There are thirty-nine museums and other institutions in Illinois participating in Smithsonian Magazine’s 2019 Museum Day® on Saturday, September 21, 2019.[1] Sponsored by Taiwan, a Museum Day® ticket gives two people free admission to a participating museum. In downtown Chicago, the museums are the Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum, the American Writers Museum, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. On the North Side of Chicago, the museums are Charnley-Persky House Museum, the International Museum of Surgical Science, the Chicago History Museum, The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art, the Swedish American Museum, and the Leather Archives & Museum. On the West Side of Chicago, the sole participating museum is the National Hellenic Museum. On the South Side of Chicago, the museums are the DuSable Museum of African American History, The University of Chicago’s Smart Museum of Art, Glessner House, and the National A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum. In the northern suburbs and exurbs, the museums are Blocks to Bricks, the Barrington History Museum, the National Museum of the American Sailor, and the Poplar Grove Wintage Wings & Wheels Museum. In the western suburbs and exurbs, the museums are Mayslake Peasbody Estate near Oak Brook, the Lombard Historical Society, Stacy’s Tavern Museum and the Willowbrook Wildlife Center in Glen Ellyn, the DuPage County Historical Museum in Wheaton, The Museums at Lisle Station Park in Lisle, the Aurora Regional Fire Museum and the SciTech Hands on Museum in Aurora, the Hoosier Grove Museum in Streamwood, and the Geneva History Museum in Geneva. In Northwestern Illinois, the museums are the Dillon Home Museum in Sterling, the Galena Jo-Daviess County Historical Society in Galena, and the Rock Island Arsenal Museum at Rock Island Arsenal. In Central Illinois, the institutions are the Giertz Gallery and the William M. Staerkel Planetarium at Parkland College in Champaign, the C.H. Moore Homestead DeWitt County Museum in Clinton, the Illinois State Museum and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum in Springfield, the Lincoln Heritage Museum in Lincoln, and the Peoria Riverfront Museum in Peoria.
Downtown Chicago
The Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum is a Smithsonian Affiliate Museum. It will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum is located at the northeastern corner of Northerly Island, which is really a peninsula. Northerly Island is part of the Chicago Park District’s Burnham Park. The Field Museum of Natural History, the John G. Shedd Aquarium, and Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum comprise the Museum Campus at the northern end of Burnham Park, east of Grant Park in downtown Chicago. The address is 1300 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60605. Click here to get Museum Day® tickets.
Figure 1 Credit: Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum Caption: This is the Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum on Northerly Island in downtown Chicago.
The American Writers Museum will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. It is located one block north of the Chicago Cultural Center. The address is 180 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60601. Click here to get Museum Day® tickets.
The Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The address is 220 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60611. It is located due east of the Chicago Water Tower, in Streeterville, east of the Magnificent Mile of Michigan Avenue and north of the Chicago River. Founded in 1967 to compliment The Art Institute of Chicago, since 1996 it has occupied a building of limestone and aluminum designed by German architect Josef Paul Kleihues (1933-2004) that occupies the former site of the National Guard Armory. Click here to get Museum Day® tickets.
North Side of Chicago
The Charnley-Persky House Museum is located in the Gold Coast neighborhood in the Near North Side (Community Area #8). It will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Designed by Louis Sullivan (1856-1924) with assistance of his junior draughtsman Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) this building is a National Historic Landmark and headquarters of the Society of Architectural Historians. It is located a few blocks south of the Chicago Park District’s Lincoln Park. The address is 1365 North Astor Street, Chicago, Illinois 60610. Click here to get Museum Day® tickets.
The International Museum of Surgical Science will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. It is also located in the Gold Coast neighborhood. The International Museum of Surgical Science is located about half a block south of Lincoln Park and a block and a half to the east of the Archbishop of Chicago’s mansion. The address is 1524 North Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60610. Click here to get Museum Day® tickets.
The Chicago History Museum will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 a.m. Founded as the Chicago Historical Society in 1856, it is the city’s oldest non-religious cultural organization. The Chicago History Museum is both a museum and a research library. The address is 1601 North Clarke Street, Chicago, Illinois 60614. It is located at the northeast corner of North Avenue and Clarke Street, at the southwestern corner of Lincoln Park. Click here to get Museum Day® tickets.
Figure 2 Credit: Chicago Historical Society Caption: This is the main entrance of the Chicago History Museum in the Chicago Park District’s Lincoln Park.
The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum will be open from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Operated by the Chicago Academy of Sciences, it is located north of Fullerton Avenue and east of the North Pond in the Chicago Park District’s Lincoln Park. The address is 2430 North Cannon Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60614. Please note The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum will be closed from the 3rd to the 6th of September to undergo annual cleaning. Click here to get Museum Day® tickets.
Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art is located in West Town (Community Area #24). It will be open from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. This is an art museum that exhibits works by self-taught artists. The address is 756 North Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60642. Click here to get Museum Day® tickets.
The Swedish American Museum is in the Andersonville neighborhood of Edgewater (Community Area #77). It will be open from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The address is 5211 North Clark Street, Chicago, Illinois 60640. Click here to get Museum Day® tickets.
The Leather Archives & Museum© is in Rogers Park (Community Area #1). It will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. The address is 6418 North Greenview Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60626. Click here to get Museum Day® tickets.
West Side of Chicago
The National Hellenic Museum will be open from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. It is home to the largest collection of Greco-American artifacts in the world. The address is 3333 South Halsted Street, Chicago, Illinois 60661. Click here to get Museum Day® tickets.
South Side of Chicago
The DuSable Museum of African American History is a Smithsonian Affiliate Museum. It will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Located in the Chicago Park District’s Washington Park (not to be confused with Washington Square Park on the North Side), the address is 740 East 56th Place, Chicago, Illinois 60637. Click here to get Museum Day® tickets.
The David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Located on the north side of 56th Street between University Avenue to the east and Ellis Avenue to the west at The University of Chicago’s campus in Hyde Park, it is across the street (56th Street) from the Max Palevsky Residential Commons and the Joseph Regenstein Library. The address is 5550 South Greenwood Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60637. Click here to get Museum Day® tickets.
Glessner House will be open from 11:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Finished in 1887, this Richardsonian Romanesque house was designed by Henry Hobson Richardson (1838-1886) himself. The address is 1800 South Prairie Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60616. Click here to get Museum Day® tickets.
The National A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum will be open from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The address is 10406 South Maryland Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60628. Click here to get Museum Day® tickets.
Northern Suburbs & Exurbs
Blocks to Bricks will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. This toy museum-and-store is located on the midlevel of the wing of Woodfield Mall anchored by Sears, Roebuck & Company flagship department store in north suburban Schaumburg, Illinois. The founder is Adam Reed Tucker, one of just fourteen LEGO® Certified Professionals in the world. The address is 5 Woodfield Mall, Suite D215, Schaumburg, Illinois 60173. Click here to get Museum Day® tickets.
Figure 3 Credit: Seán M. O’Connor Caption: Blocks to Bricks™ Constructing Imagination opened in the Grand Court near McDonald’s on Friday, June 15, 2018. This is a 12,500-square-foot art gallery dedicated to LEGO® and other building toys including Erector Sets® and Lincoln Logs® in thirteen walk-through zones that cover stone, wood, metal, and paper construction toys.
The Barrington History Museum will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The address is 212 West Main Street, Barrington, Illinois 60010. Click here to get Museum Day® tickets.
The National Museum of the American Sailor will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Operated by the Naval History & Heritage Command, it is located just to the east of the Naval Station Great Lakes Visitors Center. Both buildings are east of Sheridan Road and north of Farragut Avenue. The address is Building 42, 610 Farragut Avenue, Great Lakes, Illinois 60888. Click here to get Museum Day® tickets.
The Poplar Grove Vintage Wings & Wheels Museum will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The address is 5151 Orth Road, Suite A-1, Poplar Grove, Illinois 61065. Poplar Grove is in Boone County and is east of Rockford. Click here to get Museum Day® tickets.
Western Suburbs & Exurbs
Mayslake Peabody Estate will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. This is a historic mansion and grounds now owned by the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County. Francis Stuyvesant Peabody commissioned architect Benjamin Marshall (1874-1944) of Marshall & Fox to design the mansion Mayslake Hall in the Tudor Revival style of architecture. Peabody also had two lakes made. He died in 1922, and in 1926 his family sold the 840-acre estate to the Franciscan Province of the Sacred Herat, Order of Friars Minor, which turned the mansion into a spiritual retreat house and gradually sold off the estate lands. In 1993, the Franciscans sold the few remaining of lands, the mansion, a friary, and Portiuncula Chapel to the DuPage County Forest Preserve District. In subsequent years, the Forest Preserve District has created the ninety-acre Mayslake Forest Preserve and has undertaken restoration of the mansion. The public can rent out portions of Mayslake Hall and Portiuncula Chapel. The address is 1717 31st Street, Oak Brook, Illinois 60523. Click here to get Museum Day® tickets.
The Lombard Historical Society will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. It operates three small museums. The address of the Victorian Cottage Museum is 23 West Maple, Lombard, Illinois 60148. This is also the administrative office building for the Lombard Historical Society. It located across the street from the Helen Plum Library and Lillacia Park. A second small museum, the Carriage House, is at the same address. The third museum is the Sheldon ark Homestead at 355 east Parkside, Lombard, Illinois 60148. Click here to get Museum Day® tickets.
Stacy’s Tavern Museum will be open from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Operated by the Glen Ellyn Historical Society, this museum preserves a tavern built by War of 1812 veteran Moses Stacy in 1846. The address is 557 Geneva Road, Glen Ellyn, Illinois 60137. Note that having suffered flood damage, the History Center and Stacy’s Corner Store will re-open on Tuesday, September 10, 2019. The Museum will re-open on Wednesday, September 18, 2019. Access to Archives will not resume until later this fall. Click here to get Museum Day® tickets.
Figure 4 Credit: Seán M. O’Connor Caption: This is Stacy’s Tavern in west suburban Glen Ellyn, Illinois.
The Willowbrook Wildlife Center will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Operated by the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, this is a rehabilitation center for native wildlife. The address is 525 South Park Boulevard, Glen Ellyn, Illinois 60137. Click here to get Museum Day® tickets.
The DuPage County Historical Museum will be open from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The address is 102 East Wesley Street, Wheaton, Illinois 60187. Click here to get Museum Day® tickets.
The Museums at Lisle Station Park will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The address is 921 School Street, Lisle, Illinois 60532. Click here to get Museum Day® tickets.
The Aurora Regional Fire Museum will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The address is 53 North Broadway, Aurora, Illinois 60505. Click here to get Museum Day® tickets.
The SciTech Hands on Museum will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The address is 18 West Benton Street, Aurora, Illinois 60506. Click here to get Museum Day® tickets.
The Hoosier Grove Museum will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The address is 700 West Irving Park Road, Streamwood, Illinois 60107. Click here to get Museum Day® tickets.
The Geneva History Museum will be open from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The address is 113 South 3rd Street, Geneva, Illinois 60134. Click here to get Museum Day® tickets.
Northwestern Illinois
The Dillon Home Museum will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Built for General Edward Needles Kirk, this mansion is an example of the Italianate style of architecture. In the 20th Century, it was the home for P.W. Dillon, President of Northwestern Steel & Wire. His wife, Crete, amassed an eclectic collection of period furniture. The Sterling Park District now owns the home and rents it out as a wedding venue. The address is 1005 East 3rd Street, Sterling, Illinois 61081. Click here to get Museum Day® tickets.
The Galena & U.S. Grant Museum will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Operated by the Galena-Jo Daviess County Historical Society, this is an Italianate mansion built for Galena merchant Daniel Barrows which houses a collection of artifacts related to General (and later President) U.S. Grant (1822-1885) and Galena history. The address is 211 South Bench Street, Galena, Illinois 61036. Clicker here to get Museum Day® tickets.
The Rock Island Arsenal Museum will be open from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Operated by the Rock Island Historical Society, the address is 1 Rock Island Arsenal Building 60, Rock Island, Illinois 61299. Rock Island is an active military installation. Visitors must use the Moline, Illinois gate. Visitors who do not have Department of Defense identification cards, and are eighteen-years-old or older, must obtain a visitor’s pass at the Moline Gate Visitor’s Center. Click here to get Museum Day® tickets.
Central Illinois
The Giertz Gallery at Parkland College will be open from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. The address is 2400 West Bradley Avenue, Champaign, Illinois 61821. Click here to get Museum Day® tickets.
Parkland College’s William M. Staerkel Planetarium will be open from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The address is 2400 West Bradley Avenue, Champaign, Illinois 61821. Click here to get Museum Day® tickets.
The C.H. Moore Homestead DeWitt County Museum will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The address is 219 East Woodlawn, Clinton, Illinois 61727. Click here to get Museum Day® tickets.
The Illinois State Museum will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The address is 502 South Spring Street, Springfield, Illinois 62706. Click here to get Museum Day® tickets.
The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum (A.L.P.L.M.) will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. As I have previously explained, the A.L.P.L.M. is operated by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, it is funded in part privately through the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation, and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library began as the Illinois State Historical Library, which the Illinois General Assembly established in 1889 as a repository for the state’s political, social, and religious history. The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum are in separate buildings that are separated by Highway 97/Jefferson Street in downtown Springfield. The Museum address is 212 North Sixth Street, Springfield, Illinois 62701. The Library address is 112 North Sixth Street, Springfield, Illinois 62701. Click here to get Museum Day® tickets.
The Lincoln Heritage Museum will be open from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The address is 1115 Nicholson Road, Lincoln, Illinois 62656. Click here to get Museum Day® tickets.
The Peoria Riverfront Museum will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. This is a Smithsonian Affiliate Museum. The address is 222 SW Washington Street, Peoria, Illinois 61602. Click here to get Museum Day® tickets.
[1] I revised this article on Saturday, September 14, 2019 to reflect the fact that the number of participating institutions in Illinois has jumped from thirty-three to thirty-nine.
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