New visitor center opening along the Magnificent Mile
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A new visitor center is opening Thursday on the Magnificent Mile, and will offer various services to people in the busy shopping district.
Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd) helped cut the ribbon to open the center at a former newsstand at the corner of Michigan and Chicago avenues.
The visitor center will be open from 9 a.m. until 10 p.m. daily.
From far away, it looks like a bus shelter, but inside it features QR codes and Mag Mile ambassadors to help visitors with directions and recommendations for places to visit.
"We wanted to make sure that people know all of the great things that there are to experience here in Chicago," said Kimberly Bares, president and CEO of the Magnificent Mile Association.
It's also a safety measure. Anyone can request an escort to their car, or help flagging down a taxi.
The opening of the visitor center comes on the same day city leaders will discuss their plans for curbing violence over the Memorial Day holiday weekend.
Mayor Brandon Johnson, interim Police Supt. Fred Waller, Fire Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt, and a group of aldermen and community leaders will discuss the city's security plan Thursday afternoon.