Soldier Field

This guide to Soldier Field in Chicago covers the limestone, Doric-columned bowl built in 1924 to honor First World War soldiers, and the radical early-2000s renovation that gutted its interior and lowered a steel-and-glass seating bowl inside the old colonnade. You'll hear how critics reacted when it reopened in September 2003, including the Chicago Tribune's verdict and comparisons to a flying saucer landing inside a Greek ruin, and how a federal advisory panel responded. Run your hand along the pale original stone near the columns, then turn toward the field to feel where the two eras meet.