McCormick Place South: A Primer
The McCormick Place campus comprises four state-of-the-art buildings, the South, North, and (new) West buildings and the Lakeside Center. These facilities have a combined total of more than 2.7 million square feet of exhibit space. McCormick Place South--site of NSC's 95th Congress and Expo--alone features 840,000 square feet of exhibit space and is linked to the other three buildings by a glass-enclosed Grand Concourse, a 900-foot-long walkway featuring a business center, gift shop, visitor information booth, and other amenities under a 100-foot-high ceiling. It's easy to get lost, but no one has to. In the interest of staying "found," the following information, culled from the McCormick Place Web site, is offered, gratis.
In the unlikely event that your cabbie needs an address to find the place, it's 2301 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Ill., 60616. On second thought, if your driver needs the address, just hail another cab. There are many. You also should not need the address if you're traveling via Airport Express shuttle service, which provides transportation to/from the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place Hotel connected to the convention center. For more information, contact Airport Express at 888-284-3826 or visit www.airportexpress.com. Public transportation via train ("The El") or bus is also available; for more information, contact the RTA of Chicago at 312-836-7000 or visit www.rtachicago.org.
For those with their own vehicles, McCormick Place has two parking garages, one located near the South Building and one located in Lakeside Center. The current charge is $16 per day regardless of the length of stay. The Hyatt Regency McCormick Place Hotel also has a parking garage with an hourly rate. Contact the hotel at 312-567-1234 for details.
For visitors with disabilities, entrances, elevators, restrooms, and other accessibility services are available throughout the McCormick complex. Accessible parking is available in Lot A for events in South Building. McCormick Place also offers onsite rentals of mobility scooters, wheelchairs, PowerChairs, and oxygen equipment through its preferred mobility service partner, Scootaround Inc. (www.scootaround.com/rentals/m/mccormickplace). Mobility equipment can be reserved in advance and will be waiting for you at McCormick Place during the event or can be delivered to your Chicago-area hotel. Daily and weekly rates are available with operators on call 24/7 at 888-441-7575.
Permanent coat checks areas are located at Gate 4 in the South Building. During events, several coat and baggage check locations may be added in other locations to accommodate event attendees. For specific information about an event and service locations, please contact Shirley Jackson at 312-791-6147. The Hyatt Regency McCormick Place has a restaurant called Schor. For hours of service and reservations, contact them at 312-567-1234. If you are interested in a private catered event, contact McCormick's onsite food service provider, Chicago Restaurant Partners at 312-791-7252. For a complete listing of area restaurants, contact The Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau at 877-244-2246, or visit its Web site at www.choosechicago.com.
For exhibitors, McCormick Place offers the following utility services:
- Electrical: Ranging from 120volt/15 amp to 480volt/400 amp service; services are available in both floor ports and overhead depending on the exhibit hall.
- Communication: Both single and multi-line service.
- Cable TV: Provided by Comcast.
- Internet Service: A full line of Internet connectivity solutions that provide continuous, dedicated access to the Internet at a variety of speeds.
- Plumbing: A complete line of service including compressed air, water, drain, natural gas, bottled gases, filling and draining of water tanks, venting to the atmosphere, ductwork from air conditioning units within a booth, anchoring, welding, hydraulic and chiller interconnections and chemical waste removal.
You can order these utilities online by going to the Exhibitor pages of the McCormick site at www.mccormickplace.com; click on Focus One Utilities and choose On-Line Ordering. If you would rather talk to a customer service representative, call FOCUS One at 312-791-6113.
WiFi is available, but currently only as an addition to McCormick's "wired" services. For assistance with Internet requirements, call the site's FOCUS One Internet Services Department at 312-567-8060. For other computer questions/help, contact McCormick's Business Center at 312-791-6400. Also, much more information is available online at www.mccormickplace.com.