Stride StoriesRunning tour · Chicago
Skyscrapers and the River
1.5 mi run
How it works. Press start and go. As you reach each place, a narrator tells its story, timed to your pace. Your music drops down while a story plays and comes back after. Tours download to your phone and play without a connection.
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The stories on this route
The Rookery
Look at the stonework around the LaSalle Street entrance. Those are carved birds, a nod to the building's name. This is the Rookery, finished in 1888 by Daniel Burnham and John Wellborn Root. Before it, this site held a water tank and a temporary City Hall.
Chicago Board of Trade
Look down LaSalle Street. The tower closing off the end is the Chicago Board of Trade, opened in 1930. On top of its pyramid roof stands Ceres, Roman goddess of grain and harvest. She's aluminum, about thirty-one feet tall and 6,500 pounds, by sculptor John Storrs.
Monadnock Building
Look at the north half of this building, the Jackson end. Plain masonry walls, stripped of every ornament.
Chicago Theatre
Look across State Street at the big vertical sign spelling CHICAGO. It's about seventy-five feet tall, around six stories. It's a landmark on this street, and a symbol of the city.
Marina City
Look at the two round towers on the north bank. That's Marina City, and people often describe them as corn cobs.
Wrigley Building
Look at the gleaming white building with the clock tower, at the north end of the Michigan Avenue Bridge. That's the Wrigley Building.
Stories researched October 2026 · every fact checked against a source
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