This weekend: Interactive Tour of History, Architecture and Fun

Chicago Detours Launching “Good Times around Michigan Ave”

 

Chicago, IL – This Saturday April 30, Chicago Detours continues to “reinvent the tour” with its launch of a new guided walking tour that explores entertainment history, with stops at former sites of grand galas, underground clubs, jazz shows, theater performances, and more. While interacting with historic images on shared iPads, guests will go off Michigan Ave to uncover hidden spots of lively history on the side streets. Topics include high society soirees of the Gilded Age (at the opulent Driehaus Musem) and the Medinah Athletic Club, once a roaring ’20s social club (now the Intercontinental Hotel). The $26 tour price includes use of iPads, engaging commentary by top guides, an interactive group dynamic, and valuable extras. Reservations are required.via Facebook or email to info@chicagodetours.com, contestants can win $52 worth of walking tours (2 tickets) for this Friday.  We will award 30 lucky contestants later this evening. More details here.

Guests meet in front of the Tribune Store, 435 N. Michigan Ave. This two-hour walking tour goes 1.5 miles, ending at the intersection of State and Rush streets. Launch is April 30th, and it will will run until late October. Tour times in May & Oct: Tue. and Sat. at 10:00am, Sun. at 1:30pm,
Sat. also at 8:00pm. Tour times Jun – Sep: we will continue this schedule and add Thu. at 10:00am & Fri. at 1:30pm. Reservations are required, and can be made by phone (312.350.1131) or online (chicagodetours.com). Adult tickets are $26; students/seniors $24; kids 5 and up $18; kids under 5 free.

The photo contest for the “Good Times” tour launch ends tonight at 8:00pm. By simply posting a picture of a “good time” in Chicago,

Chicago Detours makes tours that are like mobile exhibits. Guests interact with each other, urban space, and historical media to engage with Chicago’s architecture, art, history, politics, entertainment, and city life. Tours bring people to explore stories and places that locals don’t even know about. Highly trained guides share forgotten stories from the past, and create an engaging dynamic to spark discussions and learning. Private groups can also reserve the tour. As a social venture, Chicago Detours guides do not take tips; rather they take donations for worthy causes, such as educational initiatives to give tours to local schools free of charge.

Since launching this past fall, the company has received feedback from tour attendees that has been widely positive, with top ratings on both Yelp and TripAdvisor. One Yelp comment says, “We found it interesting, fascinating, eye opening, worth our time and money…and we live in Chicago!” Cathy Domanico, the Director of Tourism of the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau, said, “Very informative and fun! I learned a lot, too.” Another guest eagerly comments, “This is no stuffy all buildings tour” and New City Magazine journalist Kristine Sherred writes, “Guides encourage questions and conversation, fostering a collaborative educational environment unlike the talking head on run-of-the-mill tours.” 

Scotese has 8 years experience as a tour guide, and especially honed her skills while employed as a guide and guidebook researcher with Rick Steves, one of the nation’s most well-known travel authors and television personalities. She enriched her knowledge of architecture, urban studies, and art history through her M.A. in the Humanities at the University of Chicago. Further information on Amanda Scotese and Chicago Detours is available on the website, www.chicagodetours.com.