Glessner House in downtown Chicago was a single-family residence built during the Gilded Age of the late 1880s and designed by architect Henry Hobson Richardson. The Glessner family called it home for 50 years, and today it is a museum showcasing the property’s notable architectural characteristics that served as inspiration for other renowned architects, including Louis Sullivan, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and Frank Lloyd Wright.
“There are public tours of the house three days a week,” explains Gwen Carrion, visitor services manager at the museum. “During these 75-minute, docent-led tours, guests explore the 17,000-square-foot mansion; delight in its world-class collection of English and American Arts and Crafts-era furnishings; and learn about the Glessners, a prominent family that had a considerable effect on the development of late-19th- and early-20th-century Chicago.” Glessner House also offers custom specialty tours for up to 40 people.
