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    McCormick Place

    3.5 (265 reviews)
    Open Open 24 hours

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    Rachel H.

    Came here with our full orchestra to attend the Midwest International Band & Orchestra Conference. This location is beautifully spacious with ample places to sit and relax or to get something to eat or even purchase a souvenir. The location is very clean as were the restrooms. The staff is professional and friendly. The market where we had lunch a few days had a decent variety though they are a little pricey. But it's convenient so we paid the higher prices.

    Jessica P.

    This is my first ace convention show. I attended this event with a manager from a retail store. They come here to order tools, etc., for their business. There really wasn't any vendors where you could order directly from. It is the biggest convention center in the United States. There is definitely a lot of room to move around in. There was a lot of walking involved from the Marriott to the convention center. I was so glad we were close and didn't have to worry about getting transportation to this event. We have breakfast and lunch served in one of their big meeting rooms. The food was OK, but it was free so really couldn't complain. It had everything in there and had bathrooms places to eat and places to sit if you need a break after walking almost 10,000 steps on that showroom floor If you're coming to the show, I highly recommend staying at the Marriott or the Hyatt, which the Hyatt was much closer to the event but walkable.

    MASCON 2024 MANA Track
    Anthony M.

    The largest convention in North America is located in Chicago, how about that. It is spread out amongst four buildings and near lake Michigan . There is a Hyatt Regency joined to the convention center. You can take the green line to the Metra and ride 2 stops and it will let you off inside the mccormick place stop. You can also take the green line to cermak McCormick place stop and walk down cermak distance of less than a mile. You can also take the red line to the cermak Chinatown stop and walk less than a mile as well to the McCormick place convention center. I was here for 1 day for the MAS-Con convention. I had a good time . The sheer size was overwhelming but I can see myself possibly coming back if all the things that made it possible for me to come all the same.

    One of the  ballrooms.
    Cindy S.

    Wow! This place is huge! Rooms are clean with a variety of different sizes to fit your need for any event.

    "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?"  Only a high quality Zadro mirror will tell you the truth.  #ME
    Chris G.

    I've attended 4 different Inspired Home Shows here. It is a sprawling layout with different pavilion areas. They have OKAY food options throughout the grounds. They have a FedEx onsite and other services you might expect. There are also two different hotels attached to the grounds for easy access. One big drawback is that it is far from other places downtown. Their bathrooms were very outdated. Parking can be expensive ($50/day), depending on what option you choose. As with any tradeshow, it is expensive to exhibit at McCormick Place, but being in Chicago is always fun.

    Ryan J.

    First time here. The campus buildings are huge. The one I went to was the West building. I came for the big Salesforce Connections conference. It didn't disappoint. The building has multiple levels accessible via escalators, elevators, or stairs. There are numerous meeting rooms, ball rooms, large rooms, you name it. In particular, we had all you can eat snacks, DJ music, and free gifts. The keynote speakers were great, and the breakout sessions were educational. Parking was easy. I used SpotHero to reserve a spot less than a block away.

    Nick P.

    I'm not sure why someone said it's abandoned, there are events here all the time like C2E2 and the auto show. SMH. I didn't drive here because I knew parking could be a pain. They had 3 lots that filled up fast. I came here for C2E2. It opened at 10 am on a Saturday but I arrived shortly after 12 pm. The line for will call went quickly as well as the security check. They didn't even check my backpack. There wasn't much of a line to get into the main area. I recommend downloading the app, so that you don't have to pull out the map each time. Pro-tip: bring a backpack with water, empty bottle to refill, snacks, power bank, phone charger, hoodie (Chicago weather is unpredictable), and cash. Oh yeah, either put on deodorant/cologne, or bring some with you. You'll notice some powerful BO when walking around. They just started doing credit cards at the autograph booths but they were more annoying. People's credit cards were declined or they didn't know their own info, made the lines even slower. Be sure to walk around the booths, they give out free samples of food and drinks. Not many but a few. Volunteers by the autograph area are very useless. Don't bother asking them general questions because they will most likely give you a dumb look or give you inaccurate info.

    Sheka O.

    Great pizza. The pepperoni deep dish did not disappoint I will return and grab me another slice before I leave the windy city!

    Inside
    Steve A.

    Big convention center. It has its own CTA station even though it's kind of far away from it, but there's a Metra station. McCormick Place is where Chicago holds most of the conventions for industries and whatever. Clean for the most part and that's impressive because there's lots to clean around here. This is close to lots of hotels which is good for those coming from far away to visit. A lot of conventions happen here. It usually has one about every week or so it seems. These are usually for various industries and those types of things. Most often these are private events. Seems like these aren't usually open to the public though. For real. Go on the website and see for yourself. Checked out the list of upcoming events. There literally every one said not open to the public, sigh. Luckily I have been to a few in the past so I can share about those experiences at least. The restaurant one is probably the most popular because of the food and everyone likes to eat so it for sure gets busy when they have this particular one going on, and tickets can get expensive but it's worth it to go once. Get here a few ways, but avoid getting here by car. It's expensive to begin with but even more with paying for parking. There's cheaper and more efficient options with public transportation.

    Beth H.

    This is the largest event facility I've ever seen or know of in North America. Easy to get around inside, however, not the best for parking, ease of access by car if not familiar with the area, or dining options. You may as well be at a concert venue looking for a healthy meal. You'll find a coffee and overpriced McD's but if you aren't looking for an $11 slice of awful pizza, plan ahead and eat elsewhere. I did visit a kiosk for an apple ($2.25) and the lady was so taken aback that I asked for an apple, she told me to help myself. Trying to get to campus is quite difficult. You may want to park elsewhere and take an Uber to a door. If you park on site, you will have to walk or wait for a shuttle IF you manage to find an entrance to a parking lot. You cannot trust the signage or the lighted street signs that are event specific. It directed traffic in the option direction of the facility and any parking. Only by GPS were we able to find one of the parking lots. Facilities are clean, and there are plenty of staff on site to help with directions. Once the venue is closed, if you have to get back to your car, you may be able to still get in after hours to take the path you know to get to your car. There are a few restaurants outside of the venue but not many. Near the water, and a freeway junction, but don't venture on foot too far off campus. This is not a safe area for foot traffic.

    Emil C.

    I've only ever been here to attend race expos, to pick up my race packet for either the Chicago Marathon or the Rock n' Roll Half Marathon. The halls that I've been in are over on the East Building/Lakeside Center. The convention halls here are huge and have been well maintained in the years that I've been here. It's pretty convenient to get to while using public transportation. There's even a Metra Station here. You can also use the CTA Cermak-McCormick Station for the Green line or CTA Cermak-Chinatown Station for the Red line.

    Vivian Y.

    Beautiful location to have conventions. As you walk through the front you automatically see 3 flights of stairs and escalators. This is how vastly large this place was. I was here for the Magnet conference and just seeing the purple color of our magnet conference displayed on podiums was beautiful and incited excitement in me. Makes me want to run a race here just to come back Bus 3 takes you all the way to the front. I stayed at the Congress Hotel which was further away than other hotels but the transportation back and forth was easy and had no issues with it.

    Sam E.

    Large, clean convention center that can host multiple conventions. Well maintained outskirts and lawns. Plenty of bathrooms. Good wifi connection. Beautiful views of Lake Michigan. It is connected to the Hyatt and Marriott hotels. Location is easy to get to by mass transit (bus typically which will connect you to the train system) or ride sharing. Minimal food options in the center. The hotels have cafes and some eateries but would recommend saving your appetite for a chow in Chinatown or head back to the busier areas of Chicago.

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    Page 1 of 7

    Ask the Community - McCormick Place

    Hi Chicago Yelpers! Any recommendations for casual lunch spots for large groups? I'm attending a conference at McCormick Place Lakeside Center in May and need something…

    Cool, I know that Reggie's Rock Club is honestly a good place. They may play a lot of metal and rock 'n' roll here, but they do have good food. Good burgers good fries and also good beers.… Read more

    Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

    Review Highlights - McCormick Place

    The boat and RV show and the auto show and honestly I am blown away each time at how they put these events together.

    Mentioned in 42 reviews

    Read more highlights

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    We attended a sangeet (Indian pre-wedding party) at Revel Motor Row and had a wonderful time. This…read moreis a versatile event venue with multiple spaces which can be used for a single event. We were shuttled here from the wedding hotel. The building is cool because it's historic - built in 1936. However, repurposed into an event venue, the interior spaces feel a bit more generic and industrial (typical). The spaces were decorated beautifully for this event. Cocktail hour took place in the Lobby and adjacent Mercer room. There were two bars - one in the Lobby and one in Mercer - and hors d'oeuvres. I don't know how many guests there were, but it was crowded and tight, especially in the Lobby. Dinner (self-serve buffets), dancing, and dessert took place in the Packard room. Again, pretty standard space repurposed for events. Decor, sound, lighting, food, and drink (more bars) were all great. There was even a liquid nitrogen ice cream station. To cool off during the reception (dancing), we went outside to the adjacent Cadillac Courtyard. Restrooms are located in the basement. They were spacious, clean, and even stylish.

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    I got married at Mae District in July 2025 and could not be more happy with how the day panned out,…read more thanks in large part to the team at Mae District/Food for Thought! The historic venue itself is stunning - there's a separate room for everything (i.e., ceremony, dinner reception, dance floor/cocktail hour), which made the space feel more elevated and was a huge selling point for us. There's a cute courtyard area in the back with ivy and string lights which was great for photos and for guests to get some fresh air. However, the biggest selling point for us was the bridal suite/upstairs lounge area. It's a generous-sized private space with enough room for the entire wedding party and family members to spend time before the ceremony, and you can store personal things there during the wedding. I got into my wedding dress in the bridal suite and was able to capture getting ready photos here. My husband and I toured multiple Chicago venues in the same tier and this was the only one with a bridal suite/lounge area. Our venue coordinator was Hanna and were very pleased with the level of service we received. From the beginning, she made us feel like Mae District/FFT was open to our creative liberties, and anything that we wanted could be made true. We wanted a late-night ramen bar on a cart, which was a big hit, and she made sure that the sign on the cart was to our standards. One of our priorities going into wedding planning was that the food had to be good, and FFT delivered! We received many compliments on the food from our guests. Overall, I would highly recommend this venue to anyone looking to get married in Chicago!

    McCormick Place - venues - Updated May 2026

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