AIA Guide to Chicago

Exhaustive guide with a lot of information, maybe too much for someone who is going to Chicago for only a couple of days.

If you work in the Loop, you have got to get this book. You can go out at lunch and learn all kinds of facts about he skyscrapers, and impress your colleagues. If you love Chicago's buildings, you will absolutely use and enjoy this book.

Very useful

Very interesting, but needs more pictures.

I gave this as a graduation gift to a friend who just graduated from architecture school. He loved it and thanked me multiple times!

Comprehensive and readable; all the details I want.City bus and train portable. A bit expensive but worth the price. Not pedantic !

It has been long a waited publication and is definitely the best introducing the important Chicago School of Architectures and architectural guide to general public as well.

Limited to the Chicago city limits and Oak Park, the selection of buildings is good, but certainly not exhaustive (Evanston would have been a nice addition). Since commercial architecture is so important to Chicago history, there is a palpable emphasis on these structures, particularly Chicago's early modern skyscapers. Readers with an interest in churches, universities, and other grand public buildings may find the coverage spotty, and the author's tone a bit flippant.The book is in standard AIA format, with short essays for each entry, some including a small photograph. In fact, the major flaw with this book, in my opinion, is the lack of effective photography. There's a photograph for, perhaps, one out of every ten building entries, and the entries that do include photos are often not that interesting. One tries to come away from this book with a mental image of Chicago, derived from the text, but with little assistance from photography. There are also more than a few entries that include no text, simply the building name, address, date and architect. Keep your favorite internet map program handy.There are so many magnificent things to see in Chicago, it's a shame this guide doesn't much help us to see them. That (critical) matter aside, it's a solid and important addition to the AIA-sponsored series.