

Entry to the Hancock Observatory begins at the concourse level, where a re-creation of the building’s 1965 construction site includes blueprints and exposed steel beams. Then, take the 39-second ride on the fastest elevator in North America 1,000 feet above the Magnificent Mile. On the 94th-floor observatory of Chicago’s third-tallest building, visitors not only get a spectacular view of the city (and on a clear day, Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan), but Soundscope 3-D "talking" telescopes that “speak” in four languages, and the city’s only open-air Skywalk -- a patio-like enclosure with industrial-strength screens.