Government Buildings in Chicago

Government Buildings in Chicago, IL

Government Buildings in Chicago

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Sights & Landmarks
Sights & Landmarks
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  • Things to do ranked using Tripadvisor data including reviews, ratings, photos, and popularity.

What travellers are saying

  • Karen C
    St. John's, Canada3,130 contributions
    I love photographing cool architecture. If you do too, you must go to this building.

    The atrium is huge and impressive. Bring a wide angle lens! I used a fisheye lens and it was perfect.

    Quick to walk to from the Clark/Lake train station.
    Written 17 April 2019
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • Betty
    2,780 contributions
    This is a gorgeous neoclassical building. It is the seat of the City of Chicago where the mayor and other city officials’ offices are located. The east side of the building is the county building. The exterior is gray granite and terra cotta with huge columns. The lobby is beautiful with its polished marble walls and marble staircase. Look straight ahead and up, you will marvel at the vaulted mosaic ceiling adorned with beautiful lamps. The elevators doors and framework are very detailed and have ornate designs.

    If you are a Blue Brothers Fan, this is the building where they ran in to pay the taxes with the police in pursuit while some of the police scaled down the building to arrest them.
    Written 29 June 2018
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • Allen21096
    Chicago, IL29,714 contributions
    From 1981 through 1986, how many of us listened to a familiar refrain on NBC once a week as police cars pulled out of the "Hill Street" police station at Hill St. (fictional street) & Morgan St. The station was manned by characters like Capt. Furillo, Bobby Hill, Mick Belker, Andy Renko, J.D. LaRue, Sgt. Phil Esterhaus and more. That TV show had 144 episodes over that time period. But many did not know that the "Hill Street" police station had actually been the Maxwell Street station at the corner of Maxwell St. & Morgan St. When the station was first built in 1888, it was home to the Chicago Police Department's 7th District. Over the years, the district became known as "Bloody Maxwell" or “the Wickedest Police District in the World”. The station which anchored the western end of the Maxwell Street Market quieted down after Prohibition ended, but in the 1960's and 1970's, it became home to the Area Four Detective Division. Area Four had the most murders out of the six detective areas of the City of Chicago. When the new police station at the corner of Harrison St. and Kedzie Ave. opened, Area Four moved its headquarters there. When I was promoted to detective and assigned, I was assigned to Area Four, but missed the honor of working out of the Maxwell St. police station. The station itself is Romanesque in style and is architecturally significant as an example of pre-1945 police stations in Chicago. It was designed by Willoughby J. Edbrooke and Franklin Pierce Burnham. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. Besides the iconic "Hill Street Blues" television show, the exterior was also used for the television show - "Chicago P.D." In 1998, the City of Chicago vacated the station and after extensive renovations, the station became home to the University of Illinois - Chicago (UIC) Police Department.
    Written 6 June 2017
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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