Toast the 100^th Anniversary of a Chicago icon that has become the reigning symbol of the city and has inspired more tattoos than we can count at the Chicago History Museum’s Chicago flag party.

The celebration takes place on Tuesday, April 4 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Museum admission is FREE for Illinois residents.

On April 4, 1917, the Chicago flag design was accepted by the city council. Except for the addition of two new stars – one in 1933 commemorating the Century of Progress, and one in 1939 commemorating Fort Dearborn – the flag remains unchanged to this day.

Rare artifacts will be on view for the evening including a 1947 Chicago flag that was carried on the first round-the-world commercial passenger flight of the Pan American Clipper, images of early versions of the flag that featured two and three stars, and clippings from the flag inventor Wallace Rice’s notebook.

Discover how the Chicago flag got its stripes. A Chicago History Museum representative will give a presentation on the history of the flag at 6:30 p.m.

Guests are encouraged to RSVP. The first 100 guests to register will receive a drink ticket. Registration is available online.

Visitors with a Chicago flag tattoo will receive two complimentary VIP tickets for a return visit to the Museum.

A full schedule of the evening’s activities can be found at chicagohistory.org/flagcelebration.  

The Museum is offering a 20 percent discount on all levels of membership as a special flag promotion to visitors who sign up on-site.

The Chicago History Museum gratefully acknowledges the support of Revolution Brewing.

ABOUT THE CHICAGO HISTORY MUSEUM

The Chicago History Museum is situated on ancestral homelands of the Potawatomi people, who cared for the land until forced out by non-Native settlers. Established in 1856, the Museum is now at 1601 N. Clark Street in Lincoln Park, its third location. As a major museum and research center for Chicago and U.S. history, the Chicago History Museum strives to be a destination for learning, inspiration and civic engagement. Through dynamic exhibitions, tours, publications, special events and programming, the Museum connects people to Chicago’s history and to each other. To share Chicago stories, the Museum collects and preserves millions of artifacts, documents, images and other items that are relevant to the city’s history. The Museum gratefully acknowledges the support of the Chicago Park District on behalf of the people of Chicago.