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

Chicago Firehouse restaurant on fire

South Loop landmark, Chicago Firehouse restaurant, 1401 S. Michigan, is on fire. According to the Chicago Tribune, the blaze started at about 10:30 a.m. Roofers doing repair work are being blamed for the fire. The roofers “had an accident,’’ said Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford who was at the scene, again according to the Chicago Tribune report. Sections of the roof appear to have collapsed. Everyone inside was able to get out safely.

Fire started on the roof, according to a report in the Chicago Tribune.

The blaze brought heavy smoke billowing down South Michigan Ave. At times it looked like heavy fog with little visibility between 14th and 16th streets.

Smoke was thick at 16th and Michigan

The Chicago Firehouse has been a South Loop landmark since it opened in 2000 was a favorite of Mayor Daley’s. According to the restaurant’s Web site, “The building was erected in 1905 by a famous architect by the name of Charles Harmann. The firehouse was built to serve the Prairie Avenue Community and its surroundings.

Residents of Prairie Avenue consisted of many of the first families of Chicago, such as the Marshall Fields, the McCormicks, the Palmers and the Glessners. Prairie Avenue from 17th to 20th Street was filled with the many socialites of the day who had built homes following the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.”

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.