Museums, History, and Architecture
A history and design unlike any other
Griffin Museum of Science and Industry
Located in Jackson Park on Chicago’s South Side, the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry is not only one of Chicago’s most popular attractions, but one of the largest science museums in the world. Filled with endless interactive exhibits about science, innovation, and engineering feats from around the globe and throughout history, the museum features popular permanent exhibits include the Coal Mine, U-505 Submarine, and the Mirror Maze, with exciting new temporary exhibits added each year. Be sure to block out an entire morning or afternoon to visit — the museum is massive!
Museum of Contemporary Art
Unlike the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Contemporary Art features constantly rotating exhibitions by contemporary artists of today. I’ve been to MCA many times, and enjoy different and thought-provoking exhibitions on every visit.
This museum is family-friendly, but students and adults may especially appreciate the more nuanced, and often heavier, subject matter. Still, there is artwork for everyone to enjoy. The museum also offers live performances, events, and programs for the community. Expect to spend around an hour to two hours here.
Chicago Children’s Museum
At the Chicago Children’s Museum, children of all ages can enjoy a space to play and learn. Located on Navy Pier, the museum itself is comprised of more than a dozen exhibits that cater to different interests and experiences. Exhibits like Tinkering Lab, Skyline, and Dinosaur Expedition will allow children to tinker, build mini-skyscrapers, and even dig for dinosaur bones. At the Art Studio, children can let their imaginations soar with painting, drawing, and pottery-inspired workshops.
Additionally, children can learn practical life skills and take the lead at exhibits like Kids Town and Michael’s Museum. And for some overall fun, there are tons of exhibits for your little ones to climb, play, explore, and learn.
Chicago History Museum
Located right near the lake in the southeastern corner of Lincoln Park is the Chicago History Museum. One of Chicago’s oldest cultural institutions, a visit to this museum will walk you through the city’s historic past to learn about what makes Chicago, well, Chicago.
Exhibitions explore topics like freedom, democracy, and the history of Chicago. A film is also available to learn about the city’s growth and events like the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. There’s even an exhibit for uncovering the city through the five senses.
Jane Addams Hull-House Museum
Hull-House, Chicago's first social settlement was not only the private home of Jane Addams and other Hull-House residents, but also a place where immigrants of diverse communities gathered to learn, to eat, to debate, and to acquire the tools necessary to put down roots in their new country.
A National Historic Landmark, free and open to the public, the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum hosts exhibitions and programs that connect histories of social transformation to the present. For the University of Illinois Chicago and for national and international visitors, the museum endures as a site of activism, creative expression, research, and education.
Richard H. Driehaus Museum
Located just steps from the Magnificent Mile, the Richard H. Driehaus Museum explores the art, architecture, and design of the late 19th-century with a focus on the Gilded Age. The exquisite building was saved twice, first by a collective of over 100 Chicago citizens in 1919, and then by philanthropist Richard H. Driehaus, who sponsored its restoration from 2003-2008.
The Driehaus Museum engages and inspires the global community through exploration and ongoing conversations in art, architecture, and design of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Its permanent collection and temporary exhibitions are presented in an immersive experience within the restored Nickerson Mansion, completed in 1883, at the height of the Gilded Age, and the 1926 Murphy Auditorium. The Museum’s collection reflects and is inspired by the collecting interests, vision, and focus of its founder, the late Richard H. Driehaus.
Chicago Architecture Center
You get double the architectural history at One Illinois Center. Not only was it designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, but it’s also the location of the Chicago Architecture Center, the perfect starting point for your discovery of Chicago’s downtown architecture. Enter through the main doors and you’ll have your pick of over 85 walking, bus, and boat tours.
Wander up one level for the main attraction, Building Tall in the Skyscraper Gallery. Towering scale models of the world’s most famous skyscrapers frame views through massive windows onto, well, some of the world’s most famous skyscrapers. The center is located above the Chicago Riverwalk, with a dedicated dock for the center’s signature Chicago Architecture Foundation Center River Cruise aboard Chicago’s First Lady.
Frederick C. Robie House
An iconic landmark in terms of Chicago architecture and design, the Frederick C. Robie House was designed by famed Chicago architect Frank Lloyd Wright and is best known for showcasing his Midwestern Prairie-style.
Built in 1910, it’s now a museum where you can witness this Prairie-style architecture up close. Tours show off the exterior and interior, including its unique woodwork. The house is also located on the University of Chicago’s campus, so be sure to wander around for more unique architectural sights.
The Rookery Building
Hailed as one of Chicago’s coolest buildings, the Rookery Building is a stellar example of the city’s architectural boom that followed the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Considered by many to be an “architectural masterpiece,” the building itself was designed by Daniel Burnham and John Root. However, Chicago architect Frank Lloyd Wright had his hand in redesigning the lobby in 1905.
Historic Water Tower
With a detailed Gothic Revival facade, Historic Water Tower bursts with charm. It was built as part of Chicago’s municipal water system, originally housing a 135-foot iron standpipe used to regulate water pressure, and one of the few city structures to survive the Great Chicago Fire. Today, it’s the City Gallery at Historic Water Tower, and the place to go for free rotating art exhibits. The original pumping station, another survivor of the fire, is just across the street.
Tribune Tower
The Tribune Tower is a striking Gothic Revival tower that formerly housed the Chicago Tribune newspaper. Made of Indiana limestone, the design incorporates Art Deco, Medieval, and French cathedral inspired details.
The building’s first story walls are embedded with roughly 150 fragments from the world’s most important historic buildings and sites, including the the Berlin Wall, the Winter Palace in Beijing, Westminster Abbey in London, the Great Pyramid in Giza, and the Parthenon in Athens.
The Monadnock Building
The Monadnock Building (historically the Monadnock Block) is a 16-story skyscraper located at 53 West Jackson Boulevard in the south Loop area of Chicago. The north half of the building was designed by the firm of Burnham & Root and built starting in 1891. At 215 feet, it is the tallest load-bearing brick building ever constructed. It employed the first portal system of wind bracing in the United States. Its decorative staircases represent the first structural use of aluminum in building construction. The later south half, constructed in 1893, was designed by Holabird & Roche and is similar in color and profile to the original, but the design is more traditionally ornate. When completed, it was the largest office building in the world. The success of the building was the catalyst for an important new business center at the southern end of the Loop.
Pullman Historic District
Take a trip back in time with a stroll through the charming streets of the Pullman historic district. The first planned industrial community in the U.S., the Pullman neighborhood is a hidden gem known for its innovative urban design and stunning architecture. The area was designated a National Monument by President Obama in 2015, making it Chicago’s first and only unit of the National Park System.
The neighborhood was meticulously planned by George Pullman in the 1880s as housing for employees of his Pullman Palace Car Company. Today, visitors can stop by the Pullman Factory where the railroad cars were constructed, the Hotel Florence, named for his daughter, and the A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum, which documents the first African American labor union in the country.
The Last Wooden Street in Chicago
Before the Great Chicago Fire, many of the city’s streets were made of wood and covered with tar. But after the fire set streets aflame, wooden blocks fell out of favor. The last remaining wood-paved street is located between Astor and State Streets, behind the sprawling mansion of the Archbishop of Chicago. Walk through the alley’s 919 square yards, which were restored and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. After, you can explore the rest of the Astor Street District, which boasts historic 19th century houses that make up one of the city’s most affluent neighborhoods.