Find Your Neighborhood Landmark On This Map Of Famous Chicago Sites

By Kate Shepherd in Arts & Entertainment on Sep 15, 2015 5:22PM

Every Chicago neighborhood has its own distinctive landmark, from the Beverly castle to the University of Chicago gates in Hyde Park to the Swedish flag water tower above the Swedish-American Museum in Andersonville.

Local illustrator and Chicago architecture buff Phil Thompson created a Chicago neighborhood map, "Chicago: Beyond the Loop", that illustrates these unique landmarks, according to Curbed.

Some of the landmarks represented include the Kimball El Station in Albany Park, the Old Stockyard Gate in Back of the Yards, the Rainbow Pillars in Boystown, U.S. Cellular Field in Bridgeport, the Migration Monument in Bronzeville, the Conservatory in Lincoln Park, Wrigley Field in Wrigleyville, the Edgewater Beach Apartments in Edgewater, the Flat Iron Building in Wicker Park, the 26th Street Arch in Little Village, the Illinois Centennial Monument in Logan Square, the South Side Masonic Temple in Englewood and the Gateway to Paseo Boricua in Humboldt Park.

The map has drawn some complaints online for ignoring some major South and West Side neighborhoods, such as Woodlawn, McKinley Park, Lawndale and Austin. Copies of the map are available for purchase through the Artists Frame Service in Lincoln Park.

If you're in the mood for exploring Chicago landmarks, hundreds of famous Chicago buildings will be open to the public on Oct. 17 and 18 during the Chicago Architecture Foundation's annual Open House Chicago. The list of open sites has not been released yet but it's a good bet that at least some of these landmarks will be on the list. In past years, private clubs and offices, Frank Lloyd Wright houses, skyscrapers, mansions, churches and other buildings that represent Chicago's cultural history have been open to the public for free tours. And if you want to spend a few hours at a site, there's still time to sign up to be a volunteer greeter.