At the perfect height for young visitors, our much-loved dioramas were constructed by German artisans in the early 1930s using maps, photographs, letters, and other artifacts. At the time considered a new exhibit technique, the seven dioramas depict how Chicago changed during the 1800s from a settler-colonist trading outpost in 1804 to the bustling city More
April 9, 2022–January 16, 2023 Stephen Burrows, Scotty Piper, Patrick Kelly, Willi Smith, and Barbara Bates—five stories within the folds of fashion. The clothing we wear and the styles we embrace often reveal what we value and what we aspire to, ultimately helping us understand ourselves and examine the world in which we live. From More
Vivian Maier took everyday moments and transformed them into something extraordinary. A discarded newspaper, a child resting her face in the sunlight of a ferry window, a scowling woman licking an ice cream cone outside a department store window―Maier’s photographs on the streets of Chicago and its suburbs encourage viewers to look beyond the ordinary. More
From soaring joy to deep grief, beaming pride to livid outrage, the photojournalists of the Chicago Sun-Times captured these emotions and more as they doggedly, and often artfully, documented the city’s breaking news. Their bold images—of sports and entertainment legends, presidents, and everyday Chicagoans—earned the Sun-Times the moniker “Chicago’s Picture Newspaper” during the twentieth century. More
As president, Abraham Lincoln faced our nation’s greatest crisis–the Civil War. This installation highlights Lincoln’s election in 1860, his leadership during the Civil war, and his tragic assassination. Artifacts on display are from the John and Jeanne Rowe Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln Collection. The installation is supported by a gift from The Gupta Family More