Glessner House, Chicago

About Glessner House

Glessner House is a National Historic Landmark museum in Chicago's South Loop where visitors take immersive tours of a revolutionary 1887 mansion designed by architect Henry Hobson Richardson. Full house tours and special interest tours showcase original artifacts and the home's radical departure from Victorian design that inspired architects including Louis Sullivan, Mies van der Rohe, and Frank Lloyd Wright. The house contains distinctive exhibits and objects spanning from the late 1800s to the present, including Japanese interiors, Villeroy and Boch floor tiles, and items connected to the Glessner family's significant philanthropy to the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and University of Chicago. Educational programs, concerts, culinary demonstrations and dinners, and special exhibits bring the cultural arts and design history to life. The museum also hosts community events and off-site excursions. A visit suits anyone interested in architecture, design, cultural heritage, and the stories of prominent Chicago families during the city's most transformative era.