Charnley-Persky House Museum Foundation

06/16/2026

On Sunday, we wrapped up the first season of our Charnley Conversations lecture series with an Astor Street walking tour led by historian Sally Sexton Kalmbach. Attendees learned about the history of several examples of residential architecture in Chicago's Gold Coast neighborhood, ending with a reception at the Charnley-Persky House.

Stay tuned for more lectures at the Charnley-Persky House this fall! Sign up for our email list to receive updates on upcoming events: https://sah.informz.net/sah/pages/CPHEmailForm

06/08/2026

Happy birthday to Frank Lloyd Wright, who was born on this day in 1867 in Wisconsin. In 1887, architect Louis Sullivan hired Wright as a draftsman to assist with construction drawings for the Auditorium Building (1887–1889). As a junior draftsman, Wright also assisted with residential commissions, including the Charnley House. Today, the Charnley-Persky House is among the very few of Sullivan’s residential works that survive intact, and the only surviving one in Chicago built during the period that Wright worked in the Adler and Sullivan office.

Read more on our website: https://charnleyperskyhouse.org/about/

Photo courtesy of Wisconsin Historical Society, WHI-M96-188

06/02/2026

Summer is approaching! ☀️ Make a visit to the Charnley-Persky House part of your summer bucket list to see an extraordinary example of Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright’s creativity in collaboration.

Tours are offered three days a week:
📆WEDNESDAYS (free!) at 12 p.m.
📆FRIDAYS at 12 p.m.
📆SATURDAYS at 10 a.m. and 12 p.m.

Reserve your tickets today: https://charnleyperskyhouse.org/visit-the-house/

05/21/2026

Join the Charnley-Persky House Museum and the Society of Architectural Historians on June 14 for an afternoon of Chicago history, architecture, and inspiration on a walking tour of Astor Street led by fourth-generation Chicagoan Sally Sexton Kalmbach. You'll be introduced to the story and architects behind one of Chicago's most famous happenings—the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893.

The tour will be followed by a reception at the Charnley-Persky House. Proceeds support the Charnley-Persky House Museum Foundation.

Reserve your tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/astor-street-tour-tickets-1989862980741?aff=Facebook

05/14/2026

Save the date! 📅✨ The SAH Celebrates Gala returns on November 13 at the Fortnightly of Chicago to shine a spotlight on the people preserving and promoting the history of architecture. More than a fun night out, this vital event raises much-needed funds to support the stewardship of the Charnley-Persky House and advance SAH’s scholarly programs and publications.

Learn more: https://sah.org/programs/sah-celebrates/

05/12/2026

We're excited to announce that the Charnley-Persky House Museum has a new website! 💻 Visit charnleyperskyhouse.org to book tours of the house, learn about its history, check out our events calendar, and more.

04/29/2026

Tickets are going fast for the next Charnley Conversations lecture, The Life and Work of George W. Maher, on May 14! Architectural historian Kenneth Jellema will go back to George W. Maher's roots in Charleston, West Virginia in 1864, discussing his apprenticeships, as well as his independent work starting in 1887. GW Maher created many works all over the Midwest, including over 40 buildings in Kenilworth, Illinois, where he lived.

Join us for a glass of wine and light bites at 5:30 p.m., followed by the presentation, and more conversation afterwards. Proceeds support the Charnley-Persky House Museum Foundation and The George W. Maher Society.

Reserve your ticket: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-life-and-work-of-george-w-maher-tickets-1982197872195?aff=Facebook

Photo by Kevin Brown of Pleasant Home Foundation/The George W. Maher Society

03/12/2026

Our colleagues at Preservation Chicago are circulating a petition to stop the demolition of the Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room, designed in 1893 by architects Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler. The room was recently included in Preservation Chicago's 2026 Most Endangered list.

Read the full statement: https://www.change.org/p/stop-the-demolition-of-the-chicago-stock-exchange-trading-room?recruiter=909035684&recruited_by_id=f4ba7710-dc52-11e8-9250-c7e231158f8a&utm_source=share_petition&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial&utm_term=psf&utm_medium=copylink&utm_content=cl_sharecopy_491064505_en-US%3A4&share_id=ndsqBkt5c5

Help save the fabulous Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room that the Art Institute of Chicago wants to demolish for a new building that could go elsewhere. Sign the change.org petition -- the link is below. Legendary photographer Richard Nickel lost his life while saving architectural remnants and photographing the destruction as the Stock Exchange Building was being demolished. Dedicated architects and philanthropists spent years and more than a million dollars to reconstruct it at the Art Institute. It's amazing to be able to walk into the space today. Don't let it disappear.
https://c.org/ndsqBkt5c5

03/06/2026

Tickets are available now for our next Charnley Conversations lecture: The Fight to Save Frank Lloyd Wright's Price Tower. Barbara Gordon, Executive Director of the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, will discuss how the Chicago-based nonprofit protects Wright’s legacy nationwide—and how it stepped in during one of the most critical moments in the history of Wright’s only realized skyscraper.

Join us at the Charnley-Persky House for a glass of wine and snacks at 5:30 p.m., followed by the presentation and a reception and more conversation afterwards. Proceeds will support the Charnley-Persky House Museum Foundation. Reserve your tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-fight-to-save-frank-lloyd-wrights-price-tower-tickets-1982050794281?aff=Facebook

Photo by Dell Upton

03/03/2026

Last week, architect Matt McNicholas shared insights on the restoration of the atrium ceiling of the famed 1889 Auditorium Theatre designed by Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan at our second Charnley Conversations lecture. Attendees had the opportunity to see close-up images of the recently uncovered original Sullivan stencil work revealed on the ceiling (unseen in more than 100 years)!

🗓️ Save the date for our next lecture on March 19: The Fight to Save Frank Lloyd Wright's Price Tower. Tickets are available now: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-fight-to-save-frank-lloyd-wrights-price-tower-tickets-1982050794281?aff=Facebook