Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago

It has very beautiful stained glass work and mosaics everywhere. The dome is magnificent. And it was fun trying to read all the different inscriptions in various languages. I managed to read the Hebrew, Latin, Spanish, and French pretty well. I figured out the German after a while. The Italian was harder for me, and I had no idea about the Greek, Egyptian, and Arabic. I pulled out only one Greek root word, and I at least recognized a letter or two in Arabic. Chinese and Egyptian, I knew nothing. Also lots of interesting little designs all around if you look for them. We had fun exploring. Great view of surrounding area from large upstairs windows. Other exhibits were closed when we went. The building was formerly the Chicago city library from the late 1800s. Very cool building.

Unfortunately many of the rooms, exhibits were off limits because preparations for another exhibit and concert . Free admission. Be sure to speak to the person in information booth. She provided lots of info and also directed us to visit the dome in Macy's store. Beautiful mosaics and domes. The Proverbs on the walls 3rd floor and other mosaics. Interesting that the Center was at one time a library . A MUST to visit !

I absolutely enjoyed my trip to Cultural Center. Even though there was a construction going on, I was still able to see this stained glass on the ceiling and it was so so beautiful. There were other nice exhibitions. Worth visiting.

If you like the decorative arts, it's worth making a side trip to see the two ceilings in this building. Note that the space is sometimes used for events (like weddings and such) and so is often closed. But there are also lots of materials about cultural happenings around the city if you like to partake in such activities while traveling.

The building is old style architecture. Welcome Centre gives useful information about the city. Story Corps is an interesting section in which you can hear stories of different people about things that changed their lives etc. The two halls inside, GAR and Preston Bradley Halls are awe inspiring. Worth a visit if there's an hour or two to spare