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.

Glessner House Museum works to increase public awareness, understanding and appreciation for the history and architecture of Chicago as represented in the lives and home of the John J. Glessner family and the surrounding Prairie Avenue Historic District.

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.

Interpretation

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.

Collection

As one of the country's premier sites for the study and enjoyment of decorative arts, Glessner House Museum offers both the casual visitor and the serious connoisseur a unique opportunity to partake in the pleasures of the Aesthetic and English Arts and Crafts movements. The museum's conservation of the Glessners' remarkable collection of objects provides today's collector with a living workshop from which to take guidance.

Programming

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.

Board of Directors

Officers

      Rolf Achilles,

      President
      Jason Neises,

      Vice-President
      Tina Strauss,

      Secretary
      Elliott Otis,

      Treasurer

Directors
      David Bea

      Scott Clark
      Chip Ferguson
      Gunny Harboe

      F. Robert Herbst III
      Pauline Saliga
      Barry Sears
      Mark Sexton
      Jack Tribbia

Ex-Officio
Julie Burros,

      City of Chicago
      Department of Cultural

      Affairs
Jim Peters,

      Landmarks Illinois
Laurie Toth,

      Glessner House Museum
      Docent Council

Staff

William Tyre,

      Executive Director
      and Curator

Lynne Mickle Smaczny,

     Assistant to the Director

Oksana Paluch,

      Museum Coordinator

Michael A. Gravame,

      Facilities Manager

Receive email alerts

If you would like to receive email updates about upcoming events, please send your name and email address to glessnerhouse@sbcglobal.net and we will be glad to add you to our list.

Find us online

Glessner House and Clarke House will soon have videos on YouTube.

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Come visit us

Glessner House is located in the South Loop, on historic Praire Avenue.

For complete information about visiting Glessner House, including tour times and directions, visit our Tours page by clicking here.