Tour Information

Glessner House Museum offers guided tours of Glessner House (1886), a National Historic Landmark and Clarke House (1836), the City's oldest surviving building located in the adjacent Chicago Women's Park and Gardens. Tours are led by trained docents and last approximately one hour in each house.  All tours begin at our Visitor's Center located at Glessner House Museum and are timed so that the two houses may be toured back-to-back.

We are open year-round, except for major holidays.

Glessner House Museum
Wednesday through Sunday

at 1:00 and 3:00 pm

Clarke House Museum
Wednesday through Sunday

at 12:00 noon and 2:00 pm

Events Calendar

Prairie Avenue

Walking Tours

Upcoming Tours:

Sunday July 15, 2012

Sunday August 19, 2012

Sunday September 16, 2012

(all tours begin at 2:00pm)

Also available by appointment for groups of 10 or more.

Starting Point: Glessner House Museum

Call 312.326.1480 to reserve a place, since group size is limited.

$15.00 per person,

$12.00 for museum members

Explore the fascinating history of Chicago's Prairie Avenue on this two-hour walking tour through the neighborhood, led by Bill Tyre, Executive Director and Curator of the Glessner House Museum and author of Chicago's Historic Prairie Avenue. The tour will cover almost 200 years of history, from the Battle of Fort Dearborn through the recent rebirth of the area as Chicago's hottest residential neighborhood. Visitors will see historic photos of homes that have been lost and walk past the eleven houses that remain in the area. Interior tours of the last surviving house on Calumet Avenue, now functioning as the Wheeler Mansion boutique hotel, and the incredible Arts & Crafts sanctuary of Second Presbyterian Church, featuring nine Tiffany windows, will be included.

Check back often for details on more exciting events and programs!

IMPORTANT NOTE REGARDING PARKING

Parking is available for all special events (NOT regular tours or Prairie Avenue Walking Tours) in a parking lot located on the west side of Indiana Avenue, one block south of 18th Street.  Look for signs that read "HOUSE MUSEUM PARKING ONLY."  A greeter at the gate will provide you with the necessary parking permit when you arrive at the lot.

Victorian Society in America

Summer School Recruitment Event
Saturday February 4, 2012 at 4:30pm
Free of charge

Reservations requested to 773.267.9336
Come to this free event to learn more about the Victorian Society in America summer schools held each year in Newport Rhode Island and London England.  Society officers and summer school alumni will be on hand to answer questions.  The event will begin with a brief tour of Glessner House Museum, focusing on elements that relate to the curriculum of the VSA summer schools.  Following the tour, attendees will return to the coach house for light refreshments and to hear two short illustrated presentations on the Newport and London programs, with a question and answer period to follow.

Lecture and Booksigning:
A Walk Through Graceland Cemetery
Thursday February 23, 2012 at 7:00pm
$10 per person / $8 for museum members

Reservations suggested to 312.326.1480
Graceland Cemetery is considered one of the finest landscaped cemeteries in the country.  It is also the final resting place of the Glessners, many of their Prairie Avenue neighbors, and scores of other important figures in Chicago history.  Join Barbara Lanctot, author of the revised full-color edition of A Walk Through Graceland Cemetery, as we explore this beautiful cemetery and its monuments, many designed by the leading architects and sculptors of the day.  Copies of the book will be available for purchase.

Private Tour:

Charles James Exhibit at the Chicago History Museum

Friday February 24, 2012 at 2:00pm
$25 per person

Prepaid reservations required to 312.326.1480

Group size limited to 15

With the intuition of an artist and the technical skill of an engineer, Charles James was one of the most innovative minds in fashion.  Although his talent is legend, surviving examples of his work are so rare that James's real genius is widely misunderstood.  Discover James's roots in Chicago (his grandfather hired Solon S. Beman to design his mansion at 2816 S. Michigan Avenue) and the efforts to preserve his legacy in this exclusive private tour led by Michael Hall, who worked extensively on the exhibit.  All proceeds from this tour support the House & Collections Committee Fund.

Lecture:

The Pullmans of Prairie Avenue

Saturday March 3, 2012 at 1:00pm

Historic Pullman Foundation Visitor's Center

11141 S. Cottage Grove, Chicago

Free of charge, reservations requested to 773.785.8901

Celebrate the 181st birthday of George M. Pullman with this lecture focusing on the mansion he built at 1729 S. Prairie Avenue, and the family who called it home.  The lecture will be given by William Tyre, Executive Director and Curator of Glessner House Museum, and the author of Chicago's Historic Prairie Avenue (Arcadia Publishing, 2008).  Extensive photos of the interior will be included as well as details on some of the more legendary social events that took place within its walls.  Part of a celebration commemorating the 181st anniversary of the birth of George M. Pullman to also include a lecture by Terry Tatum on "Pullman's Other Architect - Irving K. Pond," a Pullman trivia contest, a silent auction of Pullman memorabilia, birthday cake and refreshments. 

Film Screening:
Of Dolls and Murder
Sunday March 25, 2012 at 7:00pm
$15 per person / $10 for museum members

Prepaid reservations required to 312.326.1480
Celebrate the 134th birthday of Frances Glessner Lee with a private screening of this new independent film exploring the legacy of Lee and her famous Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death.  The feature-length documentary film, narrated by iconic filmmaker John Waters, exposes an unimaginable world of miniature homicides.  From CSI and real-life detectives, to criminally minded college students and a visit to "The Body Farm," Of Dolls and Murder illuminates the tiny world of big time murder. 
Official website:  www.ofdollsandmurder.com

Private Tour:

The Architecture and Decoration of the Oriental Institute Building

Saturday April 21, 2012 at 10:00am
$25 per person

Prepaid reservations required to 312.326.1480

Group size limited to 25

The Oriental Institute, located at 1155 E. 58th Street on the University of Chicago campus, is know for its extraordinary collection of art and artifacts from Egypt, Mesopotamia and other ancient cultures.  But the building itself, designed by H. O. Murray in 1930, is an architectural treasure in and of itself, richly decorated with motifs from these ancient cultures, selected and overseen by a "Symbolism Committee" during construction.  This very special tour will be led by Emily Teeter, Ph.D., an Egyptologist and Research Associate at the Oriental Institute, who has published a variety of articles about the history of the Institute and its building.  All proceeds from this tour support the House & Collections Committee Fund.

2nd Annual Mother-Daughter Tea
Saturday May 5, 2012

Seatings at 11:30am and 2:00pm

$35 per person / $30 for museum members

Prepaid reservations required to 312.326.1480

Group size

Experience high Victorian tea in the historic dining room of Glessner House!  Surrounded by beautiful oak paneling, a gilt ceiling, and a fireplace clad in exotic Persian tiles, attendees will be treated to a traditional high tea with fine china, silver, linens, and an assortment of delicious treats.  In addition, selected vintage textiles from the collection will be on display.  This is a very special event not to be missed, and last year's event sold out quickly, so don't delay making your reservations!  Invite your mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, or good friend for what promises to be a most memorable experience!  Hats encouraged but not required.

2nd Annual Clarke House Museum History Symposium
Saturday May 12, 2012

Program 9:30am - 4:00pm, with optional tour following

Glessner House Museum coach house

$25 per person / $20 for students, docents, and Dames

Breakfast and lunch provided

Prepaid reservations required to 312.326.1480

The theme of this year's symposium will be "When Chicago Was Young: Celebrating the 175th Anniversary of Incorporation."  Presentations will focus on early Chicago history near the period of the city's incorporation in 1837.  An exhibit of c. 1837 artifacts from the collection of The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in The State of Illinois collection at Clarke House Museum will be on display. 

Booksigning:  The Pursuit of Lucy Banning

Tuesday June 5, 2012

Reception at 6:30pm, program to follow

Glessner House Museum coach house

$10 per person / $8 for museum members

Reservations requested to 312.326.1480

The museum is pleased to host a booksigning for the release of the first of three volumes in the "Avenue of Dreams" series, written by Olivia Newport and published by Fleming H. Revell.  The title character in the series, Lucy Banning was born on October 8, 1871 (the same week as George Glessner, and also the date of the Great Chicago Fire) and is turning 21 at the time the novel opens.  Banning has enjoyed the privileges of a Prairie Avenue upbringing, but yearns for more than a life of ease and the obligatory marriage to a banker that her family expects.  Although the story is fictional, it is deeply rooted in the history of Prairie Avenue, with countless references to the actual people who lived on the street during its heyday in the 1890s.  Just like Arthur Meeker's fictional Prairie Avenue which was published in 1949, the novel brings to life the "sunny street that held the sifted few" during one of the most remarkable periods in Chicago's history, including the World's Columbian Exposition.  The series was conceived by Glessner/Clarke House docent Stephen Reginald in collaboration with author Olivia Newport.  Reginald did the research and Newport did the writing and character development.  Copies of the book will be available for purchase.

A Walk Through Time

Annual interior tour of the mansions of historic Prairie Avenue

Sunday June 10, 2012 from 1:00 to 4:00pm

$50 per person / $45 for museum members

Prepaid reservations recommended to 312.326.1480

This very special tour, the annual benefit for Glessner House Museum, presents attendees with the rare opportunity to visit the interiors of several historic homes along and near Prairie Avenue.  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 and two by Edward Burne-Jones.  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, and other items of interest.

Vintage Car Show
Sunday June 24, 2012 from 10:00am to 4:00pm

1800 block of Prairie Avenue
Free of charge
This very special car show will feature twenty automobiles from the period of 1906 through 1936.  The Glessners purchased their first automobile, a Pierce Arrow, in 1906 and they owned a variety of cars until John Glessner's death in 1936.  In addition to the car show, both the Glessner and Clarke house museums will be offering free tours throughout the day, and there will also be guided walking tours of the nearby Motor Row Historic District along Michigan Avenue.  A special one-time event for anyone with an interest in classic automobiles!

Treasures from the Collection V

A special members-only event

Thursday June 28, 2012

6:30pm - wine and dessert

7:00pm - program

Free of charge to current members of the museum

Reservations requested to 312.326.1480

This popular annual events provides attendees with the rare opportunity to see fascinating items from the museum collection not normally on display.  Silver, decorative arts, textiles, rare books, design drawings, photographs and much more will be exhibited and interpreted by museum curator William Tyre. 

Prairie Avenue Walking Tour

Sunday July 15, 2012 at 2:00pm

See details in the sidebar at left

Lecture:

Weeping Sad and Lonely: Mourning Customs in Mid-Nineteenth Century America
Sunday July 22, 2012 at 4:30pm

Clarke House Museum double parlor

$25 per person

Reservations required to 312.326.1480

On the 163rd anniversary of the death of Henry Brown Clarke, the museum offers an intimate look into mourning customs of the mid-nineteenth century.  Historian Glenna Jo Christen will use authentic artifacts to provide a unique glimpse into how mourning was experienced by families like the Clarkes.  Sample period funeral foods and see Chicago's oldest building draped in mourning. 

Prairie Avenue Walking Tour

Sunday August 19, 2012 at 2:00pm

See details in the sidebar at left

Prairie Avenue Walking Tour

Sunday September 16, 2012 at 2:00pm

See details in the sidebar at left