Merchandise Mart
Merchandise Mart
4
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
The largest commercial building in the world. First two floors are essentially a mall, and the rest is business offices.
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listingTours & experiences
Explore different ways to experience this place.
What is Travelers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travelers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travelers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Top ways to experience Merchandise Mart
The area
Address
Neighborhood: Near North Side
How to get there
- Merchandise Mart • 2 min walk
- Clark/Lake • 6 min walk
Reach out directly
Best nearby
Restaurants
3,650 within 5 kms
Attractions
1,053 within 10 kms
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.0
156 reviews
Excellent
62
Very good
62
Average
25
Poor
6
Terrible
1
These reviews have been automatically translated from their original language.
This service may contain translations provided by Google. Google disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to translations, including any warranties of accuracy, reliability, and any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and freedom from forgery.
charlesthebarles
wilmington, NC217 contributions
Feb 2020
This beautiful Art Deco building is not worth a visit unless you have interpreters that can tell you what you're looking at. Building personnel do run tours. Every couple of weeks in the winter Chicago Architecture Center offers 45" tours, but our guide merely did a lot of historical name-dropping and couldn't answer questions about how the art deco elements were incorporated into the structure. While it's nice current owners have been restored the gorgeous lobby and made the building economically viable with corporate offices, its working environment offers little for visitors with few shops. Eating choices reduced to a fast food court. It didn't help that not all the information screens that were supposed to guide you around were not functioning properly.
Written February 27, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
BrakiWorldTraveler
Belgrade, Serbia20,003 contributions
Apr 2022
Huge, enormous, grandiose....are adjectives to describe this edifice.
First we saw it during our 90 min architectural boat tour. The guide stated many hard to believe figures about its construction in terms of miles of wiring, concrete used, window numbers,...etc and that until recently this building only had its own zip number.
Tomorrow we walked the Riverwalk and standing in front of it felt like ants.
It's an enormous shopping and event venue with an odd mixture of Art Deco and massive brutalist Soviet architecture.
First we saw it during our 90 min architectural boat tour. The guide stated many hard to believe figures about its construction in terms of miles of wiring, concrete used, window numbers,...etc and that until recently this building only had its own zip number.
Tomorrow we walked the Riverwalk and standing in front of it felt like ants.
It's an enormous shopping and event venue with an odd mixture of Art Deco and massive brutalist Soviet architecture.
Written May 23, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
John
Lexington, KY9 contributions
Jun 2023 • Couples
Have been aware of this remarkable center of style and design for years, of course. Finally decided to pay homage to say I was not disappointed is a gross understatement. The design shops are fantastic. They are staffed by the most pleasant people I have met in retail in some time. Highly, highly recommended.
Have always passed this by in an automobile or the L or while walking. The exterior is incredible. When you are up reasonably close. Gazing at it from the green area right along the river is terrific as is the view from across the river. The main lobby is absolutely nothing short of magnificent.
Overall, I would highly recommend anything from a quick visit in the lobby or several hours strolling through the building, particularly given its proximity to downtown
Have always passed this by in an automobile or the L or while walking. The exterior is incredible. When you are up reasonably close. Gazing at it from the green area right along the river is terrific as is the view from across the river. The main lobby is absolutely nothing short of magnificent.
Overall, I would highly recommend anything from a quick visit in the lobby or several hours strolling through the building, particularly given its proximity to downtown
Written June 28, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Taylor B
Chicago, IL8,458 contributions
Jun 2024 • Business
When my wife and I moved to our current address in 1983, we hired a designer to dress up our new residence. The first thing she did was arrange for us to spend two days at Chicago's Merchandise Mart, visiting one retail store after another, looking for sofas, chairs, tables, chandeliers, mirrors, paintings, artwork, lamps, everything necessary to fill a 2,000-square-foot apartment. If the Merchandise Mart doesn't have it, it must not exist. Located at 222 Merchandise Mart Plaza in downtown Chicago, with Orleans Street to the west, Wells Street to the east, Kinzie Street to the North and the Chicago River to the south, it was the largest building in the world with 4.2 million square feet of floor space when it was built by department store magnate Marshall Field in 1930. It realized Field's dream of a single wholesale center for the entire nation and consolidated 13 different warehouses. The numbers are staggering...25 stories, two city blocks, 7.5 miles of corridors, 30 elevators, 4,000 windows, 29 million bricks, 40 miles of plumbing, 380 miles of wiring, 4 million cubic yards of concrete, 200,000 cubic feet of stone, 60,000 tons of steel. Today, the Art Deco structure that once had its own ZIP code is valued at nearly $1 billion. And it remains the world's largest commercial building and design center and one of Chicago's premier international business locations. It is home to several enterprises, including Shop at the Mart, Designer Center showrooms, Conagra Brands, Allstate, Medline Industries, Beam Santory, the Chicago campus of the Illinois Institute of Art and the Grainger Technology Group branch of W.W. Grainger. You'll find everything from A to Z...furniture stores, apparel shops, bookstores, newsstands, restaurants, food court, shoe shine stand, financial services, travel services, photography services, specialty food and wine stores, beauty services, dry cleaner, even a U.S. Post Office and a Federal Express location. Hungry? Looking to take a lunch break? Choose Blackwood BBQ or Billy Goat Tavern or Marshall's Landing or Dunkin Donuts or Mezza Grill.
Written June 7, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
SusieD
Indianapolis, IN324 contributions
Dec 2021
My husband and I had the privilege of going to The Mart for the first time Dec. 2021. The vendors display high end merchandise, and the creatives were happy to share information with us lay people. One must experience this massive building, as it was an indescribable, well, experience. We went back the next day even though most places were closed for the holidays. It is a marvelous way to spend some time - a lot of time - when in Chicago. It leaves an impression on visitors, and it is one of the most memorable buildings in Chicago.
Written January 11, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ruth K
Flat Rock, NC3 contributions
Sep 2022 • Solo
I am a Chicago native and an Interior Designer. I spent many a happy day shopping at the Mart for my clients, sometimes with them, sometimes alone. After we started building our home in Naples, FL in the summer of 2003, I practically lived at the Mart buying furniture for our new home. I also spent time shopping for antiques at the many wonderful antique stores that I was familiar with in the Chicago area. We moved into our new home in February 2004. All of my stuff was delivered and our home was starting to take shape. However, I needed the drapes, wall hangings, etc. I was up and down Route 41 in Naples everyday to finish furnishing our home. It turned out so well that the Home and Design magazine in Naples featured it in their December 2005 - January 2006 issue. One of the many things that I miss about Chicago, since we no longer have a home there, is the Merchandise Mart. It is a magical place!
Written August 16, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Grover R
Pensacola, FL22,409 contributions
Jun 2022
This building dominates the Chicago River just east of the river branch junction. You will get great views of it from a river tour. It was the largest building in the world when completed in 1930 as the consolidation market for Chicago's wholesalers. Along with the Chicago Board of Trade building, they are the best examples of Art Deco architecture in Chicago. Along the river, the building displays bust of the great US retailers, most of whom were from Chicago. Another great building in this city.
Written November 24, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
pyegirl
Rome, Italy1,424 contributions
Sep 2023 • Family
This is the place to go if you are in the market for new, high end kitchen appliances or remodel fixtures and you want to see them and talk to peopel who know the differences between all the diff models/products. For those of us who live in small markets and can't actually see the actual appliances and are left to guess with either sales people who don't know squat (eg. Best Buy or small appliance stores that hire your college student on vacation), this is the place to go to really shop.
Make an appointment with all the show rooms and have them tell you about their products. They don't actually sell you the product, but they are very knowledgeable. Thermador, Bosch, Miele, Wolf, Monogram, Dakor, Waterworks, you name it, it's there.
One stop shopping with people who know their stuff.
Make an appointment with all the show rooms and have them tell you about their products. They don't actually sell you the product, but they are very knowledgeable. Thermador, Bosch, Miele, Wolf, Monogram, Dakor, Waterworks, you name it, it's there.
One stop shopping with people who know their stuff.
Written September 27, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sue C
8 contributions
Dec 2024 • Friends
Walked to the Merchandise Mart area in order to see the light show in cold and windy weather (nothing unusual for Chicago in December). Got to the viewing place with time to spare, so we really got cold while waiting for the show to start at 7:30 p.m. Time came and went--no lights. Very disappointed that they light show did not happen. According to all information, it was to be at 7:30 and 8:00 every day in December. Do not know why it didn't happen.
Written December 16, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
BRavel
Saint-Etienne, France1,862 contributions
Sep 2024 • Couples
Externally we are surprised by the mass of the building. Inside the luxury shops follow one another.
The aerial metro that passes by is also a superb sight. Go down to the deck where the view from each side is simply magnificent.
The aerial metro that passes by is also a superb sight. Go down to the deck where the view from each side is simply magnificent.
Automatically translated
Written November 1, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tickets do not have to be purchased for anyone.
Written August 29, 2017
Showing results 1-4 of 4
*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing