Chicago Graceland Cemetery self-guided audio tour

Visit the Graceland Cemetery, a treasury of Chicago history, art, architecture, and a resting place of many famous Chicagoans: industrialists, businessmen, and artists.

Admire monuments designed by the greatest sculptors and architects of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. See Martin L. Ryerson’s tomb, which combines two Egyptian styles: the pyramid and the mastaba, and other sculptures and tombs that can easily be considered architectural marvels.

Learn about the achievements of the prominent people in the history of Chicago who are buried there: William LeBaron Jenney, who designed the world’s first true skyscraper in Chicago; Louis Sullivan, who is often called the “prophet of modern architecture”; Daniel Burnham, the most influential architect and urban planner in Chicago history; Philip Armour who earned Chicago’s reputation as “Hog Butcher of the World,” and many others.

Despite being a cemetery, it not only serves a utilitarian purpose but represents beautiful and well-thought landscaping with a parklike atmosphere making it a haven in the city. Come and spend some time here while respectfully wandering among graves and listening to the stories about people who contributed to Chicago's architectural grandeur.