Updated: 3/3/2010 
Glessner House Museum
Chicago, Illinois
Description

Glessner House Museum boasts a veritable garden of earthly delights for the appreciation and study of decorative arts. From the Isaac Scott cabinetry, to the Morris & Co. textiles, and the eclectic array of ceramics, the museum offers visitors a singular experience in which nearly all of the furnishings and appointments are original to the family. Visitors to this historic home thrill at the hundreds of glorious art objects that grace the period rooms.

A National Historic Landmark, Glessner House was designed by noted American architect Henry Hobson Richardson and completed in 1887. It remains an internationally-known architectural treasure in Chicago. A radical departure from traditional Victorian architecture, the structure served as an inspiration to the young Frank Lloyd Wright and helped reform domestic architecture.

Glessner House Museum offers guided tours, lectures, and other special programs to interpret the themes of art, architecture, and social history which are inherent in Glessner House, the museum's collections, and the stories of its residents and neighbors during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Mission

Glessner House Museum engages diverse audiences in exploring urban life and design through the preservation and interpretation of the architecture of Henry Hobson Richardson and the historic home of John and Frances Glessner.

Artifact Collections

The house contains an important collection of original English and American arts and crafts objects, as well as a major collection of steel engravings, and furniture by Isaac Scott, A. H. Davenport, Herter Brothers, and Charles Coolidge.

Research Collections

Large research collection focusing mostly on the Glessner family and the Prairie Avenue neighborhood.

Programs

Glessner House Museum helps illuminate the present by bringing the past to life with a wealth of subjects to study, present, dramatize, and celebrate—from the glamour of the Gilded Age, to the vast cultural changes surrounding World War I, to the excitement of the Jazz Age and Prohibition. Lectures, programs and events attract diverse audiences for education and entertainment.

Library

Access: General Public, Students, Scholars, Members

Appointment required: True

Services
Gift Shop
Hours of Operation

Wednesday through Sunday; tours at 1:00 and 3:00pm

Groups are limited to 12 visitors per tour and are on a first-come, first-serve, walk-in basis. However, custom tours for groups of 10 or more are available with at least 4 weeks advanced reservations. Please contact 312.326.1480 for more information or to make a custom tour reservation. Free days (Wednesdays) do not apply to groups of ten or more.

Admission
DISCLAIMER
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