Why you’ll love each tour de force
She lives in the moment. Her tour script changes for chance encounters (the bridge she’s discussing is full of inebriated screamers) and all tourists—from a boatful of kids to a group of stodgy architecture experts.

Favorite sites
Sears Tower and Trump International (Discovery Channel taped her tour for a recent segment on the tower). She gushes over Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, an architecture design team, which makes her feel “incredibly dorky.”

Best lines
 “We’re the only city that’s been able to reverse a river’s direction. And now we’re sending all of our pollution to our friends in St. Louis.” Ba-dum-dum.

How tourists react
Even locals often tell her, “I’ve taken this tour numerous times before—and yours is my favorite.”

Catch their tour
It’s hard for Wendella to know advance schedules, but you can call and request Manginelli’s boat the same day you take a tour (312-222-9225).

Photo: Erica Gannett

J. Chris Baum

Tours
Chicago Double Decker Co.’s Hop on Hop Off City Sightseeing Tour

Alter ego
A professional opera singer for 23 years

How they got their starts
Forever intrigued by the red two-story buses, the jovial divo interviewed for the job last spring and ended up leading the interview, to which the company replied, “If you can lead the interview, you can lead the tour.”

Why you’ll love each tour de force
It’s not easy to pace a tour from the top of a bus that might be flying 40 mph, or locked in traffic. But this seasoned vocalist not only has impeccable timing, he sings “impressions,” including a new Pavarotti tribute in front of the Civic Opera House.

Favorite sites
At Viagra Triangle, he croons Tony Bennett (who got his start on Rush Street); at Jackson Blvd and Michigan Ave, he sings Nat King Cole’s “Route 66”; on the last leg of the tour, the bus joins him in Petula Clark’s “Downtown.”  

Best lines
Baum will give you a personalized performance depending on your place of origin: from “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” to “Oklahoma.”

How tourists react
It’s common for them to wait at one of the 13 stops on the tour’s route until Baum’s bus rolls by. 

Catch their tour
Baum’s taking a break from his daily bus trips (773-648-5000) until mid October while he performs in an Opera Columbus production of La Bohème.

Photo: Erica Gannett

Al Walavich

Tours
Chicago Neighborhood Tours and Chicago History Museum Tours

Alter ego
None—Walavich is a master of the art of tour guiding.

How they got their starts
Walavich’s grandmother believed they should visit deceased family members on Memorial Day, so young Al made an annual pilgrimage to six graveyards. Years later, he started giving Graceland Cemetery tours as a fund-raiser for Uptown Historical Society.

Why you’ll love each tour de force
With 25 years of tour experience,  there’s nothing this man doesn’t know about the Windy City. He gives tours on the Great Fire, Devil in the White City, literary Chicago, the North Side, Chicago highlights, lake history... 

Favorite sites
Little-known monuments in Graceland: the graves of John Dickey, the city’s first firefighter to die in the line of duty, and John Huck, the last person to die in the Great Fire and the father-in-law of Marshall Field’s daughter.

Best lines
 “I’m a disgusting ham who can’t control myself! I love sharing things!”

How tourists react
Each year, 300 to 400 people vie for his tours, including repeat customers who’ve been loyal for seven years.

Catch their tour
Walavich will give five Graceland tours (his specialty) on October 27, 28 and 31. For tickets, go to chicagohs.org.