State Street

Sightseeing and shopping in the heart of the city
Noteworthy for: As Sinatra sang in his song ‘Chicago’, “On State Street, that great street, I just want to say/They do things that they don’t do on Broadway”.

Bustling State Street in the Loop is the dead center of Chicago: the east/west dividing line by which the city’s grid system is measured. It’s a good place to get your bearings, highlighting the mix of commerce, tourism and architecture that has come to define the Windy City.
The limelight may have shifted to the Magnificent Mile in recent years, but there’s still plenty to see here, the street acting like a mini-encyclopedia of Chicago architecture. You'll find the neo-gothic Holy Name Cathedral here, the flamboyant Beaux Arts Harold Washington Library, the elegantly minimal 1930s Art Moderne-style Fisher Studio Houses and Marshall Fields’ magnificent department store – now renamed Macy’s.

Shopping here is mostly big-box retail in the form of Zara, Urban Outfitters and Sears, but while it's hardly cutting edge, there are still some good fashion bargains to be rooted out at State Street stores.