Chicago Board of Trade

Chicago


The Board of Trade is a 1930 art deco gem. Inside, manic traders swap futures and options – or, at least, they used to. Most trading is done these days by computer, not people yelling on a trading-pit floor. Outside, crane your neck to see the giant aluminum statue of Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture, that tops the building. In the small plaza just east are two allegorical statues, Industry and Agriculture, which once adorned the building's 1885 predecessor.

The Chicago Architecture Center offers tours ($20) of the building's interior once a month.