About

Hi! I’m Margaret Hicks – tour guide, improviser and lover of all things Chicago.

I grew up in Wilmette, a suburb of Chicago. I spent my childhood roaming the streets of the city but never really “looked up” or noticed the beauty around me. After going to college in Indianapolis I got my first my apartment in the city. Like most young adventurers, I moved to Wrigleyville, where strollers mix with drunk Cubs fans. I loved living in the city, going to restaurants at three in the morning and working in the Loop, yet I still never truly saw the city in which I lived. It wasn’t until I moved to New York City that I started to know what the meaning of “home” was. I missed alleys and quiet tree-lined streets. I missed the unassuming attitude of Chicagoans and the simplicity of a quiet train ride into work. I moved home in 2001, spending only one year in New York. Once home, my heart grew ten times larger with my passion for the City of Big Shoulders. I promised never to take Chicago for granted again and I began a continuing education of the city and it’s architecture. In 2004 I went through the docent program at the Chicago Architecture Foundation and began giving walking tours in the Loop. I love giving tours. My joy comes from teaching Chicagoans and tourists alike to look up, to see and appreciate the city. I love to watch people’s faces as they realize they’re staring at a building over 100 years old or smile as they hear the story of Charles Tyson Yerkes. I perfected my guide skills, learned everything I could about the city and worked hard to become a river docent. Giving tours on a boat on the river is a rush, the city is magnificent from the river and my passion for the city grew ever larger.

My goals for Chicago Elevated are to continue to educate Chicagoans and tourists about the history of the city and its people. Chicago Elevated also believes in having fun. These aren’t your grandmothers’ tours! I am an improviser, a performer and a teacher; laughter and history can co-exist. If you enjoy the site,  find me on Twitter or Facebook. If you live here in the city or if you’re here from out of town, please peruse the site and glean what information you can. If you’re interested in learning more, come on one of my tours, they’re a riot, I promise. If you’re interested in giving me what for, please come back, this page is under construction.