Upcoming Events
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.
New Docent Training
Saturdays March 10, 17, 24 and 31 and April 14, 2012
9:00am – 12:30pm each day
Do you enjoy Chicago history and architecture and sharing that passion with others? If so, consider becoming a certified docent for the Glessner and Clarke House Museums. Participants will attend five sessions of training and will receive an extensive manual containing information on the architecture and furnishings of the houses, the families that built them, and the neighborhood in which they are located. Each trainee will be paired with an experienced docent to mentor them through the process of becoming certified. Once the process is complete, docents are asked to commit to a minimum of one two-hour shift per month, or 24 hours per year. For further information and to obtain an application, contact Gwen Carrion at gwencarrion@sbcglobal.net or 312.326.1480.
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
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 Exhibit and tours of historic “Motor Row”
Sunday June 24, 2012 from 10:00am to 4:00pm
1800 block of Prairie Avenue
Free of charge
This very special invitational 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 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! Event will be held rain or shine.
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 “Special Tours”
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 “Special Tours”
125th Anniversary Gala
Thursday September 13, 2012 at 5:30pm
Symphony Center
220 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago
$125 per person
Reservations required to 312.326.1480
Celebrate the 125th anniversary of the building of Glessner House at this very special gala event. John and Frances Glessner were deeply committed to the establishment of a symphony orchestra in Chicago and were major donors and supporters for more than 40 years, so the venue itself is a testament to their legacy in Chicago. The cocktail reception with generous hors d’ouevres is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the history of the house and museum, and launch the next chapter in its history. The founders of the museum, who rescued it from demolition in 1966, will be honored. The event is generously underwritten by Richard H. Driehaus, and as such, the full ticket price will go directly to support the 125th Anniversary Fund for the ongoing restoration of the museum and its collection. John Bryan is the Honorary Chair for the event.
Glessner House Museum 