To some, the thought of spending nine hours a day listening to tourists babble on about how they didn’t know Chicago was on a lake or how they thought the city was full of “SNL’s” Superfan clones or other such silliness sounds like torture.
But Walt Chadick is not most people.
Chadick, a 38-year-old Arkansas native who lives in Ukrainian Village, is a tour guide and tour guide trainer for Chicago Trolley and Double Decker, a company that shuttles tourists around the city in its 75 San Francisco-style trolleys, double-decker buses and one so-called land yacht.
“Chicago is the best-kept secret in America,” he said. “Ninety percent of the people who go on my tours are blown away about the cleanliness of downtown — they have no idea that this is what Chicago looks like. They think this is a gangster-ridden, dirty, industrial town.”
That misimpression of Chicago’s scenery is common, said Ed Krystosek, a 35-year-old tour guide for Bobby’s Bike Hike, a River East-based company that offers a variety of sightseeing bike tours.
“People think Chicago is just another Midwestern industrial city like Cleveland or Detroit,” said Krystosek, an Edgewater resident. “But when we go out on the tour they find the city’s natural beauty astonishing. Most don’t realize how green it is — how many tree-lined streets, how many parks there are and how many beaches there are.”
Last year, Chicago experienced the first dip in five years in the number of tourists, the Tribune reported. About 32.4 million U.S. tourists visited Chicago in 2008. That’s about 400,000 fewer people than the year before, according to the Chicago Office of Tourism.
To help bolster its tourism industry, Chicago is going after locals and visitors alike, for the first time encouraging non-tourists to participate in some of the city’s free events, such as neighborhood and themed tours. People are looking to stretch a dollar, and any free entertainment helps, Dorothy Coyle, director of the Chicago tourism office told the Tribune.
For tour guides such as Krystosek, who also is a stage actor and director who starred in the Artistic Home’s Jeff-nominated “The Madwoman of Chaillot,” being able to show off the city is just an added benefit of a flexible full-time job that allows them to “live comfortably.” (None of the tour guides would disclose their salaries, but all said the majority of their income comes between spring break and October.) They said flexible schedules also allow them the freedom to pursue another career.
Chadick estimated that about half the Chicago Trolley and Double Decker tour guides are enrolled in programs at Second City or iO Training Center, or are stand-up comics and actors, while another 30 percent or so are aspiring poets, writers or artists.
“Basically tour guides are just charismatic people who don’t fit in an office,” he said. “It’s an easy job for someone in the arts because they may realize that they’re not going to make a living in poetry, but can pay the rent with tours. The flexibility is a big part of it. If a person has an audition they can switch their shift with someone else.”
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Chicago tours for Chicagoans
Not every tour is for fanny pack-wearing rubes eager to see the “big city” for the first time. Tours also can give Chicagoans a chance to see their city in a fresh light. Here are just a few of those off-the-beaten-path tours. Zak Stambor
IIT/Mies Society Architectural Tour
iit.edu/giving/mies/tours; 312-567-5025
If there’s a discussion about architecture, chances are Ludwig Mies van der Rohe comes up in conversation. Find out why he’s so damn important at this tour that showcases the campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology, including the masterpiece S.R. Crown Hall. Tours take place every day at 10 a.m. The tours, which are $10 per person, leave from the McCormick Tribune Campus Center (3201 S. State St.).
Untouchables Tours
gangstertour.com; 773-881-1195
You’ve seen “Public Enemies.” You’ve seen “The Untouchables.” Now learn the real-life stories of Chicago’s gangster past as you visit a slew of notorious hot spots and hit spots. Tours, which are $28 per person, leave from 600 N. Clark St. Multiple tours take place every day so check the Web site for times.
Chicago Neighborhood Tours
chicagoneighborhoodtours.com; 312-742-1190
Spend an afternoon taking in some of the neighborhoods that make Chicago one of the most diverse cities in the world. Chicago Neighborhood Tours offer a number of different tours — from a taste of Greektown, Chinatown and Little Italy to an 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition-inspired trek. Neighborhood tours are $30 for adults and $25 for seniors and students; and special interest tours, like the World’s Columbian Exposition tour, are $50 for adults and $45 for seniors and students. Tours, which are offered on select dates, pick up at the Chicago Cultural Center (77 E. Randolph St.).
Chicago Chocolate Tour
chicagochocolatetours.com/tours; 312-929-2939
Spend two hours chomping down on chocolate as you visit several of the city’s premier chocolate shops and cafes and learn about the history of chocolate. Tours, which are $40 per person, meet at 900 N. Michigan Ave. Wednesday through Sunday.
Chicago Hauntings Tour
chicagohauntings.com; 888-446-7891
Countless sites throughout the city are notorious for their ghost sightings and paranormal activity. Learn the stories behind these hauntings as you see the city in a whole new way. Tours, which are $28 for adults (plus a $2 service fee), $20 for children 8-12 years old, are offered Tuesday through Sunday. They pick up at 600 N. Clark St.
Chicago Dine-Around Progressive Dining Tour
chicagodinearound.com; 312-437-3463
Get chauffeured around the city as you enjoy a three-course meal with each course served at a different fine dining locale. Tours, which cost $85 a person, begin at the John Hancock Center (875 N. Michigan Ave.). Fridays and Saturdays.
Fork and the Road Bike Tours
forkandtheroad.com
Join two Chicago foodies on any one of their five themed culinary bike tours around the city. The tours allow cyclists to eat Mexican food on Maxwell Street (Unsung Chicago Classics Tour), Japanese at Andersonville’s Sunshine Cafe (Tour of Asia), and sample a localvore’s bounty (Local Vegetarian Chicago). Tours are $50-$60 a person and take place on either Saturday or Sunday, depending on the week.
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Touring pains
Although tour guides say that they love showing people why they love Chicago, everyone has their own pet peeves when tourists mention this or that, or do something obnoxious. Here are some of the most common irksome remarks or actions. Zak Stambor
Quick stopper
The tourist who thinks it’s OK to plant his feet right in the middle of State Street and take a picture while you’re trying to get to work. Also spotted on the escalators standing in the way as you make your way out of the subway station.
Mr. Cliche
The tourist who asks, “Why don’t you speak like the [‘SNL’ sketch] Superfans?” Other common questions include, “Isn’t every politician a crook?” and “Where’s the wind — isn’t this the Windy City?”
Directionless wonder
The tourist who doesn’t have a map but demands to know how to get from the Sears (or should we say Willis?) Tower to Wrigley Field to the Museum of Science and Industry before her 7 p.m. dinner reservation.
Map maven
The opposite of the directionless wonder, the map maven is so obsessed with staring at his map he fails to notice that he has walked into 10 different people who are trying to hustle to their offices.
The photo solicitor
The tourist who desperately tries to stop every last person running to the “L” at the end of the day to see if they will take her picture.
But wait! There’s more!
RedEye asked our blog readers to chime in on tourists behaving badly. Here are a few:
Wide walkers
The groups of tourists or families that insist on walking in a horizontal line together along Michigan Avenue at a slow pace, making it impossible to dodge around them while you’re rushing to work.
— jessicagalliart
Pop quizzers
“Is that the Sears Tower?” they ask, pointing to the John Hancock. “What’s that doing here?” they ask, pointing to the Water Tower. “Why is Chicago called The Second City?” These are all answers that can be researched and found with little effort. — MATT(underscore)B
— Join the conversation and share your thoughts at our blog, redeyechicago.com/blog
