John Blackburn, 2017
John was a most gracious and informative guide for Historic Treasures, inviting questions and providing a wealth of information. It was also nice that we all introduced ourselves so that we had chats amongst the group too. What a lovely couple of hours in Chicago! I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend, best part of my week in Chicago! – Elaine_H1999
Joni Hirsch Blackman 2013
Best way to orientate yourself to the city and best way to learn all about the city, the history and the buildings! Joni was our River Cruise guide on this trip SHE ROCKED ! Her knowledge was superb. She did an excellent job and to be honest, it made the cruise. Highly recommend. – Wendie F Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Jane Cahill 2005
Our River Cruise tour guide, Jane, was great. She was able to highlight all the architectural features of the Chicago skyline adding fun facts and personal stories. This is a must do tour. You will not be disappointed. – John H
Emily Clott, 2012
Emily was excellent. Beautiful River Cruise tour on a nice boat. – Rick V Atlanta, GA
Bill Coffin 2004
Fantastic Art Deco Skyscrapers: The Loop tour with Bill on LaSalle Street. The tour was well paced, and he was clearly very knowledgeable about the subject matter. – Ella B
David Ferguson, 2020
David was our Elevated Architecture: Downtown ‘L’ Train tour guide. He was excellent. He had a ‘cheat sheet’ to make sure he covered all he wanted to but able to answer all our questions. There were just 3 of us. Well worth doing! – krae21 Minnesota186
Kent Foutty, 2009
Kent was an excellent River Cruise guide and Keith an excellent captain. Highly recommend First Lady over other companies. – Penny B St. John
Deb Frels, 1989
My wife and I learned a lot! Deborah was very passionate about the living history of the skyscraper. Historic Treasures is a one-of-a-kind tour! – Brian_C
Donna Gabanski 1994
The Chicago Modern tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and also very personable. Donna answered all questions I had and presented relative information in an architecturally chronological way. – Richard C
Georgia Goldberg, 2012
WORTH EVERY PENNY! Thank you for a fantastic River Cruise tour, boat ride, and unparalleled views of beautiful Chicago! Our tour guide, volunteer docent, Georgia Goldberg, was amazing! She is a natural storyteller. She wove so many interesting facts into stories that kept us spellbound as we learned about the architecture and history of Chicago. I have visited Chicago many, many times, and this was one of the BEST experiences I’ve ever had in Chicago. Thank you! – Inspire383132 Palatine, IL
Delta Greene, 2008
The vast knowledge of Delta Greene, the docent, and interesting information about the buildings that were highlighted on the Historic Treasures of Chicago’s Golden Age tour. – John M
Steve Haddad, 2020
What an incredible River Cruise tour. The ride was smooth and comfortable. We were steered to this tour because it’s affiliated with the CAC on a friends recommendation. Wow it did not disappoint. Steve was our docent who was so knowledgeable about the city’s history with all the beautiful buildings of Chicago. I learned so much! Kudos to Steve (a retired orthopedic surgeon) on his wealth of experience explaining all of what we saw. – PamAppel Pleasant Hill, CA
Doug Harrison 2011
I live in a Chicago suburb, and the CAC River Cruise is my favorite thing to do in Chicago. Every time I take it, I am blown away by how beautiful Chicago is and am amazed by how much the docents have to teach me about Chicago architecture. Our docent, Doug, was entertaining and extremely knowledgeable. If you only have time to do one thing in Chicago, do this tour. Make sure you take the cruise led by the CAC and not one of the commercial outfits!- Mark T Glencoe, IL
Mary Jo Hoag, 2007
This was an amazing River Cruise tour of Chicago from every perspective: we learned about architecture, the history of Chicago, and current events, all while laughing and enjoying incredible views. Overall it was one of the best tour experiences ever. Special shout-out to our tour guide Mary-Jo. Seriously. You should take this tour if you possibly can. – Barbara R
Wayne Johnson, 2016
A Walk Through Time is a great walking architecture tour of Chicago! To physically be shown and informed of the buildings was great. Best part was actually going inside the Chicago Motor Club lobby. I will not look at a skyscraper again the same way. Fantastic and informative time well spent with our tour guide Wayne. JJohn2020
Judith Kaufman, 2010
Wow! We just got back from a phenomenal hour & half River Cruise on the Chicago River. The views were breathtaking; something to see around every bend. The highlight of the tour however was Judith, our docent. She knew every building, its history, its architectural significance & its place in Chicago history. Take this tour! Ask for Judith! (: – Robert L
Laurel Kruke, 2019
Thank you, Laurel, for a great insight to this wonderful city on the Historic Treasures tour. I was amazed at your knowledge and ease of sharing this with the group. – Heather_S
Kathleen Kulick, 2013
Loved the Chicago Modern tour. Kathleen was great and walks fast!! We learned slot about the wonderful Chicago mid-century modern buildings! Mary_S
Amanda Lewis, 2019
Our Historic Treasures docent, Amanda, was knowledgeable, articulate, and enthusiastic! We learned a lot about the construction of commercial buildings in Chicago from 1890 to 1930, and were greatly enriched by Amanda’s presentation. Thanks Amanda!!! – Ninga873
Kelly Manteck, 2020
Kelly is amazing. She’s so knowledgeable and down to earth. Definitely try and get on one of her River Cruise tours!
Marcia Matavulj, 2008
I had previously been to the Marshall Field building, when I was a very young child. It was the first time I had ever ridden on an escalator, so it was wonderful to revisit that grand building. I also had stayed in the Palmer House but was unaware of its marvelous history. Marcia made it all come alive for me in her Historic Treasures tour. – Anna_B
Burt Michaels, 2019
The CAC tours are always good, and you learn a lot about things you may have already seen before. Our Historic Treasures tour guide Burt did a great job. – Alan K
Lori Nelson, 2020
I had such a great time on this River Cruise tour- our guide Lori was super knowledgeable, had wonderful delivery, and was a very captivating storyteller! I loved the trip. – Kelly Holden
Liz Peterson Hall, 2019
Our Walk Through Time guide Liz was excellent. The tour was the perfect length and gave a strong sense of Chicago’s history. I recommend it even if you are not a building buff. – Donald Pueblo West, CO
Mark Purdome, 2019
The River Cruise docent was fantastic! His name was Mark (sorry I didn’t get his last name). It was the 5:30 tour yesterday. His timing was excellent, even for those of us in the bow. His building descriptors were excellent, making it very easy to understand which building he was referring to. He wove Chicago history and basic architecture and engineering into his tour and did it all with a delightfully welcoming and engaging delivery. One of the best river cruises I’ve ever been on, and I’ve been on a lot of them! I thought it would be nice to pass along kudos to Mark (and I’m not a Yelp review-type person). – Charles T. Stanford
Constance Rajala, 2008
Dear Chicago Architecture Center, I had to write and tell you about the historical and amazing tour of Graceland Cemetery I had today with the most wonderful docent, Constance. She was so knowledgeable about the departed that are at rest there and made the tour very interesting. Also her kindness was very appreciated. She’s a true asset to the CAC. I would highly recommend this tour to anyone interested in Chicago history. I look forward to future tours.
Steve Redfield, 2019
The skyline on the River Cruise is breathtaking…but our VOLUNTEER narrator was the best, If you don t have the interest cultivate it. Steven was our narrator, directly from the institute in Chicago…he made history, the present and future all converge into a wonderfully delightful experience. I give him 10 stars; he was absolutely the best. I can’t comment on other trips but mine was a repeater next time I’m in the city. I didn’t get to speak with you after the excursion, but I would have said WOW. – sminard2018 Birmingham, AL
Marcia Ross, 1994
Marcia our Chicago Modern guide was amazing. extremely knowledgeable and very friendly. Loved walking around Chicago’s beautiful architecture wonderland. – Ella G
Ellen Shubart, 2006
I was told one of the must things to do in Chicago was the River Cruise architecture tour and boy were they right. Very informative docent, I believe her name was Elena, made it very interesting from the history of Chicago to the building’s architecture designs. It was 90 minutes long but didn’t seem like it as we cruised up and down the river. – Mdreese64
Lindy Trigg, 2003
It was a beautiful crisp Sunday morning in Chicago. Lindy, the docent, was excellent. We learned a lot about new and old Chicago architecture on the River Cruise tour. – 3722kel Glen Ellyn, IL
Mitzi Walchak, 2003
We had a great time on the River Cruise tour and learned a lot about the city, this was helped with the knowledge of Mitzi, our tour guide for this trip. She had a great knowledge of the architecture of the city, it was an absolute pleasure to hear them speak with such passion of the city. I would recommend this trip to anyone who is visiting.
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I love reading the KUDOS section each month. Docents’ efforts are stunning and uplifting to guests AND fellow docents!
I second Suzy! Very proud to be among this company!