Tour-a! Tour-a! Tour-a!

Not just for tourists anymore!  The weather is finally warm, the skies are (at least temporarily) clear.  You might want to take advantage of the nice weather with a summer tour of Uptown, where you just might learn something new about this place we call home.

• Forgotten Chicago:  Sunday July 10 - Walking Tour of Uptown.  "Join us as we walk the streets of Uptown, a neighborhood which has been constantly changing and fluctuating since its inception. From its beginnings as an upper-middle class suburb to the booming entertainment and vice districts of the 1920′s, Uptown has evolved into a veritable menagerie of people and cultures, all of which is reflected in Uptown’s strikingly diverse built environment." $15, 2.5 hours, reservations required.  More info here.
• Chicago Architecture Tours:  Saturday, July 16, August 20, September 17 -- Walking Tour of Uptown. "Uptown was once a playground for fashionable young Chicagoans with plenty of spending money. Those days are gone, but many terra cotta treasures remain. Come explore the heart of this North Side district and the buildings that stand in testament to the popular styles of 1920s Chicago." $15 ($10 for students and seniors, free to CAF members), 2 hours, reservations recommended but not required.  More info here.
• Uptown & Argyle Street: Chicago Neighborhood Tours - Saturday, October 8.  "Chicago’s rich architectural history and ethnic diversity intersect in the Uptown neighborhood. Take a stroll along Hutchinson Street and behold one of the country’s largest treasure troves of Prairie-style mansions by architect George W. Maher. Check out the gleaming beaux-arts building at Broadway and Lawrence Avenue, formerly the Uptown Bank and one of the neighborhood’s most visible landmarks. Take a walk through Southeast Asia as you peruse the shops and eateries along Argyle Street."  4.5 hours, $30 (seniors, students & kids $25), reservations required, leaves from downtown.  More info here.
• Or schedule your own do-it-yourself tour, either via the City of Chicago website or TimeOut Chicago's mini gangster tour