Images of America

1. The 1893 World's Columbian Exposition -- 2. Grant Park -- 3. Michigan Avenue and Lake Shore Drive -- 4. The Loop and Downtown -- 5. The Near North -- 6. The North Side -- 7. The West Side -- 8. The South Side

Chicago's architecture has been called the most important in the United States by the American Institute of Architects, and perhaps no other type of architecture has had as significant of an impact on the city's look, feel, and character as classical architecture. Chicago's connection to classical architecture dates back to the famed 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, with it's gleaming "White City" of ornate Beaux-Arts buildings. After the fair, the "Plan of Chicago," developed by Daniel Burnham, the fair's lead architect, paved the way for the further spread of classical building not only in Chicago, but throughout the country