What are the opening hours?

Monday 9:30am - 4:30pm Tuesday 9:30am - 4:30pm Wednesday 9:30am - 4:30pm Thursday 9:30am - 4:30pm Friday 9:30am - 4:30pm Saturday 9:30am - 4:30pm Sunday 12pm - 5pm

Chicago History Museum

Name: Chicago History Museum
Address: 1601 N Clark Street, Chicago, IL, 60614, US
Telephone: (312)6424600
Rating: 4.6

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Chicago History Museum

The Chicago History Museum is a place of learning, discovery, creativity, and, of course, history.
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09/02/2026

In the US, Labor Day is celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor and recognize the achievements of workers and the labor movement. Stop by CHM to learn about people and events that have made an impact on a national level.

In "Chicago: Crossroads of America," explore the timeline and legacy of the Haymarket Affair, which made Chicago the center of the national movement for an eight-hour workday, and learn about Agnes Nestor, a leader in organizing for both women’s suffrage and workers’ rights.

In "Facing Freedom," discover the story of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first labor organization led by African Americans to receive a charter in the American Federation of Labor, and the United Farm Workers, who led a nationwide grape boycott that resulted in increased wages and improved working conditions for farmworkers.

Explore these stories and more when you stop by on Labor Day, which is a FREE day for Illinois residents! https://ow.ly/JmCW50ZIkV0

08/26/2026

Did you know Chicago is the birthplace of safety science?

In 1893, William Henry Merrill Jr., an electrical engineer, arrived in Chicago to inspect installations at the World’s Columbian Exposition, which then featured the largest display of electricity most people had ever seen. Since electricity poses many risks for fire and injury, Merrill’s inspection work demonstrated the need for independent electrical safety testing.

Merrill gained backing from insurance underwriters, and in 1894 he opened a one-room testing laboratory. In 1901, that room became Underwriters Laboratories (UL). Chicago thus became the birthplace of safety science as UL shaped safety practices worldwide.

The UL Mark—the initials UL in a circle—is still a symbol of safety thanks to Underwriters Laboratories’ rigorous testing and approaches to risk reduction and consumer protection, a legacy that endures today.

Learn more in our new UL installation in "Chicago: Crossroads of America," featuring artifacts, historical documents, and personal stories presented in collaboration with UL Research Institutes, UL Standards & Engagement, and UL Solutions. https://ow.ly/25NX50ZFJUa

08/25/2026

Forty years ago, the song “Your Love” was released by Jamie Principle on the Persona Records label. He later gave the song to DJ Frankie Knuckles to add new music to it and play it at his club, the Power Plant. Principle said that going to the club “was like going to church and letting yourself be free without worrying about all the craziness that was happening in the streets and in the world.” Earlier this year both versions of “Your Love” were selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry.

You can listen to Knuckles’s re-release and explore more of Chicago’s house music scene during the 1970s–90s in our newly refreshed exhibition Facing Freedom. Learn more and plan your visit at www.chicagohistory.org/facingfreedom

// Portrait of Frankie Knuckles at his home, shot for Remix Magazine, Dec. 9, 2003, CHM, ICHi-189527; gallery photographs by CHM staff

08/19/2026

Raise your hand if you're ready for school to start again!

Beginning with modest structures in the early 19th century, schools have always been an important part of Chicago. It took several decades, but Chicago gradually developed a system of public education similar to those in large cities elsewhere in the country. In 1872, the state legislature established a Board of Education, with members appointed by the mayor, to oversee all aspects of public education in the city.

The first day of school has looked different over the past century and a half since. As Chicago grew, so did its student population. Though private schools tied to religious institutions or non-English language communities continued to see high enrollment, by 1900, there were a quarter million students in the city's public schools. Following World War I, that number went up to 400,000. Private and parochial schools also expanded at that time. By the early 1950s, nearly 200,000 students attended Catholic schools.

Public school enrollment in Chicago peaked in the late 1960s at nearly 600,000 students. Today, Chicago Public Schools is the fourth largest school district in the United States with 316,224 students enrolled at the start of the 2025–26 school year. Read more about the history of schools in Chicago in the Encyclopedia of Chicago. http://encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/1124.html

08/14/2026

This weekend, two Chicago-area icons will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame: Candace Parker and Glenn “Doc” Rivers.

Parker is one of the most accomplished players in women’s basketball history, as a 7-time WNBA All Star, 2-time WNBA MVP, 3-time WNBA champion—including the 2021 championship during her two seasons with the Chicago Sky—and 1-time WNBA Finals MVP. She was also an area high school standout, leading Naperville Central High School to Class AA state titles in 2003 and 2004. In both years she was also named the USA Today High School Player of the Year, Naismith Prep Player of the Year, and Gatorade Female Basketball Player of the Year.

Rivers, honored for his coaching, is a fixture in the NBA, involved as a player, broadcaster, or coach for 43 of the league’s 79 seasons. He is 6th place on the NBA’s all-time coaching wins list, amassing 1,194 regular season wins in 27 seasons with 5 teams. He won Coach of the Year in 2000 with the Orlando Magic and an NBA championship with the Boston Celtics in 2008. Born and raised in Maywood, a western suburb of Chicago, Rivers played for Proviso East High School, where he was a McDonald's All-American and named the no. 1 recruit in Illinois in 1980.

Congratulations to these two for their remarkable careers and their mark on Chicago basketball! See more historic basketball images at CHM Images: https://ow.ly/feAc50Zzyuq

// Naperville Central HS’s Candace Parker during a game at Dundee-Crown HS, Carpentersville, IL, December 28, 2001. Mitch Cerrone for Chicago Sun-Times/© 2001 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved; Candace Parker for the Chicago Sky, May 2021. Ashlee Rezin Garcia for Chicago Sun-Times/© 2021 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved; Proviso East graduate Glenn plays in the Budweiser Summer Basketball League hosted by Chicago State University, July 10, 1980. ST-10002766-0013, ST-10002766-0019, Chicago Sun-Times collection, CHM

08/12/2026

From now through September, stop by our lobby to see Barrett Keithley’s mural "The People, We Are: Democracy, Justice, a More Perfect Union." The work visually and emotionally explores the impact of the US Constitution, a document that laid the foundation for US democracy, while also reflecting the evolving struggle for equality and justice.

The installation is part of our yearlong : Civic Action in Chicago initiative, which is anchored in our collection materials relating to the United States’ founding and Chicago’s civic legacies. https://ow.ly/MaHf50ZyZpl

08/07/2026

“Urbs in Horto,” indeed. When Chicago officially incorporated as a city in 1837, it adopted the Latin phrase, meaning “City in a Garden,” as its motto.

Stop by our Richard M. and Shirley H. Jaffee History Trail to enjoy the greenery while you can! You can find nodding onions, garden speedwells, hydrangeas, black-eyed Susans, and more. Developed in partnership with the Chicago Park District and support of neighborhood groups, this free-to-enjoy interpretive path incorporates features such as a fire relic from the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and the Couch Tomb, a reminder that the area was once a Chicago city cemetery. https://ow.ly/kwF850ZxIrq

08/06/2026

Today is Bolivian Independence Day, which marks the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1825 and honors Simón Bolívar. Chicago has one of the largest Bolivian communities in the US, though it is among the smallest Latino/a/e groups in the Chicago area.

In our latest blog post, CHM curatorial volunteer Nez Castro writes a brief history about the Bolivian community in Chicago, which grew significantly in the 1950s–70s, and explains why there are so many Bolivian doctors in the Chicago area. https://ow.ly/gjUk50ZwM3P

08/05/2026

In 1966, Al Raby of the Coordinating Council of Community Organizations (CCCO) and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) joined forces to lead the Chicago Freedom Movement, a courageous campaign for open housing in one of the nation’s most segregated cities.

That summer, organizers staged numerous marches in white neighborhoods where they met hostile resistance. One of the movement’s largest marches took place on August 5, in Marquette Park on the city’s Southwest Side. During that march, Dr. King was struck on the head by a rock thrown by one of the white counterdemonstrators. Despite the blow, Dr. King continued marching, though the march abruptly ended due to the aggression.

You can learn more about the Chicago Freedom Movement and its visual identity in Designing for Change: Chicago Protest Art of the 1960s–70s. https://ow.ly/XxKp50ZwEcw

07/30/2026

Did you know Chicago has been home to Lollapalooza only since 2005? Back in the 1990s, it was a traveling alternative and grunge rock festival. It began as a farewell tour for Jane's Addiction's lead singer and founder of the festival, Perry Farrell. Over time, the festival evolved into a main staple of the summer festival circuit and a permanent fixture in Chicago. Their music genres have also grown since then to include our very own Chicago house music alongside mainstream pop, hip-hop, and dance music.

What remains the same is the late-summer energy it brings to the city every year—and the fashion! The old saying goes, "Wait long enough, and everything comes back in style." Whether it's band tees or floral accessories, you can always find amazing street fashion on the crowds of music fans in Grant Park. Check out these images of fashionable looks from Lollapalooza 1993 in Tinley Park, Illinois, at the World Music Theatre, today's Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre.

Share your most "historic" Chicago summer music festival story and outfit on social media and tag us! See more images: https://ow.ly/yKUT50ZuKeX

Address

1601 N Clark Street
Chicago, IL
60614

Opening Hours

Monday	9:30am - 4:30pm
Tuesday	9:30am - 4:30pm
Wednesday	9:30am - 4:30pm
Thursday	9:30am - 4:30pm
Friday	9:30am - 4:30pm
Saturday	9:30am - 4:30pm
Sunday	12pm - 5pm

Telephone

(312)6424600

Website

http://www.chicagohistory.org/, https://www.chicagohistory.org/visit-us/chm-museum-store/

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