Chicago History Museum

Chicago History Museum

Chicago History Museum
4.5
9:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Monday
Closed
Tuesday
9:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Wednesday
9:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Thursday
9:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Friday
9:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Saturday
9:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Sunday
12:00 PM - 5:00 PM
About
From Chicago's sports to politics, the Union Stockyards to the Great Chicago Fire - there's so much to explore at the Chicago History Museum. Dive right in with the Museum's exhibitions and programs or get out and explore the city through guided tours and events. Founded in 1856, the Chicago History Museum shares Chicago's stories, serving as a hub of scholarship and learning, inspiration and civic engagement. If you live in Chicago or visit here and are curious about the city's past, present and future, the museum should be your first stop.
Duration: 2-3 hours
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The area
Address
Neighbourhood: North Side
How to get there
  • Sedgwick • 8 min walk
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See what travellers are saying
  • Ptorresmx
    Monterrey, Mexico1,639 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    For a rainy day
    A complicated and sometimes mixed museography. The rooms are well presented but they lack a good common thread. Some repeated elements. The place is beautiful and the staff is very friendly. You can spend time and learn a little
    Visited March 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 6 April 2024
  • Taylor B
    Chicago, Illinois8,439 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Connecting people to Chicago's history
    My wife and I are very fortunate. We live in Chicago's Gold Coast neighborhood. From our dining room window, we can see the Chicago History Museum at 1601 North Clark Street, at the corner of Clark and North Avenue, on the fringe of Lincoln Park. We also are fortunate because we are members of the museum. We make regular visits to have breakfast or lunch and view the new exhibits and other historical collections that document the history of Chicago. The museum, which includes a cafe and book store, is open from 9:30 to 4:30 Monday through Saturday and noon to 5 on Sunday. Founded in 1856, much of the museum's first collection was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, including Abraham Lincoln's final draft of the Emancipation Proclamation. But the museum rose from the ashes. Today, among the permanent items on display are Lincoln's deathbed, clothing that Lincoln and his wife Mary Todd Lincoln wore on the evening of his assassination, pieces of furniture from the room in the Petersen House where Lincoln died and the table on which General Robert E. Lee signed his 1965 surrender to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia. Also on permanent display are the first passenger car to operate on the Chicago L system and the Pioneer, the first locomotive to operate in Chicago. Chicago: Crossroads of America is a 16,000-square-foot space that explores the city's development an its relationship to and influence on American history. All told, the museum houses 23 million objects in its collection. Current exhibits include Back Home: Polish Chicago, an overview of the city's Polish community, one of the largest in the country; City on Fire: Chicago 1871, recalling the Great Chicago Fire; Facing Freedom in America; Designing for Change: Chicago Protest Art of the 1960s and 1970s; and Aqui en Chicago, a new project that celebrates the historically persistent cultural presence of Latino communities in Chicago. There's never a dull moment when you visit the Chicago History Museum.
    Visited May 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 4 June 2024
  • newjerseyfamily
    Burlington, New Jersey836 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Fun way to learn Chicago History!
    This museum is very easy to get to from the CTA stop. It's only two floors, with the second having the most to see. Very much enjoyed learning all about Chicago, the great fire, the riots, the train history, the meat packing history, immigration, racism, the start of Special Olympics and more. It's a very relatable museum. Our whole family found something of interest there. Definitely recommend.
    Visited August 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 29 August 2024
  • Noraatc
    Sudbury, Massachusetts40,767 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Good overview of Chicago history
    It was very interesting visit Chicago History Museum after we had such a great introduction to Chicago history by wonderful Chicago Architecture Center docents. Keep in mind that Chicago Architecture Center members get free admission in the Chicago History Museum through reciprocal NARM membership. It was fascinating to trace history of many Chicago famous businesses, such as Marshall Field and Company, Tiffany’s, Crate and Barrel, Pullman, etc. The museum is not crowded and a pleasure to visit.
    Visited September 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 4 October 2024
  • Anna
    1,695 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Should be part of a Chicago visit!
    The museum is very special and absolutely worth a visit! Public transport is relatively close, as it is a bit out of town, at the south end of Lincoln Park. We booked the tickets online in advance, from Europe, which worked out great. The value for money is great! We were only here for two hours but would recommend twice the duration. We would have stayed longer if we hadn’t come so close to closing, because the ticket is not valid for a certain time but only for a fixed date. The story of Chicago is told in a super interesting way and everything is easy to understand even if English is not your own native language. In between there are always small interactive possibilities, video sequences, etc.
    Visited August 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 17 October 2024
  • Suzy B
    Bedford, New Hampshire163 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great Chicago Fire Exhibit
    Our CAC Architecture cruise piqued our interest in the Great Chicago Fire. We decided to check out the Chicago History Museum’s exhibit the following day. Geared toward families, the exhibit gives a play-by-play of the events, with many first-hand accounts and artifacts on display. The highlight for me was a room-sized cyclorama depicting a Chicago River fire scene in minute detail. We also enjoyed the museum’s permanent exhibit with the first "L" car and history of the city starting with its days as a fort on the bank of Lake Michigan. Overall, the Chicago History Museum was a great was to spend a morning.
    Visited November 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 4 November 2024
  • breggie
    970 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    So well curated and organized! Good for all ages
    I have searched my uber-critical mind and can report here that I have found something to complain about! Hooray! I arrived at 2pm, and the wonderful movie showed at every hour through 1:30 and then. It again until 3:30! So I missed it. Haha. This is a good municipal And Americana Museum with a focus on the Midwest American experience of Immigration. I liked especially the sensitive but not overly patronizing sensitivity to the American Indians’ loss of basically everything to this “American experience” of westward expansion and growth.
    Visited November 2024
    Travelled with friends
    Written 30 November 2024
  • Robert Camper
    Concord, New Hampshire105 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    highly recommend!
    As we were planning our trip to Chicago I wanted something to teach us a bit about Chicago. As awesome as the other museums were, most could be anywhere in the country, but we traveled to Chicago, and I wanted to include something to learn about the city. And that is why this got 5 stars. My wife and I both said "We should have done this first." We had heard about the Chicago fire, but this one explained what it really was. We knew about music in Chicago, but this had a whole display about it. It really gave us insight into what made this city special. It is not huge, not overloaded with stuff, but a solid museum to teach a bit about the city we were spending a week in. It also was not crowded, after a week in other museums, it was great to have a less crowded, quieter, slower place to spend a couple hours. If you are from out of town, or don't know much about the city of Chicago, this should be on your "to do" list of things to see.
    Visited August 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 9 January 2025
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

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Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles1,215 reviews
Excellent
671
Very good
399
Average
107
Poor
26
Terrible
12

The_Coach55
Ruislip, UK1,384 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2023 • Couples
Chicago History Museum is situated in the Near North Side region of the city close to Lincoln Park.

From the Loop, we took the 22 bus from Dearborn & Randolph to Clark & North.

There is a vast array of exhibits in the museum detailing Chicago’s importance as the crossroads of the USA.

The city’s past industries are well documented. The railways, stockyards, the early days of cellphones (Motorola) and the advent of mail order shopping to name but a few.

One of my favourite books, The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, about a Lithuanian family’s struggle working in the city’s stockyards is nicely portrayed.

Key historical events in the city receive much coverage. The fire of 1871, the sinking of SS Eastland in the Chicago River in 1915 with the loss of over 800 lives, the race riots of 1919 and the protests during the Democratic convention in 1968 are well covered.

I also enjoyed the exhibits relating to Martin Luther King and Abraham Lincoln.

We spent a couple of hours here and could easily have stayed longer.

Admission fee is $19 and the museum is closed on Mondays.
Written 8 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

hrobinson1114
Nashville, TN5,765 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2023 • Solo
Located in old village, a few miles out of the loop/tourist district, this is not the typical museum stop in Chicago. I wouldn’t call it a must see, but if you want to know more about Chicago, it’s history, neighborhoods, population, and how it became the city it is today, this would be a great start to your Chicago trip.

The main reason I came here is to see the Lincoln death bed. There is also a section on Lincoln’s Chicago. There is a prominent, poignant section on the Chicago fire. It tells the history, the rebuilding, and the long term effects on the city, but most impressively the exhibit displays artifacts from the fire: knickknacks, decor, melted buckets of nails, a burned hymnal, even cookies that burned so hot and fast that they turned to charcoal cookies.

There was also a section on polish Chicago, which was so large and detailed that you’d really have to have an interest in the subject.

There were sections on advancement of transport (trains, rail) as well as business (Sears, Montgomery Ward, Oscar Mayer etc). They covered several historical disasters in Chicago.

They had a small superficial exhibit on race and civil rights, though it was whitewashed and weak.

The Chicago blues section was pitiful and put together as an afterthought.

Some displays were oversimplified and almost geared toward kids. There is an actual interactive kids section. If you want to know more about Chicago, this is the place to start. Admission is 19 bucks.
Written 20 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

NapierAro
napier660 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2022 • Solo
This well set our museum tells the fascinating story of this great city. It follows the development in a chronological order and there's more than enough to hold any viewer's attention. Also interesting exhibits on "rights" along with Martin Luther King.
Really nice staff, spotless toilets and a pretty reasonable cafe.
Written 1 November 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Rainyanne
Crofton, MD15 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2022 • Friends
May have been bad luck, but there was a tour bus and 2 different school groups there making the museum loud and chaotic. It was hard to read and enjoy the exhibits with the crowds. Seemed to have good exhibits but almost all artifacts from the Great fire were out on loan so that section was a bust. The film is made for kids, too cheesy to be enjoyable for adults, IMO.
Written 14 April 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

SUBZEROSKIDD10
Thetford, VT1,236 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2023 • Family
While it doesn’t always get the attention that is given to The Art Institute, the Field Museum, the Shedd Aquarium, or the Adler Planetarium, the Chicago History Museum offers a wonderful collection of history and artifacts from hundreds of years of Chicago’s timeline. There’s something for everyone here. I particularly liked the exhibit on the Great Chicago Fire, including the maps that show how fast it ravaged the city. The dioramas were also so amazingly detailed. The museum is located right on the edge of Lincoln Park, so it is easily accessible from the Zoo. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to envision the future of Chicago by learning from its past.
Written 28 January 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Taylor B
Chicago, IL8,439 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2021
The Chicago History Museum has reopened. My wife and I are long-time members who live only a block away and we really missed our frequent visits. It doesn't matter whether there is a special exhibit to see. There are so many permanent exhibits, all focused on the history of Chicago. Located at 1601 North Clark Street, at North Avenue and Clark Street, in the Lincoln Park and Old Town neighborhoods, the museum features over 22 million artifacts, exhibits and interactive programming. Plus a book store and cafe. There is always something to see or something you want to see again. Like Lincoln Chicago, a glimpse of the city that Abraham Lincoln knew; Remembering Dr. King, 1929-1968, which depicts key moments in Dr. Martin Luther King Junior's work and the Civil Rights movement with special focus on his time in Chicago; Millions of Moments, the Chicago Sun-Times' photo collection of 150 images, highlights from 5 million negatives spanning the 1940s to the early 2000s; and Women's Activism in Chicago, tales of women and their struggle to earn the right to vote. More good news from the Chicago History Museum: Ground was broken in early March on a multifaceted park beautification project, construction of the Richard M. and Shirley H. Jaffee History Trail, an interpretative path through the park space to the north, east and south of the museum. And, yes, Lincoln's deathbed is still there.
Written 24 March 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Barbara P
41 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2023 • Couples
We entered not knowing very much about the city and left feeling incredibly informed! Checked out a fascinating exhibit on the fire of 1871 as well as a bunch of smaller exhibits on the second floor. Loved the stately area with all the stained-glass windows — an unexpected surprise! Front desk and museum staff were very friendly.
Written 4 May 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

LanceCT
West Hartford, CT27 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2022
Good museum on the history of Chicago, our big complaint was the layout was unclear. Start where the giant locomotive is, then go through that area and come back to the Chicago FIre location. Not a lot of staff on the second floor to ask questions, which is where the main part of the museum is. On the first floor, take a look at the dioramas and then search in the kid's area for the excellent video comparing photographs of the city at different times. It's too easy to miss and it was a highlight. You can skip the movie, it was geared towards little kids and my 13 year old couldn't believe how ridiculous it was, you will agree with him
Written 14 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Matt F
240 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2022 • Couples
Love Chicago and loved this museum. Great exhibits, simply explained without leaving out detail. There is so much history it is almost impossible to take it all in during one day.
But I seriously suggest you try!
Written 11 May 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

SB
Rochester, NY143 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2022 • Friends
I visited this museum in early 2019 and thought it was excellent. It has expanded since then and is an outstanding city history museum, full of fascinating information and intriguing artifacts. Did not have enough time to peruse the photo gallery, but plan to return. Definitely worth a visit, and 2 hour minimum.
Written 1 December 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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CHICAGO HISTORY MUSEUM (2025) All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

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