The faces that peek through the window of the ArcelorMittal CitySpace gallery are all colors and sizes. After catching a glimpse of the large scale model of the Loop, they can't help but make their way through the building entrance and actually step foot into the gallery itself.

There is the teenage architecture buff with a self-made paper model of the Sears Tower in tow. There is the pre-schooler who's not sure exactly WHAT he's looking at, but knows that he wants more of it (he pitches a fit as his mother drags him away).

There are the tourists, complete with their colorful Australian or Irish accents. And there are the locals, some of them conversing in their native language (Spanish, on this day), but laughing all the same as they read of Mrs. O'Leary's cow. They know the story well.

"Chicago: You Are Here", the new exhibit housed in the Chicago Architecture Foundation headquarters at the Santa Fe Building, demonstrates how the design of the built environment and stories of people who live in that environment are inseparable. The exhibit is a visual experience peppered with audio clips from Chicago Public Radio documentaries of Chicago.

The people who visit the exhibit seem to represent the city itself. We've been told time and again to never judge a book by its cover, and this rings true as the myriad guests trickle into this space. Oftentimes, there are very "lively-looking" youth, who, to a critical eye, may very likely be entering the space only to find refuge from the stifling heat outside (and not because they're really interested in what the space has to offer).

I, that critical eye, am often proven very wrong. The youth talk amongst themselves, asking questions like, "Where's the Spire gonna be?" (making reference to the forthcoming Calatrava masterpiece)-or "Is that the new Trump Tower?" It is evident that the story of Chicago is enough to captivate anyone.

People seem to feel a sense of ownership of their city. One elderly gentleman frequents from time to time. He professes to be a shipwreck investigator by hobby. In his former life, he was an engineer. On this day, he makes mention that the exhibit should pay more even more heed to the realm of STEEL. "Without steel, there'd be no skyscrapers", he says. Good point, I think to myself.

Some people, locals, are a bit disappointed that their high-rise apartment building is nowhere to be found on the model. They sulk for just a moment, but still they leave happy.

The tourists have a less personal point-of-reference and just appreciate the overall spectrum of things. After all, they ARE standing in a classic Burnham building, reading about not only this city's architecture. But its history. Its people.

And while the sign says, "Chicago: YOU Are Here", it could very well say, "Chicago: WE Are Here." For regardless of whether these individuals have traversed from around the world or just around the corner, it is clear that we're in this thing together. And it's not so much about the miniature plastic buildings, or the pictures plastered on the wall, or the radio noises permeating the air. It's about people.

And plain and simple, this exhibit is bringing people together.

The ArcelorMittal CitySpace Gallery, at the Chicago Architecture Foundation, is located at 224 S. Michigan Avenue. The exhibition is free and is open to the public daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Elizabeth Sandoval is a freelance writer whose work has been published in Newsweek, USA Today, the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Daily News, San Gabriel Valley Tribune and other L.A.-area papers, and on Chicago Public Radio.