Open House Chicago

Andy and I went downtown this morning for three hours to see how much we could tour as part of the Open House Chicago event. Our first stop was The Rookery building.

Frank Lloyd Wright redesigned the lobby. You can see his style in the chandeliers.

We waited in line for at least 40 minutes to climb the stairs. We were a little disappointed that the whole idea of climbing the stairs was to get this "money shot," as the security guard called it. We couldn't go any higher in the building. It was neat to see but it's the same shot that's one all touristy things about The Rookery.

Stop No. 2 was the Chicago Board of Trade.

We toured the vault. It was hot and we weren't sure why we were there.

Interesting art deco details inside the building.

Stop No. 3 was the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank and Money Museum.

This is $1 million.

Stop No. 4 was one of our favorites - the Cliff Dwellers Club at 200 S. Michigan Ave.

We stepped out onto the balcony and were wowed by the view. We were 22 stories high.

The view looking south ...

... and north. You can see the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, the Bean and the Face Fountain.

Stop No. 5 was another private club - the Sky-Line Club. This is the interior of a pub from England that was dismantled and rebuilt here 100 years ago.

Another gorgeous view from the club at 307 N. Michigan Ave. There were people in the dome to the left of the picture. A man standing next to us on the balcony told us that's the bar area of a hotel. We might have to go up there sometime.

Nice view of the Wrigley Building and the Chicago River.

Stop No. 6: On the way back to the car we decided to stop in the Seventeeth Church of Christ, Scientist.

It's one of those buildings you walk past all the time so it was neat to see inside.

Stop No. 7 was the Chicago Loop Synagogue. The Ten Commandments were right at the entrance.

This beautiful stained glass was at the top of a ramp on the way into the sanctuary.

The sanctuary.

This is where they keep the Torah scrolls. The covering is sculpted metal.

The stained glass in the sanctuary was so pretty. Seven tours in three hours? Not bad! We also visited some sites in Oak Park. More on that tomorrow.

And how fun is this? We were at the Rookery the same time the WGN News crew was there. We were on the news, standing on the stairs!