Chicago Historical Society, Chicago, Bezoekersgids & wat te doen in de buurt

The Chicago Historical Society, now officially the Chicago History Museum, is the city's main museum of its own past. It stands at 1601 N Clark St, on the edge of Lincoln Park in Chicago, and many locals still use the older name. It is a good place to understand how a small lakeside town became one of America's great cities.

The story behind it

The society was founded in 1856, making it one of the oldest cultural institutions in Chicago. Its early collections were lost in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, and the society had to rebuild its holdings and its home, with the help of donations from citizens who wanted the city's story kept.

The red brick building you see today dates from the early 1930s and is in the Georgian Revival style. A modern entrance and extension were added in later decades, and the institution took the name Chicago History Museum in 2006. Its collections cover the Great Fire, the city's growth and its people, along with material linked to Abraham Lincoln.

What to look for

• The calm Georgian Revival brick facade, which gives the building the look of a stately civic institution facing the park.
• The contrast between the older brick building and the glass-fronted modern entrance added later.
• The park setting itself, with green space of Lincoln Park right across the street and the city skyline beyond.
• Exhibits inside on the Great Chicago Fire and on how the city grew, which explain much of what you see on the streets outside.

Tips for your visit

• Allow an hour or two if you go inside, and longer if you like reading every label. Check current opening hours and admission before you go.
• Visit in the morning for a quieter museum, then spend the afternoon walking in Lincoln Park.
• The museum sits next to the park, so you can pair it with a stroll through the surrounding green space and the Old Town and Lincoln Park neighborhoods.
• Even if you skip the galleries, the exterior is worth a few minutes and a photo from across the street.

See it on a quest

The Oz Escape: A Wicked Glitch in Chicago is a good way to see this part of the city. You reach the place on foot as one stop on a longer route through the area, the app tells you about each place as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle on the spot rather than just walking past. It is a paid quest, and one ticket covers the whole group. You can start any time, with no guide and no group to join.