Film Noir classic “Mystery Street” to screen at Glessner House Museum March 29

The film noir classic Mystery Street (1950) will screen at Glessner House Museum, 1800 S. Prairie Ave., on March 29 at 7 p.m. The screening is part of the Glessner House’s birthday celebration for Frances (Fanny) Glessner Lee, a multi-day celebration of her life and pioneering work in the field of forensic science.

Glessner Lee was instrumental in launching the field of forensic science through her endowment of the Department of Legal Medicine at Harvard Medical School in 1932 (the first in the country). Mystery Street is the first film to feature the role of forensics in the solving of crimes, specifically murder and unexplained deaths.

Lobby card for Mystery Street

Oak Park, Illinois native, John Sturges (The Magnificent Seven – 1960, The Great Escape – 1963) directed Mystery Street. It earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Writing, Motion Picture Story for Leonard Spigelgass. The film was well received by critics in 1950 and today it is considered a classic in the film noir genre. Mystery Street follows the murder of a young woman whose decomposed body is identified with the help of a forensics expert at Harvard University. Locations featured in the film include Harvard Medical School in Roxbury, Massachusetts and Harvard University in Cambridge. The film stars Ricardo Montalban as State Police Lt. Peter Morales assigned to the case.

Filmed mostly on location in Boston by cinematographer John Alton (Father of the Bride – 1950, Elmer Gantry – 1960) the film has a grittiness that studio-bound productions from that period lacked. Alton won an Academy Award for cinematography for his filming of the ballet sequence in An American in Paris (1951) and wrote Painting with Light (1949), which was one of the first books written by a studio cinematographer.

Dr. McAdoo (Bruce Bennett), second from left, and Lt. Morales (Montalban) examine skeletal remains of the victim

Time magazine said that “…Director John Sturges and Scripters Sydney Boehm and Richard Brooks have treated the picture with such taste and craftsmanship that it is just about perfect.” The New York Times noted that Montalban gives a performance that is “natural and unassuming.”

Tickets for this event are $15 per person, $12 for members. For more information on this event, click here.


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 architects such as Louis Sullivan, Mies van der Rohe, and the young Frank Lloyd Wright and helped redefine domestic architecture.

Time Out Love Chicago Awards

It’s that time again. Time to vote for your favorite restaurant, bar, coffee shop, or cultural venue in the South Loop at TimeOut.com. Many local establishments are on the ballot, including Flo & Santos, Overflow Coffee Bar, Weather Mark Tavern, and Glessner House Museum.

To cast your vote, click on the link!

You can vote for Glessner House Museum and other South Loop venues at TimeOut.

19th Annual Benefit: A Walk Through Time

Sunday, June 12, 2016
House Walk from 1:00-4:00pm
Reception & Silent Auction from 4:00-5:00pm

Glessner House Museum
1800 S. Prairie Avenue, Chicago, IL 60616
$50 per person / $40 for members (coupon code required)

This very special tour provides attendees with the rare opportunity to visit the interiors of several historic homes in the Prairie Avenue Historic District. See beautifully carved wood moldings, leaded glass windows, fireplaces in elaborate tile, mosaic, and marble, and much more! Glessner House Museum is also included on the tour as well as historic Second Presbyterian Church with its landmarked Arts and Crafts interior and collection of Tiffany windows. Clarke House Museum will be open to the public for free that afternoon as well.  Following the tour, attendees are invited to return to the museum for a reception and silent auction, featuring theatre tickets, Chicago memorabilia, collectibles, architectural fragments, and other items of interest.

Glessner House Museum

Preview auction items (new or 2016!) and place absentee bids.

Absentee bids will be accepted from 9:00am on Monday June 6, 2016 through 5:00pm on Friday June 10, 2016. Bidding re-opens at 12:30pm on Sunday June 12 and closes at 4:45pm.

Kimball House

To purchase tour tickets, click here.

Glessner House Museum To Offer Special Behind-The-Scenes Architecture Tours

As part of the Chicago Architecture Biennial, Glessner House Museum, located at 1800 S. Prairie Avenue in Chicago’s South Loop neighborhood, will offer a special two-hour tour focusing on architect Henry Hobson Richardson and his design of the house. The tour will take place on Saturday October 3 at 10:00 a.m. Tickets are $25 and pre-paid reservations are required to 312-326-1480.

These exclusive tours, offered for the first time, will explore the significant architectural design of the house. Controversial at the time of its completion in 1887, it foreshadowed the development of modern residential architecture, impacting architects such as Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright. Attendees will see portions of the building not included on regular public tours as well as objects rarely shown, including sketches and drawings by Richardson.

The tour will repeat on Saturdays November 21 and December 19.

Interior of the Glessner House parlor

Tour the Mansions of Historic Prairie Avenue

Kimball and Coleman houses on S. Prairie Avenue

Sunday June 14, 2015
1:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Glessner House Museum
1800 S. Prairie Avenue
Chicago, IL
$50 per person/$45 members

This very special (annual) tour provides attendees with the rare opportunity to visit the interiors of several historic homes in the Prairie Avenue Historic District.

See the beautifully carved wood moldings, leaded glass windows, fireplaces in elaborate tile, mosaic, and marble, and much more! Glessner and Clarke House Museums are also included on the tour as well as historic Second Presbyterian Church with its landmarked Arts and Crafts interior and collection of Tiffany windows.

Following the tour, attendees are invited to return to the museum for a reception and silent auction, featuring theatre tickets, Chicago memorabilia, collectibles, architectural fragments, and other items of interest.

For reservations (recommended), please call 312.326.1480.

Lecture on architect Howard Van Doren Shaw May 5, 2015

Glessner House Museum, located at 1800 S. Prairie Avenue in Chicago’s South Loop neighborhood,

will host a lecture entitled “Inventing the New American House: Howard Van Doren Shaw, Architect” on Tuesday May 5, 2015 at 7:00 p.m.

Architect Stuart Cohen offers a new look at one of the best-known architects of the early 20th

century, who built homes for the leading industrialists of his era. A traditionalist who incorporated English and Italian precedents, Shaw also created Market Square in Lake Forest – America’s first shopping center – and the interior of the National Historic Landmark Second Presbyterian Church. Copies of his new book will be available for purchase and signing.

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

Admission is $10 per person. Reservations may be made by calling 312-326-1480. The museum is easily accessible by taking the #3 or #4 bus on Michigan Avenue to 18th Street, and then walking 2 blocks east.

Glessner House Museum presents “A Walk Through Time” June 8, 2014

This very special tour, the annual benefit for Glessner House Museum, presents attendees with the rare opportunity to visit the interiors of seven historic homes in and around the Prairie Avenue Historic District. Visitors will be treated to a breath-taking array of beautifully carved wood moldings, leaded glass windows, and fireplaces in elaborate tile, mosaic, and marble. The Glessner and Clarke House Museums are also included on the tour as well as historic Second Presbyterian Church with its important arts and crafts interior and collection of windows including nine by Tiffany Studios and two by Morris and Company.

Tile fireplace in the William Reid house.

Highlights include the dramatic two-story stair hall of the William Kimball house, a stunning mahogany-paneled music room illuminated by a stained glass dome in the William Reid house (1894, Beers Clay and Dutton, architects), an elaborately carved fireplace faced in onyx in the Joseph Coleman house (1886, Cobb & Frost, architects), and the last opportunity to tour the Harriet Rees house (1888, Cobb & Frost, architects) before it is moved one block to the north later this summer. Tour hours are 1 – 4 p.m.

Following the tour, attendees are invited to return to the coach house of Glessner House Museum for a reception and silent auction, featuring theatre tickets, Chicago memorabilia, collectibles, architectural fragments, and other items of interest.

For more information, or to make reservations, please call 312-326-1480. Glessner House Museum is located at 1800 S. Prairie Avenue in Chicago's South Loop.

A Walk Through Time

Sunday June 8, 2014

1:00 – 4:00pm

$50 per person

$45 for museum members

Emily Dickinson Performance at Glessner House Museum March 30, 2014

Betsey Means as Emily Dickinson

Glessner House Museum, located at 1800 S. Prairie Avenue in Chicago’s South Loop neighborhood, will host a performance entitled “I Dwell in Possibility – An Intimate Afternoon with Emily Dickinson” on Sunday March 30, 2014 at 2:00pm.

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) is regarded as one of the greatest American poets, in spite of living a mostly introverted and reclusive life. She wrote poetry of tremendous power, questioning the nature of immortality and death, and her work has remained in print continuously since her death. The performance is adapted and performed by Betsey Means of WomanLore and is directed by Eileen Vorbach.

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

Admission is $20 per person. 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 on Michigan Avenue to 18th Street, and then walking two blocks east.

Lecture On Glessner Trip To Florida And Cuba 1889

Glessner House Museum, located at 1800 S. Prairie Avenue in Chicago’s South Loop neighborhood, will host a lecture entitled “Glessner Travelogue 1889 – Florida and Cuba” on Thursday March 13, 2014 at 7:00pm.

Exactly 125 years ago, the Glessner family escaped the Chicago winter and embarked on a month long journey to Florida and Cuba. In this lecture by Executive Director and Curator William Tyre, attendees will retrace their steps using Frances Glessner’s detailed and often humorous account of the trip, accompanied by period photographs and illustrations.

This map of Cuba is from 1863.

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

Admission is $10 per person. Reservations may be made by calling 312-326-1480. The museum is easily accessible by taking the #3 or #4 bus on Michigan Avenue to 18th Street, and then walking two blocks east.

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.

Lecture On Chicago School Of Architecture

Glessner House Museum, located at 1800 S. Prairie Avenue in Chicago’s South Loop neighborhood, will host a lecture entitled “The Chicago School of Architecture: Building the Modern City, 1880-1910” on Tuesday November 19, 2013 at 7:00pm.

The birth of the skyscraper in Chicago in the mid-1880s introduced a new direction for city architecture: upwards. But how and why was it that Chicago set the standard for high-rise buildings, not only across the U.S. but all over the world?  This lecture by noted architectural historian Rolf Achilles will address those questions and much more. Copies of Achilles’ new book (of the same title as the lecture) will be available for purchase and signing.

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

Admission is $10 per person. Reservations may be made by calling 312-326-1480. The museum is easily accessible by taking the #3 or #4 bus on Michigan Avenue to 18th Street, and then walking 2 blocks east.

Lecture On World’s Columbian Exposition at Glessner House Museum

Glessner House Museum, located at 1800 S. Prairie Avenue in Chicago’s South Loop neighborhood, will host a lecture entitled “The World’s Columbian Exposition – a 120 Year Perspective” on Wednesday November 6, 2013 at 7:00pm.

The Columbian Exposition of 1893 remains one of the most legendary events in the history of Chicago. In this presentation by Diane Dillon, director of scholarly and undergraduate programs at the Newberry library, attendees will explore the highlights of the fair that drew 27 million visitors and learn how the fair helped shape the city as it entered the 20th century.

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

The Youth’s Companion was one of the 19th century’s most popular periodicals.
This edition was devoted entirely to the World’s Fair.

Admission is $10 per person. Reservations may be made by calling 312-326-1480. The museum is easily accessible by taking the #3 or #4 bus on Michigan Avenue to 18th Street, and then walking 2 blocks east.

Lecture On Chicago Architect Benjamin Marshall at Glessner House October 22, 2013

Benjamin Marshall

Glessner House Museum, located at 1800 S. Prairie Ave. in Chicago’s South Loop neighborhood, will host
a lecture entitled “The Architecture of Benjamin Marshall” on Tuesday October 22, 2013 at 7:00pm.

Benjamin Marshall (1874-1940) was a prominent Chicago architect who was greatly inspired by the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893. He designed many of Chicago’s best known buildings including the Drake Hotel, Blackstone Hotel and Theatre, the South Shore Country Club, the Edgewater Beach Hotel, and the Mayslake Peabody Estate in Oak Brook.

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

Admission is $10 per person. Reservations may be made by calling 312-326-1480. The museum is easily accessible by taking the #3 or #4 bus on Michigan Ave. to 18th Street, and then walking two blocks east.

Lecture On Architect H. H. Richardson To Mark 175th Anniversary Of His Birth

The this portrait of H. H. Richardson hangs in the
National Gallery of the Smithsonian Museum.

Glessner House Museum, located at 1800 S. Prairie Avenue in Chicago’s South Loop neighborhood, will host a lecture entitled “H. H. Richardson and his Chicago Legacy” on Sunday September 29, 2013 at 2:00pm.

Glessner House architect Henry Hobson Richardson, born September 29, 1838 in New Orleans, was one of the most influential architects of his time. Architectural historian John Waters will present a talk on Richardson’s own body of work, and the impact that work had on other architects in Chicago, notably Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Henry Ives Cobb.

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

Admission is $10 per person. Reservations may be made by calling 312-326-1480. The museum is easily accessible by taking the #3 or #4 bus on Michigan Avenue to 18th Street, and then walking 2 blocks east.

Lecture and book signing at Glessner House Museum September 11, 2013

A lecture and book signing is scheduled to coincide with the release of The Invention of Sarah Cummings, book three in the “Avenue of Dreams” historical fiction series. The series is set on Chicago’s historic Prairie Ave. during the late-nineteenth century. Check out the details below.


Lecture: Yearning to Breathe Free - Three Women Search for Meaning in 19th Century Chicago
Wednesday September 11, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. $5 per person (fee may be applied towards the purchase of a book).

Glessner House Coach House
R.S.V.P. to 312.326.1480
The “Avenue of Dreams” series explores the lives of three women and the challenges they overcome in order to live life on their own terms.  The series introduces readers to Lucy Banning - a young woman from Prairie Avenue society; Charlotte Farrow - a maid in service at a Prairie Avenue mansion; and Sarah Cummings - an orphan dreaming of a life beyond her grasp.

Author Olivia Newport and research partner Stephen Reginald will review how these works of historical fiction line up with the realities of life in late-19th century Chicago.  Copies of all three books, including the newly released The Invention of Sarah Cummings will be available for sale and signing. Read the Romantic Times book review by clicking on the link.

A Walk Through Time on the "Sunny Street of the Sifted Few"

The William W. Kimball House at
1801 S. Prairie Ave., a Chicago landmark
built in 1892, Solon S. Beman, architect.
One of the homes featured on the 2013 tour.

Glessner House Museum, 1800 S. Prairie Avenue, Chicago, will present its annual house tour of the Prairie Avenue Historic District entitled “A Walk Through Time” on Sunday June 9, 2013 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.  The tour will feature the interior of six private homes constructed between 1868 and 1894; an 1870 mansion now serving as a boutique hotel; the Glessner and Clarke house museums; and historic Second Presbyterian Church with its large collection of Tiffany windows.  Tickets are $50.00 per person and may be purchased in advance or at the door.  For reservations, please call 312-326-1480, or visit Glessner House Museum Web site for further information.

This very special tour presents attendees with the rare opportunity to see the interiors of several mansions built in the late 19th century on what was then known as the “sunny street of the sifted few.” These homes feature a breath-taking array of beautifully carved wood moldings, leaded glass windows, and fireplaces faced in elaborate tile, mosaic, and marble. For a complete listing of the homes on the tour click here.

Following the tour, participants are invited back to the Glessner House Museum coach house for a reception and silent auction, featuring an array of wonderful items old and new!

Book 2 takes place during
The 1893 World’s Fair.

For a fictional account of what life on Prairie Ave. was like, you might enjoy the “Avenue of Dream” series, which is set on that “sunny street of the sifted few.” The books take place during the years 1892 through 1896, during one of the most exciting eras in Chicago history. Book 1, The Pursuit of Lucy Banning and Books 2, The Dilemma of Charlotte Farrow, in the series are available at bookstores everywhere and at Amazon.com. Book 3, The Invention of Sarah Cummings, releases this September.

Check out the review of The Pursuit of Lucy Banning in USAToday. 

Glessner House Museum to host lecture on Japonisme Movement

Glessner House Museum, located at 1800 S. Prairie Avenue in Chicago’s South Loop
neighborhood, will host a lecture by Rolf Achilles entitled “The Glessners’ Kutani ware bowl and Chicago’s take on Japonisme” on Tuesday May 14, 2013 at 7:00 p.m.

John and Frances Glessner were among the early connoisseurs of Japonisme in Chicago and their ownership of a Kutani porcelain bowl speaks to their leadership in taste. The recently restored Kutani bowl and Chicago’s nationally influential give-and-take on Japonisme will be the subject of this illustrated talk by Rolf Achilles. Selected pieces from the Glessner collection will be on display, including the first showing of the Kutani bowl after restoration.

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

The cost for the program is $10 per person and reservations may be made by calling
312-326-1480. The museum is easily accessible by taking the #3 or #4 bus south on Michigan Ave. to 18th Street, and then walking 2 blocks east.

To stay on top of events at the Glessner House Museum, you can find them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

Lecture at Glessner House Museum

Glessner House Museum, 1800 S. Prairie Ave, will host a lecture by author Lynn Allyn Young, entitled “Beautiful Dreamer: The Completed Works and Unfulfilled Plans of Sculptor Lorado Taft” on Tuesday March 12, 2013 at 7 p.m.

According to the press release, “Taft made a name for himself in the late 1800s and early 1900s as a talented sculptor and influential lecturer and author.” One of Taft’s most famous works is Fountain of Time on the Midway Plaisance in Washington Park. It was created to commemorate the first 100 years of peace between the United States and Great Britain, thanks to the Treaty of Ghent signed in 1814. The sculpture,  which underwent extensive renovation in 2005, was made out of a new type of molded, steel-reinforced concrete.

Young will present the results of her research including present-day photographs and vintage images. Copies of her book will be available for purchase and signing.

The program cost is $10 per person. Reservations may be made by calling 312.326.1480.



Glessner House is a National Historic Landmark and the last surviving work by architect Henry Hobson Richardson in Chicago. Completed in 1887, it is recognized nationwide for its groundbreaking architecture as well as its important collection of arts and crafts decorative arts.

To keep up with events at Glessner House, visit their Web site. You can also find them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

The Chicago Symphony in miniature on display at Glessner House

ABC 7 News featured a piece on the Glessner House Museum last night. As noted in an earlier blog post, John and Frances Glessner helped establish the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

The Chicago Orchestra in miniature

In 1913, as a birthday gift to her mother, Frances Glessner Lee created the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in miniature. The model which has been in storage at the CSO for about 100 years will go back on display January 16, 2013, for a limited time at the Glessner House Museum. The model includes 75 musicians and their instruments under the direction of conductor Frederick Stock. Theodore Thomas was the first conductor of the CSO.

During the 1940s and 1950s, Mrs. Lee built miniature crime scenes based on real cases in order to train detectives to assess visual evidence and are still in use today. The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death by Corrine May Botz is available wherever books are sold as well as at the Glessner House tour center.

On Wednesday night at a 7 p.m. lecture, the model of the orchestra will be officially displayed at Glessner House. Descendants of conductor Frederick Stock and concertmaster Harry Weisbach will be on hand for this event.

For more information on the Glessner House Museum, including hours of operation, visit their Web site.

Dine at the historic Glessner House

The Glessners and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Enjoy an elegant dinner in the historic dining room of Glessner House on January 16, 2013, followed by a presentation on John and Frances Glessner and their extraordinary support of the Orchestra and its first two conductors, Theodore Thomas and Frederick Stock. Among those attending the dinner are a great-granddaughter of Frederick Stock, and several descendants of Harry Weisbach, concertmaster of the Orchestra from 1912 to 1921.

Miniature model crafted by Frances Glessner Lee

Following the program, attendees will have the opportunity to view a miniature model of the Orchestra crafted by the Glessners’ daughter Frances Glessner Lee and presented to her mother as a birthday gift on January 1, 1913. The model is on loan from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Rosenthal Archives. Other items from the Archives and the Glessner House Museum collection relating to the Orchestra will also be on display.

Dinner will be served in the dining room at 5:30 p.m. and the lecture will begin at 7:00 p.m. Dinner seating is limited to 30 people.

Tickets are $75.00 per person and include dinner and a reserved seat for the lecture. Tickets for the lecture only are $10.00 per person ($8.00 for members and docents). Call 312.326.1480 to make your reservations today, the event is sure to sell out quickly!

Glessner House is located at 1800 S. Prairie Avenue in Chicago’s South Loop.
Off street parking is available for the evening, information and a parking permit will be sent to attendees.