Chicago History Museum
1601 N. Clark St., Chicago, IL 60614
Museums
Explore the history of Chicago and United States through permanent and temporary exhibitions drawn from more than 20 million items in the Chicago History Museum’s collections. Showcasing photography, documents, artifacts, and interviews.
Our permanent and temporary galleries are full of Chicago stories!
“Chicago: Crossroads of America" explores the city’s development and its influence on US history. Examine a treasure trove of historical artifacts, including a chunk of the original Fort Dearborn and the actual first locomotive to operate in Chicago.
Designed for young visitors, our “Sensing Chicago” exhibition encourages them to use all five senses to discover Chicago’s history and even pretend to be a Chicago-style hot dog.\
In the dynamic film, “The Great Chicago Adventure,” experience the intensity of the Great Chicago Fire and splendor of the World’s Columbian Exposition, explore the sights of bustling Maxwell Street in the 1950s and peer down from an I-beam at the top of the Sears Tower in the 1970s.
Chicago History Museum Highlights:
City on Fire: Chicago 1871 – Designed with younger visitors in mind, this exhibition examines what life was like for Chicagoans before, during, and after the Great Chicago Fire.
Abraham Lincoln – In this installation, you’ll learn all about former president Abraham Lincoln, his leadership during the civil war, and his assassination.
Facing Freedom in America – This exhibition uses artifacts, images, and interactive displays to examine the stories behind eight conflicts over American freedom dating from the 1850s to the 1970s, including women’s suffrage and Japanese internment.
Jaffee History Trail – This outdoor, interpretive path incorporates features such as a native species garden, the Couch Tomb, and a 13,000-pound, metal blob from the 1871 Great Chicago Fire.
Illinois 250
What's happening nearby...
Chicago Architecture Biennial - SHIFT: Architecture in Times of Radical Change
Sep 19 – Feb 28
The Chicago Architecture Biennial will be the largest international survey of contemporary architecture in North America.
Read more about Chicago Architecture Biennial - SHIFT: Architecture in Times of Radical Change
Chicago Restaurant Week
Jan 23 – Feb 08
Chicago Restaurant Week is a 17-day celebration of the city’s diverse and dynamic culinary scene.
Read more about Chicago Restaurant Week
Roald Dahl’s The Enormous Crocodile: The Musical at The Studebaker Theater
The Studebaker Theater in the Fine Arts Building • Jan 29 – Feb 21
The Roald Dahl Story Company presents its first production in Chicago, the wickedly funny, family musical based on Roald Dahl’s The Enormous Crocodile.
Read more about Roald Dahl’s The Enormous Crocodile: The Musical at The Studebaker TheaterYou might also be interested...
Chicago Chinatown - Chamber of Commerce
Chicago
Read more about Chicago Chinatown - Chamber of Commerce
Medieval Torture Museum
Chicago
The emotions inspired by the "Medieval Torture Collection" will transport you back in time hundreds of years to some of the most miserable moments in human…
Read more about Medieval Torture Museum
National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame
Chicago
Read more about National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame