Luxury camera store coming to Magnificent Mile, aims to be ‘community center' for artists
German luxury camera brand Leica will later this month hold a grand opening for its new multistory store and gallery on Chicago's Magnificent Mile across from the historic Water Tower.
It's Leica's first gallery in the Midwest and another boost for the famous shopping district. The Magnificent Mile was abandoned by many retailers during the pandemic, but lately has attracted new businesses, including many that provide customers with experiences alongside the sale of goods.
The Leica Store & Gallery Chicago fits right in with the new trend, said Mike Giannattasio, president of Leica Camera North America.
"This is not a traditional camera store, and we don't see this as just a retail location," he said. "We see this as a community center for artists. This is a place where the community will come together."
Occupying a historic townhome at 800 N. Michigan Ave., Leica will sell cameras, photographic accessories, watches and other products on the first floor, and present gallery exhibitions and workshops upstairs. Other Magnificent Mile tenants breaking from the traditional retail model include the Candy Hall of Fame Experience, opening next year at 830 N. Michigan Ave. and the Museum of Ice Cream in Tribune Tower.
Giannattasio said Leica was offered cheaper rents in other nearby properties, but the North Michigan Avenue townhome, a Chicago landmark built in 1917 as an architectural studio for Perkins, Fellows & Hamilton, offered an unbeatable combination. The 5,000-square-foot store and gallery will benefit from the street's dense foot traffic and its proximity to the Museum of Contemporary Art and other cultural institutions.
"It was only natural that we chose this as our home," he said. "We've always gone where we think our community is."
Leica’s move-in means the storefronts next to the historic Water Tower are now leased, said John Vance, principal at Stone Real Estate, another sign of the shopping district’s growing strength. And although the Magnificent Mile will soon lose luxury retailer Saks Fifth Avenue, set for a May closure, other property owners recently signed up a batch of new tenants, including a two-story Chase/J.P. Morgan banking center, the Japanese clothing brand Uniqlo, a magic-themed entertainment and dining complex at 100 E. Ontario St. called The Hand & The Eye and American Eagle Outfitters, which will open a flagship store at 600 N. Michigan Ave. in 2027.
“The Avenue is now fully in recovery mode, and getting to the point where it is recovered,” Vance said.
He said he expects new retailers will keep showing up and occupying Magnificent Mile spaces, especially ones that can attract customers that want to do more than click on computer screens when buying products.
“Online shopping is a wonderful thing,” Vance said. “It’s extraordinarily convenient and coldly efficient, but it has no soul.”
Leica’s upstairs photography gallery, which is lit by the building's historic skylight and provides views of Jane M. Byrne Plaza Park, will exhibit new works by photographers and other artists, including many Chicagoans, every six to eight weeks, Giannattasio said. His eventual goal is to hold outdoor public events, bringing crowds to Byrne Park. Leica will also offer classes, repair cameras, print digital photos, and help photographers evaluate and improve their work. Other customers can browse the library, view historic photo equipment or buy coffees and soft drinks at the bar.
The April 30 grand opening will host the inaugural gallery exhibition by photographer Craig Semetko.
"There will always be a reason to come back and see what's going on in the Leica gallery," Giannattasio said.
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This story was originally published April 21, 2026 at 5:24 AM.