Chicago Cultural Center Address:
Phone:
Hours:
Friday: 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Saturday: 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Sunday: 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Closed holidays
(as of June 2010, subject to change)
Admission:
Getting to the Chicago Cultural Center by Public Transportation:
Chicago Cultural Center Website:
About the Chicago Cultural Center:
The Chicago Cultural Center lures in hundreds of thousands of visitors each year with its numerous free events and its proximity to tourist hot spot Millennium Park. Besides featuring free music, dance and theater performances, the center frequently shows films, conducts lectures, displays art exhibits and offers family events, all with no admission charge.
Architecture buffs also flock to the Chicago Cultural Center's landmark building, which was built in 1897 as the city's first central public library. The interior details are stunning as it was originally intended to be a showpiece building to build Chicago's cachet as a sophisticated city to be taken seriously -- a reputation not previously afforded to it in the mid-1800s. The skilled craftsmanship is very obvious with the use of imported marble, hardwoods, polished brass, glass mosaics, and stone. The show stopper is the 38 foot diameter Tiffany stained glass dome located on the south side of the building. Another larger dome designed by Healy & Millet is at the other end of the building, a Renaissance pattern made with over 50,000 individual pieces of glass.
Building tours are available every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at 1:15 p.m., and meet in the building's lobby. Come a bit early -- tours are limited to the first 20 people. Private group tours are also offered, contact the Chicago Cultural Center for details.