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by Michael Weiland, Docent class of 1984

As an “outer suburbanite,” now working full-time at home, I almost always depend on my automobile to take me to CAC. Here is my rundown on several parking options near the CAC.

The Illinois Center area is a warren of stacked streets, two or three levels deep. It can be intimidating to the uninitiated. This map (public domain, found in Wikipedia) does the best job I’ve seen of explaining the various levels and how to navigate them. While a dedicated in-dash GPS navigates pretty well down there, cell phone navigation tends to struggle. So it helps to have some familiarity before you get there. 

I strongly recommend parking services like SpotHero, ParkWhiz and ParkChirp. These let you pre-plan parking with a set rate and use the app on your phone to enter the garages. All these services allow free cancellation if you cancel before the reserved starting time. Be sure to set an adequate ending time; going overtime can be an expensive surprise. Often on weekends and evenings they will give you, at no extra charge, more time than you asked for, but you can leave any time. 

One Illinois Center – 111 E Wacker

Map: 1 and 2

You can enter at Upper Wacker just west of the CAC (Map 1), and alternatively from South Water Street just east of (Upper) Michigan Avenue.

Pros: 

• This is as close as you can get to the CAC: literally right below it.
• Validated parking is available from CAC.

Cons:

• CAC validated parking has a 4-hour maximum.
• Spaces and aisles are kind of tight.
• Available on parking apps, but often more expensive. 
• Note that SpotHero and ParkWhiz mislabel the South Water Street entrance as “306 E South Water St”; it’s really more like 112 E. South Water. (306 would be east of Columbus Drive!) 

Michigan Plaza

Map: 3

This is harder to find, as it is on the lower-lower level. Once you’re in, you are under a building that connects to Illinois Center. When you exit on foot, take the parking elevator to the top (the 205 N Michigan lobby, one level above street level), and you can walk indoors all the way to CAC. Alternatively, take the elevator to “M” (Michigan Avenue) level if you want to walk outside along Michigan Avenue. 

Pros:

• Almost as convenient as 111 E Wacker
• On the weekends, plenty of room. The spaces are long and narrow; during business hours the valets will put cars nose-to-tail, but not on the weekend.
• Often the least expensive option on ParkChirp.

Cons:

• Harder to find (at least the first time) because this is on the Service Level. 
  • I usually reach this by getting to Lower Michigan Avenue (usually from eastbound Illinois St.)… go south as far as you can (Lower E. South Water St), left/east to Columbus Service Level, right/south to Lake Service Level and right/west on Lake Service Level. 
  • If coming from the west on Lower Wacker, keep right to go straight on Lower E. South Water St, all the way to Columbus Service Level, then continue as above.
  • The garage access is at the far end of the block. These streets are all blue in the map. 
• I haven’t tried this during business hours, but the signs indicate you may need to leave your keys so they can double-park. 

One Two Pru (Prudential Plaza) Parking

Map: 4 (note separate “in” and “out” locations)

The garage under Prudential Plaza. Entrance is from middle-level Stetson at middle-level Lake. From (upper) Michigan or eastbound Upper Wacker, take E. South Water east and continue under the Michigan Plaza pedway. After one block, turn right at the stop sign, which is middle-level Stetson. Stetson ends after one block (at middle Lake St) and the Prudential Plaza parking entrance is on your right at that corner.

Pros:

• Clean and spacious garage. There are multiple levels and plenty of space.
• Spaces are diagonal with plenty of room on either side. 
• During the week, pedestrian exit to the NW is pretty close to Michigan & Lake.

Cons:

• The car exit is not where the car entrance is. You will exit onto Randolph Service Level, very close to the South Shore Line portion of Millennium Station. This is the same level as the entrance/exit for Michigan Plaza (but a block farther south).
• Evenings and weekends, the only open pedestrian exit is to the east side of Two Pru, onto Stetson, between Randolph and Lake. Not really a problem, just a little more walking.
• Some of the spaces are marked as “Reserved”; don’t park there.

Three Illinois Center – 303 E Wacker

Map: 5

Despite the address, you enter and exit this garage from the east side of (middle) Columbus where it intersects (middle) E South Water.

Pros:

• Often very attractively priced.
• Elevators take you to the street level (Columbus and Wacker), or to the concourse level so you can take Pedway west all the way to Illinois Center, via Columbus Plaza and the Hyatt Regency. 
• If you’re aiming for the Chicago’s First Lady docks, you can go out at street level, cross Wacker, then take the outdoor stairwell at the NE corner of Wacker and Columbus, a shortcut versus going down at Michigan Avenue.

Cons:

• The garage aisles are narrow, and the spaces are perpendicular; you could struggle with a larger car. I always manage to find a space, but it often seems like there are not many to spare.

Aon Center

Map: 6

A very clean, secure garage with nice spaces, just east of One Two Pru. Entry is on middle Lake, just east of One Two Pru; access like One Two Pru, or access middle Lake from middle Columbus. (Middle Columbus is the level that has the bridge over the river and continues south through Grant Park.)

Pros:

• Secure. Even with a pre-paided reservation from a parking app, they will take your driver’s license info and may want to look in your trunk.
• Hybrid cars (and expectant mothers) have dedicated spaces on the first level very close to the elevators.

Cons:

• Even with a pre-paid reservation from a parking app, they will take your driver’s license info and may want to look in your trunk. 😊 
• Non-hybrid cars driven by other than expectant mothers park down a few levels, on levels 4 and 5. 
• Pedestrian exit is only to the Aon lobby, facing Randolph Street, so a little farther from CAC.

Millennium Park Garage

Map: 7

By far the largest garage on this list. Levels 2 and 3 extend all the way from Randolph to Monroe. The main entrances are on Columbus Drive, south of Randolph (the “middle level” in Illinois Center). There is also an auxiliary entrance/exit on Randolph Service Level at Columbus Service Level (near the Michigan Plaza access). 

Pros:

• Huge. Always plenty of spaces available. The spaces are generously sized. If I’m parking for CAC, I like to use the (small) levels 4, 5 or 6 on the north end; from those it’s a short walk to the elevators.
• Millennium Park Garage is often available to reserve from SpotHero, ParkWhiz or ParkChirp.
• You can take the elevator to street level (Upper Randolph near Columbus), or to Pedway level (by the Harris Theatre) if you want to walk under cover via Millennium Station to the Pedway.

Cons:

• A little farther from CAC than the other options here.

Street Parking at the Chicago’s First Lady dock 

Map: 8

I would consider this as an “emergency” option if you are going to the CFL dock and very short on time. These are the meter spaces on Wacker Service Level, steps away from the docks. These cannot be reserved in the parking apps. As with Michigan Plaza, you have to get to the “service level”; easiest way is from Lower Michigan, then east on Lower South Water, north on Stetson Service Level or Columbus Service Level. Look at the blue streets on the map.

Pros: 

• Literally steps from the CFL docks. 
• There always seem to be spaces available here.

Cons:

• Probably more expensive than the alternatives: $7/hour. You can pay at the meter box, or use the ParkChicago parking meter app (parkchicago.com); you will need to set up and fund an account if you don’t already have one.
• Less secure than a garage.
• Two hour limit, which is really not enough time for a river cruise, but you could get lucky.

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