Chicago has long been a leader in urban innovation, attracting visitors from around the world to pose beside sculptures and crane their necks in admiration of towering marvels for decades.

Architects and artists have left their mark on this great American city. Along the Chicago River, history is told through evolutions in skyscraper design. At the lakefront, a century-old pier bustles with life as a tourist destination. And in Millenium Park, a reflective bean has become an urban icon in the truest sense of the word. Here are five buildings, structures and sculptures featured in FlyOver’s Believe Chicago that help tell the story of the city.

The Tribune Tower

One of Chicago’s greatest architectural marvels is the neo-Gothic Tribune Tower. Completed in 1925, the dramatic tower was built from plans submitted in a design competition, becoming the new Chicago Tribune headquarters. New York architects Raymond Hood and John Mead Howells looked to the past to build the 36-floor tower, drawing from cathedrals of Europe for their creation. Since 2018, the Tribune Tower has taken on a second life as a luxury condominium building, all while preserving its old-world beauty.

You can certainly admire its majesty from the street level, but FlyOver will sweep you to the top with thrilling speed and jazzy beats. Your appetite for history and music is in for a treat.

Millennium Park & Cloud Gate (AKA The Bean)

No tour of Chicago is complete without a journey through Millennium Park, where you’ll experience the hustle and bustle of one of the city’s most festive gathering places.

Situated in the heart of the park is the famed Cloud Gate sculpture, better known as “The Bean.” Designed by internationally acclaimed artist Anish Kapoor, the stainless-steel sculpture has become a symbol of the city, finding its way onto countless sweatshirts and keychains since its 2004 unveiling. At FlyOver, you’ll experience this modern icon from several distinct angles as you glide into and through the lively park.

The Chicago Theatre

Next, it’s “Lights, camera, action!” as you travel through the lobby and into the vast auditorium of the historic Chicago Theatre. This grand movie palace has been a city staple since 1921 when it was first erected on a half city block. The theatre remains a dominant part of the city’s identity and the entire entertainment industry.

Since its early days of reel-to-reel Hollywood picture shows, the Chicago Theatre stage has changed with the times. Today, you’ll find live performances across the musical, comedic and artistic spectrum here, all equally brimming with the heart and soul of Chicago’s rich and storied multicultural history.

The Board of Trade & Ceres

To balance out the business and pleasure of Chicago’s history, you’ll get a sample of the city’s essential contribution to the United States industrial revolution. The Board of Trade building is as impressive in its physical stature as it is in what it represents: the transformative commodities market of the 20th century stock market exchange. While the bygone era of open trading is memorialized in film and television, the once-bustling floor space has been renovated to preserve this history behind three-storey picture windows.

Believe Chicago sweeps you straight up to the pinnacle of the impressive building where Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture, holds court with a sheaf of wheat and a bag of grain in hand, paying homage to the market’s beginning.

Navy Pier

For more than a century, Navy Pier has welcomed guests and locals alike on the edge of Lake Michigan. The waterfront destination was first conceptualized as a public gathering space by legendary architect Daniel Burnham in 1909 — a vision that would float in and out of focus from its completion in 1916 through to its modern era. In the interim, Navy Pier housed soldiers, sailors, university classrooms, tradeshows and more. Since 1995, the pier has thrived once more as one of Chicago’s top destinations. Home to theatres, shops, a towering Ferris wheel, restaurants and FlyOver’s Chicago location, among other attractions, Navy Pier’s modern era has returned it to Burnham’s original vision: “The People’s Pier.”

Looking for a taste of Chicago before travelling there in person? Let FlyOver guide you over, into and through the city’s historic and cultural wonders. The sights, sounds and spirit of the city are all yours when you buckle up aboard Believe Chicago.

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