Lisa Shames 2022-12-12 09:01:31
From a front-row seat on the riverfront to spaces with sky-high city views, Chicago offers loads of Instagram-worthy event venues. OUTDOOR VENUES The Chicago Riverwalk provides a variety of fun event options with its outdoor restaurants and bars. Leisure river tours and dinner cruises are available via the Chicago Architecture Foundation Center River Cruise aboard Chicago’s First Lady, Wendella Tours & Cruises, Mercury Chicago’s Skyline Cruiseline, or Shoreline Sightseeing. Cruise the Chicago River during an elegant seated dinner on board Odyssey Chicago River, a climate-controlled, glass-enclosed vessel for up to 200 guests. Set inside Lincoln Park’s 350-seat Theater on the Lake, The Lakefront Restaurant offers Midwestern fare and stunning views of Lake Michigan for 125 seated guests indoors and 80 on its patio. Go big at 63rd Street Beach House, which accommodates up to 3,000 for cocktail parties on its various courtyards and balconies overlooking Lake Michigan. Choose from a variety of equally beautiful venues for up to 7,000 guests at Millennium Park, including architectural wonder Jay Pritzker Pavilion. Set among lush indoor and outdoor gardens, Garfield Park Conservatory offers a tropical paradise for 300 guests seated or 400 cocktail style. Inside the historic Morton Salt complex, The Salt Shed is a unique indoor-outdoor performance space that can accommodate 20 to 6,000 guests. Award-winning Harborside International Golf Center provides a beautiful backdrop for plated dinners and cocktail receptions for 220 to 300 guests. VENUES IN THE SKY Experience 360-degree views on the 99th floor at Skydeck Chicago, which seats 175 guests or up to 300 for receptions. Venture out onto The Ledge for one-of-a-kind views. Located across the Chicago River from the iconic Wrigley Building, tri-level LH Rooftop at LondonHouse Chicago accommodates 250 guests for receptions. On the 94th floor, 360 CHICAGO offers a variety of spaces for groups up to 550, along with thrilling bird’s-eye views from its TILT ride. The lively dance club environs at ROOF on theWit accommodates up to 300 people under a retractable roof, complete with dramatic city views. Chicago meets the French Riviera at rooftop Chateau Carbide at Pendry Chicago, featuring an outdoor garden and indoor seating for up to 80 guests. Sitting atop a former historic Hyde Park hotel, The Penthouse offers art deco design paired with panoramic city views for up to 250 seated guests. MUSIC VENUES Multilevel House of Blues is a soulful music hall offering a variety of event venues, with food to match, from morning ‘til late night for up 1,800 guests. Set inside a landmark building in Pilsen, Thalia Hall is a modern-day town hall that can accommodate 800 guests reception style and 240 seated. World-class music and a laid-back vibe are all part of Buddy Guy’s Legends, which can accommodate up to 600 guests. State-of-the-art Radius, formerly a steel factory, offers 55,000 square feet across multiple rooms for 2,500 to 3,800 guests. Rich in history and architecture, music venue Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom can accommodate up to 4,873 guests. Chicago’s premier winery, restaurant, and venue, City Winery West Loop provides many options for private events, including a concert space, for up to 200 seated and 350 cocktail style. M Lounge, an intimate venue for groups of up to 30, offers a chic jazz lounge setting and some of the city’s best martinis. A bilevel performance venue, Hyde Park’s The Promontory seats up to 150 and 300 cocktail style, and is known for its variety of live music shows. MUSEUMS With its variety of event spaces, including an outdoor plaza and theatre, and proximity to local treasures, the Chicago History Museum provides a unique setting for 10 to 1,500 guests. From a lush garden and outdoor terrace to a former stock exchange trading room, the various event venues at the Art Institute of Chicago can accommodate up to 500 seated guests. With its entire colorful aquatic world as your backdrop, the Shedd Aquarium provides venue space for 100 to 1,600 guests for seated dinners and lively strolling receptions. Overlooking the Chicago River, the two-level Chicago Architecture Center features a spacious atrium lobby and several galleries accommodating 300 guests. Offering one-of-a-kind views inside and out, the Museum of Science and Industry can seat up to 1,500 guests. Its ecofriendly, free-standing Smart Home seats 40 for dinner or up to 300 reception style. The new Museum Garden offers breathtaking views of the city’s skyline and Lake Michigan for up to 600 seated guests and 1,600 for receptions. The DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center, the nation’s oldest independent African American museum, can accommodate up to 450 guests seated, 800 standing. The museum showcases exhibits with themes such as the civil rights movement in Chicago. Located on Michigan Avenue, the American Writers Museum is a fascinating interactive museum offering event space for groups from 20 to 250 guests. Small private group tours are available. PRIVATE EVENT SPACES Situated on the Chicago River, The Old Post Office offers event-goers an art deco setting, complete with floor-to-ceiling white marble walls and gold leaf ceilings. The Historic Lobby hosts 800 seated or 1,400 reception style. From a former paper mill to a sophisticated event space for up to 1,000 standing guests, The Geraghty features 22-foot ceilings throughout, overhead LED wall-to-wall lighting, custom chandeliers, and a VIP green room. Offering more than 50,000 square feet of versatile event and meeting spaces within a stunning modern building, Venue SIX10 can accommodate up to 350 seated guests. Housed in a renovated historic building, Morgan Manufacturing offers more than 32,000 square feet of world-class event spaces — with an elegant-industrial design and soaring ceilings — for up to 500 guests. Built in 1936 and formerly home to the Illinois Automobile Club, the beautifully renovated, three-story Revel Motor Row provides a unique backdrop for a variety of events for up to 2,600 guests. SPORTS VENUES Host VIP sports fans in the private suites at the United Center, home of the Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks. Suites here accommodate up to 24 guests, with full-service catering and boxed meal options. Also available for select concerts and special events. Home to the Chicago White Sox, Bridgeport’s Guaranteed Rate Field accommodates up to 400 guests during baseball games. Space rentals are also available on non-game days. A meet-and-greet with a former Chicago Cubs baseball player, a pre-game field tour, and gourmet food and beverages are some of the private suite features available at Wrigley Field. Gallagher Way, the stadium’s adjacent open-air plaza, hosts 3,000 theatre style, with catering from favorite local restaurants. Serving as the home court of WNBA champs Chicago Sky, the 10,000- seat Wintrust Arena is available for general sessions or corporate special events, such as concerts and parties. Beautifully appointed suites across two levels include catering and private bar options. Set up a lounge, game area, or stage on the seasonal outdoor plaza. Soldier Field has several different indoor and outdoor venues, some offering beautiful lake views and landscaped parklands. Rent the whole stadium for massive events of up to 63,000 people, including 133 sky suites. COWORKING SPACES Momentum, a South Loop coffee and coworking incubator, also functions as an event space with multiple areas to choose from. Mox.E is a flexible event space with enterprise-level technology and amenities that support ethnic diversity and foster entrepreneurial collaboration. Located within the same building, Overflow Coffee provides the perfect pick-me-up. With multiple Chicago locations, Convene goes above and beyond with its beautifully designed and curated event and meeting spaces, with best-inclass technology and unparalleled hospitality. Built around an open-air courtyard, Guild Row is an ultra-flexible event space featuring unique offerings such as a teaching kitchen, woodshop, and live-fire cooking station. ART GALLERIES A former 19th-century church with historically significant architecture, Epiphany Center for the Arts offers 42,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space for up to 2,000 guests reception style and 850 for banquets. Beauty abounds both inside and out at Bronzeville’s renowned Gallery Guichard, featuring an outdoor patio and sculpture garden, with colorful original artwork serving as a backdrop for events. With a goal of producing events and interactions that reflect the Englewood community in a positive light, the Englewood Arts Collective is reframing the mainstream narrative by offering local artists for event appearances, from art lectures to mural painting. ENTERTAINMENT FOR YOUR SPECIAL EVENT Check out a wide variety of local options. Dance Spectacular Productions works closely with event planners to create customized shows for any theme and budget. South Chicago Dance Theatre is a multicultural troupe that fuses classic and contemporary dance styles, while also preserving historic works. Lola Bard Productions provides world-renowned jazz entertainment, classical musicians, and holiday carolers for corporate events and cocktail parties. Up to 330 guests can be accommodated at Cabaret ZaZou for dinner, cocktails, or meetings, with unique entertainment options available. Shall We Wine specializes in interactive events, including wine tasting, cooking classes, and cocktail-making classes, with optional magic, comedy, and games. eta Creative Arts Foundation, a cultural resource for the preservation and promotion of the African American aesthetic in Chicago, offers event rentals for up to 200, including its theatre. Treuer Laughs creates diverse comedy shows for corporate and private events. The DJ Firm provides the best DJs across Chicagoland for events large and small. Find even more exciting venue and entertainment ideas.
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