Souvenir stores are filled with great keepsakes for visitors to any place. But sometimes, you want something that says a more about the place than yet another coffee mug or refrigerator magnet. We’ve curated these cool Chicago gifts that deepen your love and understanding of the city’s history and culture.
Chicago: A City Above All
Stunning Photographs: After visiting the Flyover at Navy Pier, stop by its gift shop and pick up Barry Butler’s book, Chicago: A City Above All. With more than 100 pages, Butler’s photos capture the skyscrapers and neighborhoods in glorious detail. Butler has a second book, Chicago: Morning, Noon & Night, which includes a chapter of his photos that have been exhibited at Navy Pier.
Great Buildings of Chicago Knowledge Cards
Tour Chicago From Home: Bring home the Windy City’s famous architecture tours with Great Buildings Of Chicago Knowledge Cards. Available at the Chicago Architecture Center’s Design Store on Wacker Dr., this set features photographs of 48 local landmarks with historical information on the front. Scroll through them to go deeper into the city’s history, and you can make a game out of them.
Chicago Skyline Pillow
Stylish and Comfy: The shop at the Museum of Contemporary Art is famous for its inventive and sometimes whimsical items. It even has a section devoted to Chicago gifts, such as Beyond Cushions’ pillow that depicts the city’s skyline from Lake Michigan in the summer. It incorporates the city’s iconic landmarks in mostly black-and-white, but with some color for emphasis.
Chicago 1893: The City Beautiful Game
Rebuild the City: Transit Tees in Wicker Park and Andersonville creates hyper-local products rooted in the town’s history and culture. In its game, Chicago 1893: The City Beautiful, players compete to rebuild in the years between the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. The goal is to grow your neighborhood with infrastructure and have your alderman control the city’s most powerful ward.
Starry Chicago Jigsaw Puzzle
Recasting Classic Art: Starry Night is one of Vincent Van Gogh’s most famous paintings. Lantern Press’ 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle reimagines it as Chicago, looking at the skyline from Lake Michigan. Included in the box is a poster for reference. You can find it at many souvenir shops, including I Love Chicago on Michigan Ave.
Chicago Sauce
Savory Goodness: The seven flavors that comprise a true Chicago hot dog–onion, mustard, sweet relish, dill pickle, tomato, sport peppers and celery salt–are now available as a single condiment, Big Fork’s Chicago Sauce. Ideal as a marinade for pork, chicken or vegetables, it can be found at many souvenir stores throughout the city, such as The Neighborhood at Navy Pier. Available in original, Fire (spicy) Fry (for dipping) and Gangster (with giardiniera, mayonnaise and truffle oil).
Frank Lloyd Wright Stained Glass
Bring the Prairie School Home: Frank Lloyd Wright revolutionized American architecture from his studio in suburban Oak Park. Located in the Loop, the Rookery–whose lobby was designed by Wright–has a shop for the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust. Inside, you can purchase panels based on his stained glass windows in the Robie House and other masterpieces. Pieces come with a stand for table display and a chain for hanging.
CTA Poster
For Vintage Train Lovers: In 1997, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the “L,” the Chicago Transit Authority commissioned a replica of a 1926 poster. It shows trains going through the Loop as cars and pedestrians flood the street below, with the words “Avoid Street Congestion” at the top. You can find it at the shops at both the Skydeck in the Willis Tower and 360 Chicago in the former John Hancock Center, or at PosterPlus.com.
