Deconstructing Early Chicago

Saturday October 17 & Sunday October 18, 2015

9:00am-5:00pm

Coach House of Glessner House Museum

1800 S. Prairie Avenue, Chicago, IL 60616

Free Admission

Clarke House Museum and Building 51 Museum will partner to present a special exhibition of early Chicago building fragments and systems on display in the historic Glessner House Museum coach house. This two-day installation features a selection of mid-nineteenth century residential building materials including millwork, sill plates, joinery, and original hardware. Guests will explore the roots of Chicago residential architecture seen through specimens from the Henry Brown Clarke House (1836), John Kent Russell House (c.1855), and other pre-Fire homes. This exhibit will provide a rare glimpse of the techniques and technologies employed in constructing Chicago's early houses, too many of which have been lost to the wrecking ball.

About the Presenters

Clarke House Museum (1836) is the oldest surviving building in the original Chicago city limits. Moved twice, the Greek Revival house has been restored to its mid-1850s appearance and operates as a fully-furnished historic house, interpreting family life in pre-Civil War Chicago.

Building 51 Museum is the private collection of Eric J. Nordstrom. Containing architectural fragments from both world-famous and little-known buildings, Building 51 Museum encompasses a wide range artifacts from Chicago's past.

Becky Young LaBarre

Assistant Curator                   Curator     
Glessner House Museum          Clarke House Museum
1800 S. Prairie Avenue             1827 S. Indiana Avenue
Chicago, IL 60616                    Chicago, IL 60616
(312) 326-1480                        (312) 745-0040
www.glessnerhouse.org            www.clarkehousemuseum.org
Discover Chicago history from the 1850s through the Gilded Age. 
Tour the Prairie Avenue Historic District.
Guided tours of both the Clarke and Glessner Houses are offered Wednesday through Sunday.
Tours leave from the Glessner House Museum. Reservations must be made in person.