Completed in 1918 in the town of Vernon Hills, IL, Cuneo Mansion and Gardens was built as the home of Samuel Insull, one of the original founders of General Electric Company. Furnished in an Italianate style with its gardens and landscaping designed by Jens Jensen, a world-renowned landscape architect, the mansion also features an extensive collection of fine antiques, paintings by world-famous artists, tapestries, sculptures, silver, and porcelain. In 1937, John Cuneo Sr. purchased the home and lived there with his wife and two children, John Jr. and Consuela. In 2009, John Jr. and his wife, Herta, donated the 100-acre estate to Loyola University Chicago along with the collection of art and furnishings. It has since been used as a venue for weddings, special occasions and corporate events.

Recently, TLC filmed its finale episodes of the show, Four Weddings, at Cuneo Mansion and Gardens. The show follows four separate brides as they plan their own weddings but also prepare to have their weddings attended and scored by the other brides in the categories of dress, venue, food, and experience. At the end, whichever bride has the most points out of the four wins a fabulous honeymoon vacation.

Loyola University Chicago is grateful to TLC for choosing Cuneo Mansion and Gardens as a setting for one of its shows and cannot thank the Cuneo family enough for its wonderful donation. The university plans to continually improve the space in order to accommodate a wide variety of events and looks forward to all future weddings and special occasions that will be held on the property.

To learn more about the Cuneo Mansion and Gardens, visit http://www.uniquevenues.com/CuneoMansion

Information on Four Weddings can be seen at http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/tv/four-weddings.

With all the modern day amenities of a meeting and conference space and a place to hold a special event, you get the best of both periods.

This juxtaposition is carried throughout the museum, where your attendees can experience modern marvels like Ghosts of the Library, a state-of-the-art holographic program bringing visitors behind the scenes of a great presidential library.

Modern day meetings find their place in the Governor’s Conference Room, a light and natural toned meeting room for up to 20 people. For larger groups, the Exelon Union Theatre has a capacity of 250 people, perfect for annual meetings, private performances, lectures, and awards ceremonies.

To round out your experience, The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum also offers function spaces for small to large receptions. We love this open-concept holiday reception and the idea of a using the trees and lights to fully utilize the high ceilings.

Learn more about what this unique venue has to offer.

Located in the northwest corner of Illinois within three hours of Chicago and Milwaukee, the Galena/Jo Daviess County area has over 50,000 square feet of versatile meeting space. With some of the finest architecture and richest Civil War history in America, it’s one of the Midwest’s preeminent event destinations.

From hotels with banquet rooms to a full-fledged convention center, there’s a venue in Galena/Jo Daviess County that’s perfect for your next function. Celebrate your wedding in a converted barn, or use our event center for your workshop. Most facilities offer A/V services and internet access and can configure any space as necessary.

If you’ll need overnight accommodations, there are more than 1,100 hotel rooms in the Galena/Jo Daviess County region. Simplify your planning process by hosting your event in a local inn or hotel with function space, or select a group package at an area resort. Either way, you’ll find a cozy bed and cordial welcome upon arrival.

Many venues provide on-site catering and can customize menus for your function. Additionally, nearby restaurants serve everything from Chicago-style pizza to global cuisine and welcome large groups for dinners, parties and more.

Along with 10 golf courses, innumerable hiking trails, and prime downhill skiing, the Galena/Jo Daviess County area boasts incredible Civil War history, including President Grant’s home. The Galena Historic District also presents some of the best Greek Revival architecture in America.

Let the Galena/Jo Daviess County Convention & Visitors Bureau help make your next event a success by filling out a Request For Quote (RFQ) or Calling 877-244-6110

Are you in considering downtown Chicago business meeting rooms for your next event? It may be a business deal, a board meeting or training, a sales conference, or a location from which to participate in a global teleconference or videoconferencing. You need modern, elegant, convenient, truly state-of-the-arts facilities. You need Summit Executive Centre.

Located right on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue, just a 30 minute train ride from either O’Hare or Midway airports, this capable and professional executive business center is unique in its ability to provide simple elegance in all aspects, enhancing productivity and efficiency.

Whether it’s a small group or a gathering of 250, Summit Executive Centre’s 15 business meeting and event rooms are certain to accommodate your needs while exceeding your expectations. Up to 150 people can be seated in classroom style, up to 250 in their theatre and presentation room. All meeting chambers enjoy ceiling-mounted LCD projectors and screens, CD, DVD and VCR players, a document camera, mics, and 100 mbps high-speed broadband capabilities. Videoconferencing and teleconferencing are also available.

When the technical specifications are said and done, it’s still about a feel, a mood, a vibe. Summit obviously knows that. The décor is modern and comfortable, designed to keep things professional and still be comfortable. Designed for creativity and productivity. Guests arrive at a warm and modern reception desk, and are guided towards your rooms. The A/V tools are situated to enhance your meetings, rather than supersede them. You and your team will be able to hit the ground running, make the most of the facilities. The staff at the Summit Executive Centre provides ground support, including coffee and beverage service.

The lounge, located on the 10th floor, is elegant and lavish, befitting the executives and guests, designed to provide a well-deserved break before returning to the task at hand. You’ll find extensive breakfasts, lunch buffets and ample break and snack services, all provided as part of the package. You’ve got better things to do than worry about a menu. Summit takes care of that as well, making this facility one of the top Illinois meeting locations.

The meeting facilities are normally open from Monday through Friday, from 7 am until 6 pm. Evenings and weekends are available, but will require a minimum guarantee. Summit will provide whatever it is you need to make your business meeting a complete success.

You and your attendees are busy. You need the environment to support productivity and efficiency. The staff at Summit understands this and takes care of details large and small, so you can focus on the agenda. The facilities are for executives. Social events and exhibits are not welcome. Summit Executive Centre is all about business and supporting the needs of corporate clientele. If that’s what you’re after in downtown Chicago, give them a call to check availability and schedule the facilities you need.

Discover additional downtown Chicago business meeting facilities at Unique Venues.

Are you planning a Chicago banquet, party or event? This favorite facility is just minutes away from Chicago’s O’hare International Airport, you’ll find the ideal location for your special occasion, no matter what that occasion may be!  The Midwest Conference Center offers Chicago banquet halls with rooms for 30 to 1800 guests!  The centerpiece of the facility is the landmark 16th floor Skyline Ballroom.  With its floor-to-ceiling glass windows which provide a 360 degree unobstructed view of the Chicago skyline that’s sure to be a hit with your guests!

Surprisingly affordable, the  catering staff has earned awards for their culinary expertise and service.  They make it their first priority to get even the smallest detail perfect, ensuring a wonderfully memorable occasion for all.  Whether you’re planning a wedding reception, awards presentation, sales conference, or banquet, no matter what the occasion, out of town guests will be thrilled with the close proximity to the O’hare International Airport as well as Chicagoland suburbs!  What’s more, you and your guests are all certain to appreciate both the view and the quality of service you’ll receive at the Midwest Conference Center. It is no surprise that this venue is considered one of the best Chicago, Illinois banquet facilities.

The Windy City itself is another bonus.  Few banquet halls in the country offer such eclectic, wonderful opportunities to experience cultures from all over the planet!  Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry, the Field Museum, the Shedd Aquarium, the Lincoln Park and Brookfield zoos, art museums, music venues, symphony, opera, ballet, theater, coffeehouse or blues — you name it, it’s happening in Chicago!  Your party guests will find hundreds of ethnic neighborhoods and thousands of shops and restaurants to delight.  All of these are just icing on the cake when you choose the Midwest Conference Center for your event! What’s more, getting to them is very easy.  Chicago has an expansive public transportation system.  Rail and bus systems combine to take visitors literally anywhere in the greater Chicagoland area, and beyond!

Of course, banquet hall amenities are complimentary.  Parking, for example, and high speed wireless Internet.  Service with a smile, and an event planner to help make your Skyline Ballroom experience the very best, most memorable occasion possible.  These sorts of included “extras” are part of what makes this such a top unique venue!  Previous guests all rave about the place, saying how they’d have expected to pay much more for the quality and service delivered by the Midwest Conference Center.  A hands-down winner, and a popular event venue, you owe it to yourself to speak with them about booking your Chicago event today!

LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS VENUE – CLICK HERE

Discover More Illinois Banquet Facilities from Unique Venues

If you’re looking for a truly unusual meeting place to hold your corporate retreat or leadership training event in or near downtown Chicago, you owe it to yourself and your guests to consider Catalyst Ranch. Ranch? In downtown Chicago?  Well yes, and it’s no relation to the old stockyards either! This wonderfully eclectic, outrageously creative, adaptive, inspiring space is the brainchild of some wonderfully eccentric and talented individuals who redesign the space, the sights, sounds and colors of this warm, comfortable, friendly environment especially for your event, meeting, gathering, thinktank or conference. They think far outside of the box, and the spaces they create are a catalyst for your corporate team or group leadership to do so too!  

This outlandishly exceptional, decidedly, markedly and irrevocably unique venue has received rave reviews from every guest, and even as far as the Wall Street Journal, which writes (of the space they visited at the time) “A bright red wall greets visitors. The games Kerplunk and Mr. Potato Head are stashed on the tables. Hammocks, a chaise lounge and hot-pink and lime-green pillows around a low table offer a host of places to sit.”  Instead of a stodgy, stiff, stiffling corporate environment, companies are swiftly discovering that their employees do far better when they’re in a place that encourages them to let loose and play.  The folks at the Catalyst Ranch work their magic to facilitate the ultimate in corporate retreat locations.

Looking for team building Ideas? Look no further, this top meeting facility is formerly a smokehouse and herring packing plant, this 2-story playspace offers environments that start at 700 square feet and peak at 3300 square feet.  Open, light and uplifting, each area is markedly different from the next, and all are ultimately enticing.  You can shoot pictures and video there.  You can let your inner child romp and run free!  

Creator Eva Niewiadomski is no newcomer to the concept. She’d made a similar meeting space for PepsiCo at their Quaker Oats location. She knows that bright colors and toys enact amazing changes in the way that people think and interact, but that most corporations aren’t willing to dedicate space to facilities with so unconventional a design. So she created it in this huge Andersonville condo, and made it a welcome place for minds to meet. Ellen Taafe, VP of Marketing at Quaker, notes that “people are more engaged, even though they may have a Slinky in their hands.” Judging from the rave reviews coming back across the board, truer words may never have been spoken.

People often talk about a venue being unique. Or inspirational. This one is all that, and so very much more!  People have their wedding receptions there. They have their business meetings, photo shoots, and celebrations there.  They reward employees, and create the newest latest thing, all at the Catalyst Ranch.  Book your corporate retreat, team building meeting, or leadership training event – or whatever it may be, for the most amazing, memorable and productive experience your team has ever had!

Find more team building ideas and discover more corporate retreat locations at Unique Venues

The tranquil, verdant, hilly sylvan splendor of Galena, Illinois has inspired countless millions of visitors over the years. A pleasant, welcome change from the usual flatlands of the Midwest, this former home of Ulysses S. Grant oozes small-town charm. The residents are likewise inspired, expressing this warmth in a seemingly endless spring of captivating architectural styles. Any sort of event can be hosted in the Galena area. Jo Daviess County has such a wide variety of Illinois event facilities that one can literally have anything from a small intimate wedding to an outdoor concert event with ten thousand attendees! Make Galena your place for a family reunion, retreat or simply reward your valued employees with a stress-free conference. The landscape and hospitality are waiting there, pleased to suit your needs, just visit the Galena/Jo Daviess County Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Situated on the Illinois side of the mighty Mississippi River, on the hills that rise up from her banks, Galena’s richness is surprisingly close to a number of larger cities. Dubuque, Iowa, is a mere 15 miles away. Madison, Wisconsin is less than 100 miles. Chicago, so very different from Galena in nearly all ways, is just 164 miles from these oak-covered hills. One can fly in to the Dubuque Regional airport and be at your wedding, reception, or event location in under half an hour!

In the Galena, Illinois area are some 52 wonderful event facilities, able to host as many as 1400 indoor guests. Up to 360 can be seated in a classroom environment, while 800 can enjoy a theatre-style setting at the same time. Each of the venues has its own unique offerings and amenities, of course, but you can be certain that you’ll find them all generous and hospitable! That’s what make Galena one of the top banquet and party or wedding destinations in the region.

Dining is a diverse and rewarding experience in Galena. You can enjoy a delicious meal while looking down upon the Mississippi from a wooded palisade. Or take a virtual trip to Ireland as you step into Frank O’Dowd’s pub, within the Irish Cottage Boutique Hotel. Enjoy traditional fish ‘n’ chips, shepherd’s pie, hand-cut steaks and fish while sipping on an exceptional glass of wine. Visit and stay at the DeSoto House hotel. Built in 1855, this marvelous piece of history can provide lodgings and American cuisine for up to 100 people. Or enjoy the simple elegance of the Goldmoor’s Old World decor, sampling their wine cellar and enjoy their chef’s tantalizing creativity. The birthplace of Abraham Lincoln is memorialized at the Log Cabin, a Greek Steakhouse established in 1935. The Eagle Ridge Resort and Spa offers up Spike’s Bar and Grill, overlooking their General Golf Course. Timmerman’s Supper Club provides three choices each evening, and also features a view of the Mississippi. If it’s Italian you’re after, Vinny Vanucchi’s can accommodate most any request.

As you can see, there’s really no limit to the type of Illinois event facilities you can find in Galena. Treat yourself and your guests to something warm, rich and unique. Let Galena share its hospitality for your next occasion, and you can be certain it will be a memorable one!

The meeting facilities reflect the technologically advanced nature of the school; The very latest and greatest of computer, WiFi, teleconferencing & video conferencing technologies are at your disposal throughout the event facilities. Catering is available, but not mandatory, and your guests are free to enjoy any of more than 30 restaurants, all within easy walking distance of this picturesque campus! The staff is both friendly and entirely accommodating, another rare treat.

When it comes to convenience, once again the Illinois Institute of Technology wins out. Just 30 minutes from either Chicago’s O’Hare International or its Midway airports, and a mere 27 miles due east to Chicago’s downtown at Lakeshore Drive, event guests from all parts of the country and world will find it quite facile to attend your event, and to enjoy all the fantastic treats that come with a conference in the Windy City. The meeting facilities can accommodate up to 200 guests in their 23 meeting and event rooms, up to 150 in one large theatre seating chamber! The staff can put together as much or as little of the details as you like, and the space can be made available to you for the day, week, or even a full month (by arrangement)! It’s all about serving your needs.

Between the level of service, the location, the technological mindset, and the overall customer service attitude, the Center for Professional Development (located on the Institute’s Rice Campus) is a truly unique event venue for a gathering of any kind. The tech-savvy members are sure to enjoy those facets, while history buffs will appreciate the architecture and the incredible times that the university has seen. The very halls you’ll walk through host Nobel Laureates and technological geniuses of all kinds. The university’s colleges include engineering, theoretical and applied physics, computer engineering, aerospace, architecture, Biomedical Engineering, Molecular Biochemistry, and a host of other fields in which the University excels. The Center for Professional Development also hosts their Chicago-Kent College of Law, their Institute of Design and the Stuart School of Business. Where else can one find so many amazing aspects in one place?

Whatever the purpose of your event is, it’s sure to be a memorable one when you book it at the Center for Professional Development. You and your guests will walk with giants, enjoying both comfort and convenience in a uniquely capable environment. There is no finer choice than the Illinois Institute of Technology’s Center for Professional Development. Contact them now, book your meetings there today!

Discover All Illinois Event Facilities Available from Unique Venues

As a event venue, nothing could be more unique than Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History.  Able to host from 5 to 15,000 attendees, and with 35 world-famous permanent exhibitions, the museum is incomparable.  Guests will first meet Sue, a T-Rex — the largest and best preserved specimen in the entire word!  Guests can then take a magical trek through some 13,000 years of human development, spying on our ingenuity and accomplishments in the Ancient Americas exhibition.  Evolving Planet brings some 4 billion years of history to life, and Inside Ancient Egypt’s mummies and pyramid tombs are sure to be a huge hit!  Imperial China is shown off via a jade exhibition… the list goes on and on!

If there’s just one place in the Windy City that you’d want to visit, you’d have to be sure it’s The Field Museum.  This incredible masterpiece of architecture had it’s origins in 1893, called the “Columbian Museum of Chicago.”  In 1905, honoring the museum’s first significant benefactor, Marshall Field, the name was changed to the Field Museum of Natural History.  The present location was established in 1921, and there it has remained, near downtown and on Chicago Park District property, at the lake and near the Shedd Aquarium and Adler Planetarium, ever since.  

Though the Field Museum’s intent was towards natural sciences, it has a considerable collection, including displays from the Columbian Exposition of 1893.  Since that date, the museum has collected over 20 million specimens!  As an education and research facility, the museum is world-class and its impeccable reputation has earned it a special place of trust and respect within many scientific fields. 

Your guests will be able to enjoy all of the magnificence that the Field Museum has to offer.  Any event held there is certain to be entirely unforgettable — the experience of a lifetime!  All of the elegance the world has to offer is found in the Chicago Field Museum of Natural History.  What an amazing venue!

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