Old Post Office Tour: Historic Chicago Architecture

Discover Chicago’s Old Post Office: a historic gem transformed into a modern office and event space with a stunning rooftop park.

Duration: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • The Old Post Office - Visitors will explore the inside of the Old Post Office on W Van Buren Street, delve into its history, and learn about its transformation into a contemporary office space. They will also understand the concept of adaptive reuse and its significance. Highlights include the Main Lobby, the “Zig-zag wall”, the “postcard wall”, and the rooftop meadow.
What's Included
  • Tour of the Old Post Office
  • Led by a certified Chicago Architecture Center docent
What's Not Included
  • Food or drink
  • Coat check
  • Storage for luggage or strollers
Additional Information

Explore the new Old Post Office Building, whose early 20th-century design has been adaptively reused into a beautiful, modern Class A Office building. It once seemed as though the stunning architectural details of Chicago’s Old Post Office would be lost to time while the building sat vacant for almost two decades. But the 2.8 million square foot…

Location
The Old Post Office
West Van Buren Street
The Old Post Office Building; meet inside the Van Buren entrance.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.9
(13 Ratings)
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Susanse9094rj
Jun 18, 2025
Inspiring - Amazing tour of this impressive Chicago landmark. We had a wonderful docent, John, who shared so much interesting information - the 90 minutes flew by. We stayed and ate lunch in the open-to-the-public food court. Took Metra home afterward. It was a great day with friends.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
619jeannej
May 28, 2025
Beautiful restoration and re-use of a landmark building. - The tour guide was a good presenter and very knowledgeable about the background of the building. He had several print-outs of maps and old photographs to explain much of the history. The building is really a marvel and the restoration is beautiful. Well worth it. I’ve done about a half dozen walking tours organized by the Chicago Architecture Center and they’ve all been really great.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Novav959
May 12, 2025
Entertaining and informative visit to The Old Post Office! - The Old Post Office was super cool to see renovated and it was a gorgeous day to visit the rooftop! I loved learning about all of the details that went into the building when it was first built. The vent covers were particularly interesting. Thanks to our guide Lorie who did a spectacular job, was very informed and engaging!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lthompson2956
Apr 29, 2025
Historical landmark - Learned so much on the tour. It exceeded my expectations. You have to see the lobby in person. Describing it is impossible.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mary
Feb 26, 2025
History, architecture and adapation - To see the old post office come to life again was amazing. The tour gives you the history of Chicago's mail. You also have access to non-public spaces.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Katewt5533lz
Jan 14, 2025
Great tour! - John was a great guide, very knowledgeable. The building has much more beauty and history inside than we expected. This tour exceeded our expectations.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Guide761712
Jan 14, 2025
Jaw dropping beauty - Magnificent old building restored beautifully with all the amenities required for a modern workforce. Great insight provided by our docent Alice
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Drlisa2023
Jan 1, 2025
Highly Recommend The Old Post Office Tour - Our docent was so knowledgeable, and the other people in our group were also interesting sources of information. We learned a ton about the old post office and can’t wait to take another CAC tour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Margaretau5860ds
Aug 15, 2024
Alice gave a fabulous tour of the Old Post Office. - Alice was my tour guide. She shared a great deal of information with the group. She was pleasant, knowledgeable and had a great personality.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
S6071gjmarkc
Jun 26, 2024
Amazing Adaptive Reuse Journey - This tour with Alice was so informative and beautiful. She shared so much about the origin and evolution of the building, its architecture and purpose and its adaptive reuse journey. The highlight was The Meadow rooftop garden.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $15
up to 5 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).