Location: Downtown / The Loop
Top Things to do in Downtown / The Loop
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Top 10 Specialty Museums in Downtown / The Loop, Illinois (IL)
The windy city is a cornucopia of modern art, fine dining, cutting edge comedy, and die-hard sports fans. Snap a photo of your reflection in the silver Cloud Gate sculpture at Millennium Park before heading to Grant Park to get hit with the refreshing spray of Buckingham Fountain. There are dozens of museums and theater companies in Chicago, so a cultural experience is never hard to find. You’re sure to laugh your head off at the Second City Theater, the professional launch pad of many famous comedians.
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1. American Writers Museum
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 377 reviews
Visit the American Writers Museum today! Through innovative and dynamic state-of-the-art exhibitions, as well as compelling programming, the American Writers Museum educates, enriches, provokes, and inspires visitors of all ages. Special exhibits FREE with paid admission; My America: Immigrant and Refugee Writers Today (through Spring 2021), and Tools of the Trade (through June 30, 2020).
Reviewed By FelicitySpike - Scarsdale, United States
The American Writers Museum features well organized and engaging exhibits for lovers of reading and writing. A special exhibit of Bob Dylan demonstrates some of the reasons Dylan received the Nobel Prize for Literature. There was also an exhibit of old typewriters used by well-known American writers.
2. Museum Of Illusions Chicago
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 18 reviews
Reviewed By carolinephauser - Evanston, United States
This was a very cool experience with my teenage daughter. The staff was super helpful explaining how to get the most out of the different exhibits. We really had fun, and it was the perfect birthday outing during covid. Highly recommend for people of all ages. The staff took all Covid precautions. It was very well done.
3. The Glass Gallery
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 11 reviews
Please note LH Selman is currently open by appointment only. Please get in touch if you would like to schedule a time to come by the gallery. Welcome to L.H. Selman Ltd., a name that has been synonymous with the finest antique and contemporary paperweights for over 40 years. As the country's premier dealer in fine art glass paperweights our mission is to promote the very best by exhibiting and selling through our gallery and at auction the finest examples made in centuries past, and by nurturing new talent emerging from contemporary independent studios.
Reviewed By 866TaylorB - Chicago, United States
My wife and I recently purchased a fine glass antique paperweight from L.H. Selman Ltd. in Chicago to serve as a centerpiece for our extensive Civil War collection of rare and first-edition books, manuscripts, autographs, paintings and artifacts. Until we visited the Selman gallery and museum at 410 South Michigan Avenue, in the historic Fine Arts Building, overlooking Millennium Park and Grant Park and the nearby Art Institute of Chicago, we didn't have any knowledge about paperweights. In less than two hours, we received a thorough education. Selman is a name that has been synonymous with the finest antique and contemporary paperweights for over 40 years. It is the premier dealer in fine art glass paperweights in the United States and its mission is to promote the very best by exhibiting and selling through its gallery and at auction the finest examples made in past centuries and by nurturing new talent emerging from independent studios. It's a fascinating adventure, viewing the largest collection of antique and contemporary paperweights in the world. After it's over, you understand that a paperweight isn't a simple desk accessory. The origin of glass paperweights can be traced to France in 1845, when glass factories such as Baccarat, Saint Louis and Clichy were competing to create the world's finest crystal luxury items, including water sets, tableware and inkwells, then paperweights. Collectors range from kings and American presidents to writers and investors to Truman Capote and Arthur Rubloff. L.H. Selman was introduced to paperweights in the mid-1960s. He began collecting them, started a small mail order business, created a publishing company to distribute information about paperweights, then founded the International Paperweight Society and Museum on South Michigan Avenue. In 2001, he was named "one of the Top Ten People of the 20th Century" to influence the paperweight art form. In 2009, he sold his business to Mitch and Ben Clark. They picked up the torch--or the paperweight--and the Chicago art scene remains in sterling condition.
4. Thorne Miniature Rooms
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 7 reviews
Reviewed By 866TaylorB - Chicago, United States
My wife and I have browsed the Thorne Miniature Rooms at the Art Institute of Chicago on previous occasions. But after seeing the display of the Thorne collection at the Phoenix Art Museum during our recent two-week vacation in Arizona, we decided to make another visit to larger Thorne collection in Chicago. It is an exhibit unlike any other, a child's dream. Thorne Miniature Rooms are a set of about 100 miniature models of rooms created between 1932 and 1940 under the direction of Narcissa Niblack Thorne, who was born in 1882 in Vincennes, Indiana. As a child, she began to collect miniature furniture and household accessories. Her uncle, a U.S. Navy vice admiral, sent her many antique dollhouse miniatures from around the world. When she was 19, she married Montgomery Ward department store heir James Ward Thorne, whose fortune helped to finance her hobby. Ninety-nine of the rooms are still believed to be in existence. The majority of them, a total of 68, are on display at the Art Institute of Chicago, located at 111 South Michigan Avenue. We saw 20 of them at the Phoenix Art Museum. The Art Institute's rooms document European and American interiors from the late 13th century to the 1930s and the 17th century to the 1930s, respectively. Constructed on a 1:12 scale, the rooms are largely made of the same materials as full-sized rooms and some even include original works of art, including paintings and sculpture, silver bowls and crystal chandeliers. They are among the most popular attractions at the Art Institute with an authentic appearance and attention to detail that boggles the mind.
5. The McCormick Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 148 reviews
Celebrating the Chicago River and its world-famous movable bridges. Note: We are closed for the 2015 season. We will reopen in May 2016!
Reviewed By skenyon1995 - Hoffman Estates, United States
A friend of mine sent me a snail mail article from the Chicago Tribune about the Chicago Bridge Museum. Chicago has made an actual museum inside one of their 4 story Chicago River bridge towers. You can take a tour below ground and actually see the gears & inner workings of the DuSable(formerly Michigan) Ave double decker four lane bridge lift machinery. Lots of history in the upper levels. A tour guide came down to the lower level when the boats were passing above & the bridge was lifting to explain things & answer questions. The gigantic counterweight weighs an amazing 12,000 tons! The 100 yr old bridge is so superbly balanced that it only takes about a 150 HP motor & a LOT of BIG gears to lift & lower it in one minute. Amazing what they could design back then with slide rules instead of software. You can go through on your own self guided tour fairly quickly, access is from the Riverwalk area. I believe an adult ticket was $12 or so. Didnt know that boats have the right of way over cars, since the Chicago river is a federal waterway. Sorry, you have to wait for the Skipper & Gilligan!
6. Money Museum at the Federal Reserve Bank
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 510 reviews
Where can you take your picture with a million bucks? Create your own currency? Try your hand at managing inflation? These are just some of the interactive activities available at the Money Museum at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.We're open Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (except Bank holidays, when we are closed). If you want to learn a bit more about the Fed, come for our 1 p.m. guided tour (allow about 45 minutes). Admission is always free. The best part: you'll walk away with about $300 in cash--shredded, of course.
Reviewed By 866TaylorB - Chicago, United States
Chicago has many world-class museums, dedicated to history, art, science, archaeology, space, mammals, marine life, medicine and architecture. But a museum in a bank? Devoted to making money fun with zany exhibits such as a cube containing a million one-dollar bills? Welcome to the Money Museum at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Located at 230 South La Salle Street, the museum is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Guided tours are offered each day at 1 p.m. Go through the Fed's front doors on La Salle Street and look for the museum on your left. Admission is free. All visitors must show a photo ID, walk through a metal detector and have their bags x-rayed before entering the museum. It includes a free kiosk, which takes a guest's picture in front of a million dollars in $100 bills. A million dollars in one-dollar bills and a million dollars in $20 bills are on display. The museum has been known for giving out bags of shredded money as souvenirs. The exhibits cover a mix of academic, hands-on and outright fun. Watch the movie about the history of the Federal Reserve. Counterfeit money is displayed next to real currency to test your skills of observation. And you can see the million-dollar cube. Opened in 2001, the museum offers visitors an informative and interactive look at the important role of the Federal Reserve in maintaining a healthy, growing economy. The 5,600-square-foot space features a functional interplay of elliptical forms, curves and diagonal walls to create a space that invites visitors to explore. How about the disused elevator shaft that has been filled with over $50,000 in coins, creating a cartoonish well of monies? Did you know that the bank regularly shreds around $10 million a day? More importantly, learn about the Fed's role in helping banks run safely and soundly as you take the perspective of a bank manager in the museum's "Banker Challenge" game. Don't miss the Hamilton exhibit. Learn about Alexander Hamilton, the man who was the first Secretary of the U.S. Treasury and understand how his vision led to the eventual creation of the Federal Reserve System. Or the video that shows how money is processed. Or the exhibit that enables a person to e-mail a bill of any denomination with his or her face on it. If only it was for real.
7. Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 14 reviews
Graduate education center for Jewish learning and leadership. Offers an array of interesting programming (much of it open to the public), including lectures, performances, films, and exhibitions. The stunning building, with its fabulous views of Grant Park and Lake Michigan, is worth a visit just to see. (It's also available as a venue for events.) Program and performance prices vary. Check website for schedule. Easily accessible by public transportation (Red Line to Harrison). Discount parking available in nearby lots with validation.
8. Museum of Contemporary Photography
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 103 reviews
The Museum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP) at Columbia College Chicago is the only museum in the Midwest with an exclusive commitment to the medium of photography and its evolving, interdisciplinary approaches. Visit the Museum in the heart of Chicago's South Loop to discover how engaging with the dynamic MoCP community can enrich your enjoyment and appreciation for the arts.
Reviewed By 866TaylorB - Chicago, United States
Founded in 1976 by Columbia College in Chicago, the Museum of Contemporary Photography has become the world's premier college art museum dedicated to photography. As an international hub, it generates ideas and provokes dialogue among students, artists and diverse communities through ground-breaking exhibitions and programming. Located at 600 South Michigan Avenue, the museum's mission is to cultivate understanding of the artistic, cultural and political roles of photography in the world today. Beginning in the early 1980s, the museum began collecting photographic materials. Since then, its collection has grown to include nearly 15,000 objects by over 1,500 emerging and mid-career artists. The museum houses this collection as well as the Midwest Photographers Project, which contains portfolios of the works of photographers and artists who reside in Illinois and other midwestern states. The permanent collection focuses on American and International photography of the 20th century and today. It includes work by Ansel Adams, Harry Callahan, Henry Cartier-Bresson, Julia Margaret Cameron, Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, Irving Penn, David Plowden, Aaron Siskind and Victor Skrebneski among the thousands of photographs and photogenically related objects, including gelatin-silver prints, color work, digital pieces, photograms and various alternative processes. Of the museum's exhibitions in recent years, notable ones have included: Paul Shambroom's Evidence of Democracy; Michael Wolf's The Transparent City and Work/Place; and Guy Tillim's Avenue Patrice Lumumba.
9. United States Pizza Museum
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 5 reviews
10. Foodseum
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 1 reviews
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