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
(15 Ratings)
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890gens
Sep 2, 2025
Just book it! - Had a wonderful tour of the old post office building. Our guide, Alice, was very knowledgeable about all the historical and architectural facts! Highly recommend visiting- the rooftop was magnificent!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ticketless55
Aug 21, 2025
Magnificent Re-imagining! - Wow! What a re-imagining! Our docent from the Chicago Architecture Center was such a knowledgable guide . Great downtown trip. Plan to have lunch afterward at the food court. Easy walk from Union Station, a bit farther from Ogilvie, but very do-able.
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216lianeb
Aug 5, 2025
Beautiful building - We loved the tour and our tour guide, Alice. She knew a lot of the history of the building. Thank you so much for the educational tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Terib517
Jul 23, 2025
CAC Old (New) Post Office tour is fascinating!! - The CAC Old Post Office tour was excellent. Lorie, our docent, did a terrific job in both bringing to life the old structure and workings of the Chicago Post Office of the 1920s and 30s, and the remarkable reuse remodel that has turned the building into a beautiful event and corporate space. The tour included exploration of building elements which not normally available to the public, including the lovely rooftop gardens and amenity space. As a lifelong Chicago I truly enjoyed the insights behind the old and new building!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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.
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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.
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Marykv2097wp
Jul 30, 2025
Awesome but incomplete because of inability to hear. - The building and it's history are amazing. It was difficult to hear our docent sometimes. On other tours we had ear pieces that made it so we didn't miss anything. At one point, we moved away from another Chicago Architecture tour group so we could hear better, and they promptly followed us.
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).