Free Museum tours this Saturday, September 26, 2015

Along with many Chicago museums, the Glessner and Clarke House Museums in the South Loop will be offering free tours Saturday, September 26, 2015. This free museum event is part of Smithsonian Magazine’s “Museum Day Live!”

To get your free tickets, visit the event’s Web site. Tickets are good for two people and limited to one per household.

Participating museums:

Adler Planetarium, 1300 S. Lake Shore Drive
Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture, 6500 S. Pulaski Road
Chicago History Museum, 1601 N. Clark St.
Clarke House Museum, 1827 S. Indiana Ave.
DuSable Museum of African American History, 740 E. 56th Place
Gallery 400, 400 S. Peoria St.
Glessner House Museum, 1800 S. Prairie Ave.
Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art, 756 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Loyola University Museum of Art, 820 N. Michigan Ave.
Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Ave.
National Hellenic Museum, 333 S. Halsted St.
Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, 2430 N. Cannon Drive
Swedish American Museum, 5211 N. Clark St.

The Clarke House Museum in Chicago Women’s Park and Gardens

Christmas Candlelight Tours Of The Clarke And Glessner House Museums

Glessner House Museum, located at 1800 S. Prairie Avenue in Chicago’s South Loop neighborhood, will conduct its annual Christmas candlelight tours on Saturday December 14 and Sunday December 15, 2013, with tours offered at 5:30, 6:00, and 6:30 p.m. each evening.

These special 90-minute docent led tours will highlight Christmas customs and decorations of the 19th century. The Clarke House will feature decorations of the 1850s, when the celebration of Christmas as we know it today was just starting to take root. The Glessner House will feature more elaborate decorations of the late 19th century, including a live Christmas tree decorated with glass and paper ornaments, and the dining room table set for the elaborate holiday feast. After the tour, participants are invited to stroll over to the landmark Wheeler Mansion (now a boutique hotel) for light refreshments and to view their beautifully restored rooms decorated for the holidays.

Glessner House Museum is a National Historic Landmark and the last surviving work by H. H. Richardson in Chicago. Completed in 1887, the museum is recognized nationwide for its groundbreaking architecture as well as its important decorative arts collection.

The Glessner House main hall

The cost for the tours is $18 for adults and $14 for children 8 to 12.  Prepaid reservations are required and may be made by calling 312-326-1480. The museum is easily accessible by taking the #3 or #4 bus south on Michigan Avenue to 18th Street, and then walking 2 blocks east.

The Clarke House turns 175

This past Thursday, the Clarke House celebrated its 175th anniversary. Folks from Illinois, Chicago, and around the country, came to celebrate the milestone. The event included a cocktail reception in the Clarke House followed by a sit-down dinner in the Glessner House Museum’s coach house.

Guest on the portico of the Clarke House during Thursday’s reception

House History
Built in 1836, the structure is recognized as Chicago’s oldest surviving  home. Due to it’s location (originally located near 16th and S. Michigan), the Clarke House was far enough south to escape the Great Fire of 1871.

Pioneers on the Prairie
Henry and Caroline Clarke came to Chicago from Utica, New York. They came to Chicago to make their fortune. When the Clarkes moved to Illinois, there were barely 1,000 residents in Chicago. Ironically, the Clarkes weren’t counted in the 1935 Chicago census because where the house was originally located and where it stands today, weren’t annexed as part of city until 1837.

"175th Anniversary of Clarke House"

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Survivors
The Clarkes had nine children, with three preceding them in death. Henry and Caroline for most of their lives occupied themselves with providing for their six remaining children. When they built their Greek Revival home, things were economically pretty good, but that would all change in 1837. When the United States converted to a gold standard, Henry’s business pursuits turned sour and things became very bleak. Mr. Clarke set about supporting his family through hunting, farming, and some work in the city. The family also took in borders to help make ends meet.

More Challenges
In 1849 the Clarkes faced a real challenge. In 19th-century Chicago, cholera epidemics seemed to visit the city every summer. Henry Clarke fell victim to the cholera epidemic that year and died. Carolyn Clarke was now a widow with six children and no income to keep the family going. The original Clarke House was on a plot of 20 acres. After Henry Clarke passed away, Caroline sold 17 of those acres, which helped her pay off the family’s debts, complete and update the house, which was unfinished at the time of Mr. Clarke’s death.

An Enduring Legacy
The Clarke House is so much more than a beautifully restored old house. It represents the dreams and visions of those who built the foundation on which Chicago, one of the world’s great cities, stands today.

Serenity Now: Chicago Women’s Park and Gardens at Twilight

View from the fountain looking west

Free Concert at Women’s Park on Tuesday

VanderCook College of Music’s graduate band will be performing a free concert in Chicago Women’s Park and Gardens on Tuesday, July 12, 2011. The 5th annual concert in the park will feature “famous marches, show tunes, movie themes, and concert band classics.” Family drum circle will start at 6 p.m. followed by the band at 7 p.m. The concert is presented by Lakeside Bank, in cooperation with the Chicago Park District and local community organizations.

The concert will be held in the park at 1827 S. Indiana Ave., just east of the Clarke House Museum. Bring lawn chairs and blankets, pick your spot and enjoy.

Free family drum circles take place on Saturdays from 11:00 to 11:45 a.m. at VanderCook College of Music, 3125 S. Federal St.

Check out the drum circle video taken before last year’s band concert.

The Blizzard of 2010?

Here comes the blizzard that had been predicted for quite a while now. It makes for some interesting pictures and videos, but it's a mess if you need to be traveling today. Here are some photos from around my neighborhood in the South Loop and a short video of the snow coming down.

Blizzard or not, you still have to walk the dogs.

The entrance to the Glessner House Museum; it might have looked like this in 1886.

The Clarke House, Chicago's oldest home, among the high-rises in the South Loop.

Top-40 Buildings in Chicago: The South Loop has Two!

The current issue of Chicago Magazine lists the top-40 buildings in Chicago. Included in the list are the Henry B. Clarke House (34) and the John J. Glessner House (19).

The Henry B. Clarke House

 The Clarke House, the oldest house in Chicago is located at 1827 S. Indiana Ave. in the Chicago Women's Park and Gardens. It's original location (the house was moved twice before) was closer to 16th and S. Michigan Ave. The Glessner House, located at 1800 S. Prairie Ave. is a reminder that the South Loop was Chicago's original gold coast. The three richest men in Chicago all lived on S. Prairie Ave. They are in order of wealth: Marshall Field, Philip Armour, and George Pullman. John J. Glessner, far from the richest man on the block, was an executive with a farm equipment manufacturing firm. His firm merged with several others to create International Harvester.

The John J. Glessner House at 1800 S. Prairie Ave.

The Glessner House was designed by architect Henry Hobson Richardson. Richardson whose offices were located in Brookline, MA, is considered one of the first great American architects. His unique American style  influenced later architects Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright.

The Clarke and Glessner houses are both museums open all year-round for tours.

Docent Diaries: A Peak Inside the Glessner House

Some of you know that I'm a volunteer docent at both the Clarke House and Glessner House museums. WCIU.com visited the Glessner House recently and took a tour with museum executive director, William (Bill) Tyre.

Check out the video below for a short trip back to the nineteenth century.

4th Annual Concert in the Park Tuesday July 13

The 4th Annual Concert in the Park will take place Tuesday July 13 at 7 p.m. at the Women's Park & Gardens.  The bandstand is located behind the Clarke House Museum at 1827 S. Indiana Ave. VanderCook College of Music graduate students play a variety of concert band classics the whole family can enjoy. Families bring their picnics, balloons and popcorn will be provided.

Families are encouraged to bring kids early for a Community Drum Circle Demonstration at 6:30 p.m. Enjoy interactive creative music making the whole family can enjoy.

This free concert will be presented by Lakeside Bank as a benefit for the Parkways Foundation. Parkways Foundation invests in Chicago's parks to enrich communities through historic preservation, environmental initiatives, capital projects and youth/family programs. Donations up to $1,000 will be matched by Lakeside Bank. For more information click here.

 

Docent Diaries: The Case of the Missing Docent

American Ambassadors
In past posts, I've written about being a docent for the Glessner and Clarke house museums. One of the best things about being a volunteer is you get to meet people from all over the United States and the world. We try to make visitors to Chicago feel welcome; we're not just ambassadors for the city and the state, but the United States as well. For many foreign travelers, Chicago may be their first trip to America.

A Fortuitous Visit
This past Sunday, I stopped by the visitor center/gift shop to say hello to another volunteer docent who was working there. While I was visiting, one of the docents scheduled to give afternoon tours of the two historic homes didn't show up.

Volunteer docent, Jackie Walker, checks the tour schedule in the visitor's center.

Docents to the Rescue

A docent, on duty earlier in the afternoon, filled in for the missing volunteer and took a couple from Maryland on a tour of the Clarke House. As it got closer to  3 p.m., I stepped in and took a group of about seven guests on a tour of the Glessner House. Included in this group was a couple from Bologna, Italy. Not as famous as Venice, Rome, or Florence, Bologna is a beautiful city with edifices from the 11th and 12th centuries that are not only still standing, but still in use. Bologna is also home to the oldest university in the Western world. The University of Bologna was founded in 1088.

Two visitors from Bologna

These twin towers are a popular tourist attraction in Bologna.

Red Hat Society Ladies Visit the Glessner and Clarke Houses

The Joy of Volunteering
I'm a volunteer docent (tour guide) for the Clarke and Glessner houses. One of the fun parts of the "job" is meeting people from all walks (and stages) of life, different states, and countries. Yesterday it was my pleasure to lead a group of Red Hat Society ladies through both historic homes. Both homes are challenging; they have lots of stairs, and in the case of the Glessner house, there is no elevator. In spite of the challenges, my group of ladies made it through both houses and proved one is never too old to learn new things (Chicago history in this case) and face new challenges. Bravo, ladies!

What is the Red Hat Society?
"The Red Hat Society is the largest international social organization for women, dedicated to making the world a better place for our members by actively promoting and supporting fun, friendship, freedom, fulfillment and fitness for each individual, as well as demonstrating the value and contributions of women to society at large."

For more information on the Red Hat Society, click here.

Vistors from across the pond

Visitors from Manchester, England
Today I took a young couple from Manchester, England on a tour of the Clarke House. A house built in 1836 might not seem too old (but it is the oldest house in Chicago) to folks from across the pond, but they seemed to enjoy the tour. They also took a tour of the Glessner House Museum with another docent. Here's a picture that I took of them in front of the Glessner House.

Free Wednesdays
Historic Prairie Ave. is a favorite stop for folks from Europe and around the world. Wednesdays are free days, and many of the guide books point this out to tourists.

It's a small world after all

The couple asked me if I had every been to England. I said I had and that I'd been to the south of London to the seaside city of Bournemouth. I discovered that the young woman was raised there. Small world.