festival will give people access to buildings across the city that are normally not open to the public.

And it's free.

The 16th annual open House.

Chicago is this weekend and features a lineup of more than 200 sites across more than 30 neighborhoods.

Joining us now with the preview is Adam Rubin, senior director of public engagement at the Chicago Architecture Center.

Welcome to Chicago tonight.

I'm glad to be here.

So for folks who might not have participated in open House Chicago before, how exactly does that work?

So open House Chicago has effectively been doing for about 16 years where we open up sites all over around the city, working with people who run buildings, people who advocate for buildings and you basically ready choose your own adventure.

You find the buildings that you want to see the places you want to go, the neighborhood you want to explore.

>> You pick a few of them and you get out there and do it.

>> So there's some pretty cool new additions on this year's lineup.

Tell us about the muddy Waters, Motown Museum.

>> So the muddy Waters Motor Museum is a passion project of Monday's great granddaughter who was able to acquire the house a few years ago, restore it and turned into a House museum.

So this is gonna be the first time barge public is going to be able to come in there and see the exhibits.

Second be completely finished, but it's a preview into what's to come.

I think Blues fans will take any preview thinking head of it's one of the great landmark status.

Tell the story of Chicago Blues.

We don't have as many of them as you think that the muddy Waters house is an important one, and tell us about the Women's athletic club as well.

That's That's a because that's right.

On Mag mile.

You know, a lot of us walked past that probably thousands of times.

But this is this multi-story 1929.

Private club that has all these incredible finishes on the inside these art deco rooms and other period rooms that absolutely less you're paying member.

You're not going to get in there to see it.

But I have.

But it's it's a really stunning space.

Very Another building that a lot of folks might have walked past but never been in there.

The 101 year-old uptown theater, which has long had its stores closed, a pretty highly anticipated stop this year.

How significant is it to?

>> To add the Uptown theater to open House Chicago?

Well, I can say that we've been doing the festival for 16 years and it's the first time it's ever happened.

And this is one of those sites that people ask us about all the time.

We've asked the owner before, and it just really felt like the right time to be able to show this off to a big audience and build a constituency of people who are going to want to see this theater brought back to its former glory yet because there's been a lot of efforts over the years to get it restored.

But, you know, >> much fits and starts to this point.

Absolutely.

And you know, it's one of several neighborhood theaters that we have in the festival.

We have the Regal down in South Shore.

We have the Central Park Theater and North Lawndale.

All of these are neighborhood theaters that speak to a time that neighborhoods had resources like this for people to go and get their entertainment and times have changed.

But the buildings are still there and they're still important and they have fans who want to see them used and brought back.

Alright, little bit of a plug here.

A Chicago stories on WT TWA premiering its next episode about skyscrapers later this week.

>> Obviously, you're pretty states in the architecture world.

I mean, from your perspective, what makes you know, the skyline so special?

Well, we like to say that Chicago is really the birthplace of the skyscraper.

There's other cities that we're developing around the same time.

But they really kind of came into their own as a unique American style here in Chicago.

>> So open house is a great way to see a few of these.

We've got them an add-on building.

We've got the Marquette building.

We've got the auditorium building.

All of important places that buildings have gotten taller over time.

But these are these really the buildings that gave Chicago its initial architectural character.

>> When it's interesting, too, because you've got you mentioned them and had not building one, 50 north Riverside to Pittsfield building.

How do those kind of tell the story of not just a, you know, the importance of the skyscraper, but its evolution while you still have a building like them in at which is a great example, you've got one half of it, which is a load bearing building, which basically means tone stacked on top of each other.

>> Completed in 18, 91.

The other half of the building is all steel skeleton.

That is it perfect example of what Chicago did is going from load-bearing buildings into buildings ago, taller and taller and taller.

And that when it's all in one building.

>> And you mentioned it's a little bit of a choose your own adventure.

You know, when folks do go visit a site are they're guided tours are the kind of exploring freely.

It depends on the site.

You know, the great thing about open houses, we coordinate it all and bring all these 200 sites together.

But ultimately it's every single building that's going to present the way that they want to a lot like to do guided tours because that's a lot of our audience likes to see.

Some of them are just going to let you go off and explore.

Some are going to be programmed with musicians playing music or art activities.

It really is a range.

So depending on how what interests you and how you like to engage, you can go through our website which 7, how Chicago Dot org and see what's going on at the sites and then figure it out.

How you want to get out there and get involved.

When you mention programming and others.

Also special programming this year revolving around 3 sites in Woodlawn.

Tell us about that.

Yeah, that's a great one.

So we are lucky enough to be working with a grant from the Lilly Endowment on a built on belief which is exploring intersections of architecture with religion and sacredness in Chicago.

So we've focused on Woodlawn has sort of our initial project.

We're working with a former synagogue called Near Bridge Arts Club, church, the First Presbyterian Church of Chicago and Oakwood Cemetery.

All of these are going to have activations.

Some of that some pieces of art that have been installed on the up, you know, the property.

Some of them are activities or tours that you're getting.

But all of them are going discuss are going to kind of engage and how would line has been shaped by religious communities over time.

Just about 30 seconds left.

But the hope folks take away from participating in an event like this.

You know, the great thing about open houses that people are coming together and doing something in person.

We all want to live in a city that has a lot going on.

It's why we moved to Chicago.

It's why we stay in Chicago.

So this is a chance to get out.

Talked out Chicagoans who love the city, who love the buildings and