Glessner House Museum explores urban life and design through the preservation and interpretation of this historic home designed by H. H. Richardson.
Chicago, Illinois
Joined December 2010
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Today we remember Frances Macbeth Glessner, who died on this date in 1932. Rushed from her NH estate by special train, she reached her beloved Prairie Ave home less than 24 hours before passing. This late 1870s portrait shows her around age 30. #ChicagoHistory #GlessnerHouse
Glessner House retweeted
DEMOLITION ALERT!
1939 N. Larrabee Street in Lincoln Park
On the 90-Day Demolition Delay
Designed by Bettinghofer & Hermann in 1891.
Same firm that designed the Martin Schnitzius Cottage at 1925 N. Fremont Street, a Chicago Landmark completed the same year, the Aldine Building at 909 W. Armitage Avenue, now the Old Town School of Folk Music, and workers cottages throughout Chicago’s German immigrant communities.
Preservation Chicago is advocating for the protection of this building with community members.
redfin.com/IL/Chicago/1939-N…
This #PhotoFriday commemorates the 135th anniversary of the first Chicago Orchestra (now CSO) concerts on Oct 16 & 17, 1891! 🎻
Founders & major supporters, the Glessners attended both performances led by Theodore Thomas at the Auditorium Theatre, home of the CSO until 1904.
15 years ago today (Oct 14, 2011), our restored parlor opened!
Restored thanks to Bunny Selig, Aileen Mandel gifts, & the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation—featuring recreated hand-painted canvas wallcoverings.
📸 @jamescaulfieldphotography 📖 Guide book: glessnerhouse.org/online-sto…
Carved with Columbus at its center, this mahogany medallion adorned a sideboard in the private dining room at the 1893 World’s Fair.
Owned by fair photographer J.J. Gibson, it was gifted to artist Jack Simmerling and bequeathed to Glessner House in 2013.
Today marks the 133rd anniversary of Chicago Day at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. Commemorating the city’s rise from the 1871 Great Fire, it set a record with ~750,000 attendees as local businesses closed so families could celebrate together. #ChicagoHistory #PhotoFriday
Step into 1920s Chicago! 🎭
On Mon, Nov 16 at 7 PM, @ShakespeareProj presents "Dear Rhoda" at Glessner House—a theatrical reading with music inspired by real 1920s letters and the bohemian Dil Pickle Club.
Free entry, but space is limited! 🎟️ Register: glessnerhouse.org/events/dea…
Get into the Halloween spirit with @lifelinetheatre’s 38th annual Edgar Allan Poe readings! 🕯️
Only 8:00 PM tickets remain for an evening of The Raven, The Tell-Tale Heart, and rare Poe gems.
Grab yours now: glessnerhouse.org/events/poe…
Glessner House retweeted
Why does the Pritzker family Hyatt deserve a property tax break before Illinois homeowners?
It doesn’t.
It’s time we put people before billionaires.
#FirePritzker
This #PhotoFriday marks 103 yrs since John Glessner wrote "The Story of a House"—documenting the home's history & his work with architect H. H. Richardson. Features 60+ photos by Kaufmann & Fabry Co.
Buy a reprint in-store or online: glessnerhouse.app.neoncrm.co…
Tickets are selling fast for our popular Prairie Avenue haunted tours!
🗓️ Fri Oct 30 & Sat Oct 31 (every 15 min from 6:30pm) 👻 Ghostly history & the haunted Hanford house site (shown)
Get yours: glessnerhouse.org/events
Today marks 190 years since the birth of Thomas Crapper, British plumbing pioneer & water closet patent holder. Myth buster: his name didn't inspire the slang term! Image: toilet tissue box in our guest bath.
This week’s #PhotoFriday celebrates the start of fall with this image of our Orange Glow
Knock Out rose in the corner parkway planting bed. The brilliant orange coloring of the
rose foreshadows the changing of the leaves as autumn starts to take hold in Chicago.
#autumn
10 years ago this month, we finished restoring the lower spiral staircase, making it usable for the first time in 40 years!
Seen through the doorway, it gave direct passage between the schoolroom & children’s bedrooms.
📷: @jamescaulfieldphotography
#GlessnerHouse #Restoration
Work is progressing on our new accessible ramp inside the 18th Street coach house entrance! This view looks up from the sub-basement through the floor opening cut for the ramp. Huge thanks to REVIVE Architecture, Berglund Construction, & our generous donors!
#Accessibility
This week’s #PhotoFriday features a sunset over The Rocks, the Glessners’ summer estate in Bethlehem, NH.
John Glessner bought the first 100 acres on Sept. 19, 1882 for $2,300. The estate grew to 1,500+ acres, with 1,300 acres donated to @ForestSociety in 1978!
#GlessnerHouse
Glessner House remembers friend & supporter Robert A. Furhoff (1939–2026). A Chicago preservation titan, Bob guided restorations of the Auditorium Theatre & Glessner House, where he uncovered original paint & funded Fanny’s Bedroom. Pic: Bob uncovering 1880s wallpaper in 2010.
#PhotoFriday: Frances Glessner’s dressing room, featuring walnut furniture carved in the mid-1870s by close friend Isaac Scott.
Photo by @jamescaulfieldphotography from our guide book, "H. H. Richardson’s Glessner House."
📖 Get yours: glessnerhouse.app.neoncrm.co…
Join us online Thursday, Sept 10 at 7pm CT! Historian John Hepp transports us back 150 years to the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, featuring sights like Horticultural Hall (shown here).
🎟️ Tickets: glessnerhouse.org/events/cen…
In 1907, John Glessner’s International Harvester completed its new 600 S. Michigan Ave. building. Designed by Christian A. Eckstorm for $850k, Harvester used it for 30 years before Columbia College bought it in 1975 to house its offices & @MOCP_Chicago.
