For a lot of Chicago families, the holidays start on State Street. Macy's, in the old Marshall Field building at 111 N State, dresses its State Street windows and puts up the Great Tree in the Walnut Room on the 7th floor. Choose Chicago calls the windows a long-running Chicago tradition, and Fox 32 reported the 2023 tree-lighting as the 116th annual event. This guide covers what Macy's has confirmed for the 2026 season, then the rest of the street, where to eat and how to get there now that the State/Lake 'L' stop is closed.
The Windows and the Great Tree: What's Confirmed
Macy's has not yet announced its 2026 window theme, the Great Tree lighting date or holiday hours for the Walnut Room. We will add them when they are posted. Here is what recent seasons looked like. The windows run along the outside of the store on State Street, so you can see them free from the sidewalk at any hour. Hoodline counted the 2024 windows as their 57th edition. Inside, the Great Tree stands in the middle of the Walnut Room: Fox 32 and Hoodline both put it at 45 feet, and Hoodline counted 1,500 ornaments, each placed by hand. In 2023 and 2024 the lighting was a Saturday morning in early November at 11:30am.
The Walnut Room at Macy's (111 N State St, 7th Floor) takes reservations online, and for a holiday lunch under the tree you should book. Order Mrs. Hering's Chicken Pot Pie, on the menu since 1907, and the walnut-bitters Old Fashioned. The store page lists regular hours of 11am to 7pm daily through Oct. 31, with holiday hours set separately.
Holiday Square, Santaland and Holiday Lane
Macy's State Street store page currently lists three seasonal draws. Holiday Square is a French-inspired market of food and gifts run with Bensidoun, on the 7th floor next to the Walnut Room. It opens Nov. 20 and runs Thursdays to Sundays through Dec. 24, 10am to 6:30pm. Santaland, which recent seasons placed on the 5th floor, is listed from Nov. 7 to Dec. 24, 10am to 9pm, with reservations opening Oct. 31. Holiday Lane, also on 7, is already open (Sept. 16 to Dec. 31) for ornaments and decorations. The store page doesn't print a year on these dates, so check it before you go.
Two more things inside Macy's on State Street (111 N State St): Choose Chicago lists a Holiday Traditions Tour from November through January that covers the Tiffany Ceiling, the Great Clocks and the Walnut Room, and the first floor has a free Visitor Center. Macy's is open Monday to Saturday 10am to 9pm and Sunday 11am to 8pm.
Across the Street: Block Thirty Seven and Barnes & Noble
Block Thirty Seven sits directly across from Macy's. Zara Block 37 (1 W Randolph St) fills two floors with clothing for women, men and kids. AKIRA Block 37 (108 N State St) is a Chicago women's boutique known for personal service. Banana Republic Factory (108 N State St, Ste 140) sells business-casual clothes at outlet prices and stays open to 8pm on Saturdays. Sephora Block 37 (108 N State St, Unit 134) covers beauty gifts, and Magnolia Bakery (108 N State St) is there for a cupcake break. On the corner of State and Randolph, Barnes & Noble State Street (150 N State St) opened in August 2026 as the chain's biggest Chicago store, with books, music and gifts on three floors.
Walking South: Value Stores, Sneakers and Fabric
South of Macy's the street turns practical, which helps with a long gift list. Primark (35 N State St) is for low-priced basics, Nordstrom Rack (24 N State St) and Gap Factory (17 N State St) for off-price clothing, and T.J. Maxx (11 N State St) for discounted designer clothes, handbags and home decor, open 9am to 9pm Monday to Saturday. Target State Street (1 S State St), in Louis Sullivan's Sullivan Center, carries groceries, electronics and office supplies and opens at 7am on weekdays.
Just past Madison, the sneaker stores line up: Zumiez (2 S State St), JD Sports (10 S State St, open to 7:30pm Monday to Saturday) and Foot Locker (26-28 S State St). Further south, Mood Fabrics (109 S State St), the Project Runway fabric store, opened in late summer 2026 and is open daily 10am to 7pm; samples carry QR codes so you can ship bolts home. For a record-collector gift, Reckless Records (33 S Wabash Ave) is one block east.
Where to Eat
If the Walnut Room is booked, you have options within a block or two. Washington Hall (15 W Washington St) is a food hall with Chicago's Dog House, Happy Lobster and Stan's Donuts. The Berghoff Restaurant (17 W Adams St) serves wiener schnitzel, sauerbraten and reubens, and its bar has an express sandwich stand. For dinner, Momento Cantina (36 E Monroe St) makes birria tacos and loaded tuna tostadas, and Perilla Korean American Steakhouse (225 N Wabash Ave) is known for monkey bread with gochujang honey butter.
Take the train. The Chicago Loop Alliance says there are parking garages throughout the Loop but recommends the CTA for a car-free trip.
The Red Line runs in the subway right under State Street and stops at Lake (by Macy's and Block Thirty Seven) and Monroe (by Mood Fabrics). There is no Red Line stop at Washington; that station has long been closed. The elevated State/Lake station closed on Jan. 5, 2026 for a rebuild that will take several years, so the elevated Loop lines now serve State Street from Washington/Wabash and Adams/Wabash, each a block east. To switch between the Lake Red Line and the Loop 'L', the CTA says to use Washington/Wabash.
Construction for the new station has narrowed State Street between Wacker Drive and Randolph Street, but pedestrians and store entrances stay open. Most State Street stores open 10am to 8pm on weekdays with shorter weekend hours; Macy's stays open to 9pm Monday to Saturday.
