Explore the real-world places that appear in Haven't Killed in Years by Amy K. Green. Each location on the map shows what happens there in the novel, the real history of the place, and what's there today. Featured locations include Willis Tower Office District, Cook County Criminal Court Building, Harold Washington Library Center, Chicago Cultural Center, Billy Goat Tavern and 6 more.
233 S Wacker Dr — The anonymous corporate world Gwen hides inside
Gwen's day job as a harmless office worker is her camouflage, and this Loop location stands in for that world of cubicles and small talk. She uses sarcasm to satirize her coworkers while never letting any of them get close, protecting both herself and them. The office is where her low-profile identity as Gwen Tanner is most carefully maintained, and where the threat of exposure feels most dangerous.
Completed in 1973 as the Sears Tower, the building was the world's tallest for nearly 25 years. It was renamed Willis Tower in 2009. Its bundled-tube design was developed by architect Bruce Graham and engineer Fazlur Khan.
Willis Tower remains one of Chicago's most recognizable skyscrapers and houses offices alongside the Skydeck observation deck on the 103rd floor. Visitors can step onto glass-floored ledges that extend from the building.
Visit: Skydeck Chicago at Willis Tower (landmark)
2650 S California Ave — Where the legacy of notorious killers is decided
This courthouse stands in for the justice system that swallowed Abel Haggerty after his arrest, when his young daughter Marin was taken from her home and given a new identity. The idea of her father's trial and conviction hangs over Gwen's life, shaping why she must stay hidden. As the new killer closes in, the legal machinery that once protected her becomes something she cannot trust with her secret.
The Leighton Criminal Court Building at 26th and California opened in 1929 and is among the largest felony courthouse complexes in the United States. It has handled many of Chicago's most infamous criminal trials.
The courthouse is a working courthouse that handles thousands of felony cases. It is public to those with court business but is not a tourist attraction.
400 S State St — Research into killers and cold cases
As Gwen hunts her stalker, the need to dig into old case files, news archives, and true crime history leads naturally to places like this library. Researching the same kinds of crimes her father committed forces her to confront her past, and to read about herself as a headline. It is the sort of quiet public place where Gwen, who prefers to observe rather than participate, can piece together clues.
Opened in 1991 and named for Chicago's first Black mayor, the library is the largest public library building in the world by area. Its postmodern design by Thomas Beeby draws on Chicago's classical architecture, with large owl sculptures atop its roof.
The Harold Washington Library is the central branch of the Chicago Public Library and holds extensive archives and a winter garden on its top floor. It is free and open to the public.
Visit: Harold Washington Library Center (library)
78 E Washington St — Stand-in for the true crime fan gathering
Gwen's search immerses her in the twisted world of true crime fandom, with its conventions, podcasts, and obsessive amateur sleuths. This grand gathering space represents the kind of venue where fans swap theories about killers like Abel Haggerty, unaware that his daughter is in the room. For Gwen, the irony is sharp, since she must listen to strangers romanticize her family's worst moments.
Built in 1897 as Chicago's first central public library, the building features a Tiffany stained-glass dome, said to be the world's largest. It was converted to a cultural center in the 1970s.
The Chicago Cultural Center offers free exhibitions, concerts, and lectures in a Beaux-Arts landmark. Its Tiffany dome is among the city's most photographed interiors.
Visit: Chicago Cultural Center (landmark)
430 N Michigan Ave (lower level) — A cynical gathering spot
A dingy, no-nonsense tavern like this suits Gwen's wry, cynical outlook, and serves as a stand-in for the places where she meets the people drawn into her hunt. Over drinks and conversation, she tests whether she is capable of the deep human connections she has avoided for twenty years. Each new ally also raises the question of what they might be hiding.
The Billy Goat Tavern was founded in 1934 by Greek immigrant William Sianis. It became a hangout for newspaper reporters and was immortalized in a Saturday Night Live sketch.
The lower-level tavern still serves its famous cheeseburgers and is a popular stop for visitors and locals alike. It retains its newspaper-era memorabilia.
Visit: Billy Goat Tavern (restaurant)
4802 N Broadway — A dim, old-Chicago hideaway
Gwen's habit of observing from the edges of a room fits a dark, atmospheric bar such as this one. It represents the kind of place where she can drink, watch, and trade barbs without revealing herself. Such settings become the backdrop for her tentative steps toward trust as she searches for the killer.
The Green Mill opened in 1907 as Pop Morse's Roadhouse and became a jazz hangout in the Prohibition era, reputedly frequented by Al Capone. Its Uptown location was once the center of Chicago's entertainment district.
The Green Mill remains a working jazz club known for its Sunday poetry slam and live music. Its vintage interior has changed little in decades.
Visit: Green Mill Cocktail Lounge (restaurant)
1601 N Clark St — Public memory of crime and the city
The theme of how a city remembers its criminals echoes through Gwen's story, since her father's crimes made him a public figure while she became a ghost. A museum of local history is a fitting stand-in for the way the public consumes and preserves tales of notorious killers. Gwen's discomfort with that fascination drives her satirical view of the world.
Founded in 1856 as the Chicago Historical Society, the institution moved to its current Lincoln Park building in 1932. Its collections cover Chicago's growth, fire, and social history.
The museum hosts exhibitions on Chicago life and culture, and its collection includes artifacts from the Great Chicago Fire. It is open to the public daily.
Visit: Chicago History Museum (museum)
Oak Park — Stand-in for the suburb where Marin Haggerty grew up
Before she became Gwen, Marin Haggerty was a child in a house that concealed her father's secrets. This leafy suburban setting stands in for that home, the place from which she was ripped away when Abel Haggerty was arrested. Memories of that house haunt Gwen as the new killer's threats force her to revisit what she lived through.
Oak Park was incorporated as a village in 1902 and is known as the birthplace of Ernest Hemingway and the home of Frank Lloyd Wright's early career. Its tree-lined streets show a high concentration of historic architecture.
Oak Park is a residential suburb with Wright-designed houses and a thriving downtown. The private homes are not open to visitors, though architecture tours are offered elsewhere in the village.
2391 N Stockton Dr — A quiet pocket of calm
Gwen's guarded life leaves little room for peace, but a green, quiet place like this conservatory represents a rare moment of exhale. Such spaces give her a chance to reflect on her identity and the question of whether the apple falls far from the tree. It is a place to consider whether she can let someone in.
The conservatory opened in stages beginning in 1890 and was designed by Joseph Lyman Silsbee. It is one of the best-preserved Victorian glasshouses in the United States.
The conservatory offers free admission to its palm house, fern room, orchid house, and display gardens. It is run by the Chicago Park District.
Visit: Lincoln Park Conservatory (park)
Montrose Ave at the lakefront — Space to think by the water
The open lakefront is a fitting stand-in for the places where Gwen steps away from the chaos to confront her past. Standing beside the water, she weighs the risk of trusting others against the loneliness of staying hidden. It is a backdrop for her reckoning with who she is and who her father was.
Montrose Harbor was created on landfill in the 1920s as part of Lincoln Park's lakefront expansion. The nearby Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary became a renowned birding site.
Montrose Harbor is a public park and boating harbor with skyline views, a beach, and walking paths. It draws joggers, anglers, and birdwatchers year-round.
Visit: Montrose Harbor (park)
5800 N Ravenswood Ave — A place for the dead and the buried past
A cemetery is a natural stand-in for the buried past that Gwen can never fully leave behind. It reflects the weight of the victims of her father's crimes and the family she lost when she became someone else. Here, in the stillness, she considers what it would take to make peace with her origins.
Established in 1859, Rosehill is Chicago's largest cemetery and the final resting place of several mayors and notable figures. Its Gothic Revival entrance gate was designed by William W. Boyington.
Rosehill Cemetery is an active cemetery and a registered historic site, open to the public for walks and tours. It has elaborate mausoleums and old-growth trees.
Visit: Rosehill Cemetery (historic site)
More by Amy K. Green: All Amy K. Green books
More novels set in Chicago: Browse all Chicago books on Map A Story
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