State Street

The story

State Street is the Loop's retail corridor, running from Lake Street south to Jackson Boulevard. Macy's anchors it from the old Marshall Field building at 111 N State, and the rest is value chains, outlet stores and a few 2026 arrivals.

It suits practical shopping, rainy-day errands and holiday-window visits close to Millennium Park. The listed shops run from Barnes & Noble at State and Randolph down past Madison, where the sneaker stores cluster, to Mood Fabrics at 109 S State.

A Little History

Field, Leiter & Co. moved over from Lake Street in October 1868 and opened in Potter Palmer's six-story marble building at State and Washington. Palmer got the city to widen State Street, and by 1900 most of Chicago's big department stores, Carson Pirie Scott and Mandel Brothers among them, stood along it.

The Tiffany mosaic ceiling inside the old Marshall Field's, now Macy's, was finished in 1907: about 6,000 square feet of favrile glass in roughly 1.6 million pieces. State Street itself was a pedestrian and transit mall from 1979 until it reopened to cars in 1996.

What to Expect

Barnes & Noble (150 N State) opened in August 2026 as the chain's biggest Chicago store, on three floors. Macy's (111 N State) has seven floors, with the Tiffany mosaic ceiling over cosmetics, furniture on six and home goods downstairs. The first floor has a free Visitor Center and a Benefit Brow Bar, and the third offers free personal-stylist appointments. In Block Thirty Seven, Zara fills two floors, AKIRA is a Chicago women's boutique known for personal service, and Banana Republic Factory sells business-casual clothes at outlet prices.

Walking south, the value stores line up: Primark (35 N), Nordstrom Rack (24 N), Gap Factory (17 N) and T.J. Maxx (11 N), which carries discounted designer clothing, handbags and home decor. Target (1 S) sits in the Sullivan Center, nicknamed 'goth Target' for its dark ironwork, with groceries and office supplies. The first block south of Madison is for sneakers: Zumiez (2 S), JD Sports (10 S) and Foot Locker (26-28 S). Mood Fabrics (109 S), the Project Runway fabric store, opened in late summer 2026; samples carry QR codes so you can ship bolts home. For records, Reckless Records is one block east at 33 S Wabash.

Best Time to Visit

Loop Chicago says most stores open 10am–8pm on weekdays, with shorter weekend hours. Macy's runs later, to 9pm Monday to Saturday. Target opens at 7am on weekdays and T.J. Maxx at 9am, so early errands work. Foot Locker closes at 6pm on Mondays. Macy's holiday windows are a long-running Chicago tradition, and its Holiday Traditions Tour runs November through January, covering the Tiffany Ceiling, the Great Clocks and the Walnut Room. The Holiday Square market fills the 7th floor Thursdays to Sundays from Nov 20 to Dec 24, 10am–6:30pm.

If You Only Have an Hour

Start at Macy's (111 N State) to see the Tiffany ceiling. Cross to Block Thirty Seven (108 N State) for Zara and Sephora. Walk south to T.J. Maxx (11 N State) and Target (1 S State), then finish at Mood Fabrics (109 S State).

Where to Eat

The Walnut Room, on Macy's 7th floor, is the classic stop. Order Mrs. Hering's Chicken Pot Pie, on the menu since 1907, and the walnut-bitters Old Fashioned; reservations are taken online. The Berghoff Restaurant (17 W Adams St) is half a block off State for wiener schnitzel, sauerbraten or a reuben, and its bar has an express sandwich stand. Washington Hall (15 W Washington St) is a food hall with Chicago's Dog House, Happy Lobster and Stan's Donuts. For dinner, try Momento Cantina (36 E Monroe St) for birria tacos, or Perilla Korean American Steakhouse (225 N Wabash) for the monkey bread with gochujang honey butter.