days there is a free lunchtime concert. No ticket, no reservation.