It stands as the definitive urban domestic design of Richardson's last years.

James F. O'Gorman in "Living Architecture: A Biography of H. H. Richardson"

The furnishings of Glessner House show how one family brought art and design into everyday life; they are an inspiration for us today.

Joan M. Hansen, design historian


What we require are museums that tell us what we once were, what is wrong with what we are, and what new directions are possible.

Neil Postman, "Museum as Dialogue"

GLESSNER HOUSE MUSEUM

PRESERVATION
Henry Hobson Richardson's Glessner House was completed in 1887, a year after the architect's untimely death. A radical departure from traditional Victorian architecture, the structure served as an inspiration to the young Frank Lloyd Wright and helped reform domestic architecture.

The only surviving Richardson building in the Midwest, Glessner House was saved from the wrecker's ball in the late 1960s and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976. The restoration and preservation of Glessner House helped set the standard for architectural preservation nationwide.

COLLECTION
In addition to its architectural thrust, the museum protects and conserves an outstanding collection of 19th and early 20th century furniture and decorative art objects.

As one of the country's premier sites for the study and enjoyment of decorative arts, Glessner House Museum offers both the casual visitor and the serious connoisseur a unique opportunity to partake of the pleasures of the Aesthetic and English Arts and Crafts movements. The museum's painstaking conservation of the Glessners' remarkable collection of objects provides today's collector with a living workshop from which to take guidance.

PROGRAMMING
Glessner House Museum helps illuminate the present by bringing the past to life with a wealth of subjects to study, present, dramatize, and celebrate -- from the glamour of the Gilded Age, to the vast cultural changes surrounding World War I, to the excitement of the Jazz Age and Prohibition. Lectures, programs and events attract diverse audiences for education and entertainment.


Glessner House Museum
1800 South Prairie Avenue
Chicago, IL 60616
Phone: 312-326-1480 Fax: 312-326-1397
Email: glessnerhouse@sbcglobal.net

STAFF

William Tyre, Executive Director & Curator

Adela Sajdel, Assistant Director

Oksana Paluch, Tour Center Coordinator

Jerry Reynolds, Facilities Manager

VOLUNTEER STAFF

Laurie Toth, Curatorial Assistant

Last updated 12-22-2008