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Art Institute of Chicago Building
The Art Institute of Chicago Building (initial 1893 main-structure built as the World's Congress Auxiliary Building) houses the Art Institute of Chicago, and is part of the Chicago Landmark Historic Michigan Boulevard District in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois. The building is located in Grant Park on the east side of Michigan Avenue, and marks the third address for the Art Institute. The main building was built for the joint purpose of providing an additional facility for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, and subsequently the Art Institute. The core of the current complex, located opposite Adams Street, officially opened to the public on December 8, 1893, and was renamed the Allerton Building in 1968.
There have been numerous building additions over the years, as the museum has built over the sunken former Illinois Central line and further into the park. The most recent addition is the Modern Wing funded in part by Pat Ryan. This new building increases gallery space by 33% and accommodates new educational facilities. It opened to the public on May 16, 2009.
The Art Institute of Chicago opened as the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts on May 24, 1879, and changed to its current name on December 23, 1882. It was originally established as both a school and museum, and stood on the southwest corner of Michigan Avenue and Monroe Street, where it rented space. Before taking over its current building it occupied a four-story Romanesque building designed by Burnham & Root at 81 East Van Buren Street, where the Chicago Club is now situated. The Art Institute, which moved there at the time it changed names, originally leased and later purchased the space. With the coming of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition and its need for a new home for its expanding collection and growing student body, the Art Institute's trustees negotiated for a new structure at what has come to be the current building. Although Aaron Montgomery Ward opposed the development of Grant Park with public buildings along the lakefront, he did not oppose the Art Institute.
The new building was funded by the sale of the Van Buren Street building to the Chicago Club for $ 265,000, by donation of the land by the Chicago Park District, by $120,000 public subscription, and by $200,000 contribution of the Fair Corporation in cooperation with the Exposition. The World Congress Auxiliary of the World's Columbian Exposition occupied the new building from May 1 to October 31, 1893, after which the Art Institute took possession on November 1. The building was built in the place of William W. Boyington's Illinois Interstate Exposition Building (1873), which had been intended as a temporary structure.
Upon his death in 1905, lumber merchant Benjamin Franklin Ferguson bequeathed almost $1 million (equivalent to $34,996,296 in 2024) for the purpose of establishing a public sculpture fund to be administered by the Art Institute. The first gift from this memorial fund was the Fountain of the Great Lakes, which was commissioned in 1907.
The current building is a classical Beaux-Arts building, by Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge of Boston, Massachusetts. The Fullerton Auditorium and Ryerson Library were added to the building in 1898 and 1901 respectively. The building is composed of 273 galleries that total 562,000 square feet (52,200 m2). The following is a summary of all additions. The building has a grand Italian Renaissance facade with a pedimented 5-bayed central section that protrudes forward from the 7-bayed wings on either side. The arcaded entry loggia is topped by three grand palladian arches that are separated by Corinthian half-columns.
Fullerton Hall was originally built in 1898 by Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge on the north side of the main floor in place of a formerly open court. It was built to seat an audience of 425. It has a stained glass dome and formerly had a crystal chandelier both made by Louis Comfort Tiffany.
Ryerson Library was built in 1901 to the south opposite Fullerton Hall in another open court by Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge. The Burnham Library of Architecture, which opened on January 12, 1920, was added south of and adjacent to the Ryerson Library by Howard Van Doren Shaw.
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Art Institute of Chicago Building
The Art Institute of Chicago Building (initial 1893 main-structure built as the World's Congress Auxiliary Building) houses the Art Institute of Chicago, and is part of the Chicago Landmark Historic Michigan Boulevard District in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois. The building is located in Grant Park on the east side of Michigan Avenue, and marks the third address for the Art Institute. The main building was built for the joint purpose of providing an additional facility for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, and subsequently the Art Institute. The core of the current complex, located opposite Adams Street, officially opened to the public on December 8, 1893, and was renamed the Allerton Building in 1968.
There have been numerous building additions over the years, as the museum has built over the sunken former Illinois Central line and further into the park. The most recent addition is the Modern Wing funded in part by Pat Ryan. This new building increases gallery space by 33% and accommodates new educational facilities. It opened to the public on May 16, 2009.
The Art Institute of Chicago opened as the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts on May 24, 1879, and changed to its current name on December 23, 1882. It was originally established as both a school and museum, and stood on the southwest corner of Michigan Avenue and Monroe Street, where it rented space. Before taking over its current building it occupied a four-story Romanesque building designed by Burnham & Root at 81 East Van Buren Street, where the Chicago Club is now situated. The Art Institute, which moved there at the time it changed names, originally leased and later purchased the space. With the coming of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition and its need for a new home for its expanding collection and growing student body, the Art Institute's trustees negotiated for a new structure at what has come to be the current building. Although Aaron Montgomery Ward opposed the development of Grant Park with public buildings along the lakefront, he did not oppose the Art Institute.
The new building was funded by the sale of the Van Buren Street building to the Chicago Club for $ 265,000, by donation of the land by the Chicago Park District, by $120,000 public subscription, and by $200,000 contribution of the Fair Corporation in cooperation with the Exposition. The World Congress Auxiliary of the World's Columbian Exposition occupied the new building from May 1 to October 31, 1893, after which the Art Institute took possession on November 1. The building was built in the place of William W. Boyington's Illinois Interstate Exposition Building (1873), which had been intended as a temporary structure.
Upon his death in 1905, lumber merchant Benjamin Franklin Ferguson bequeathed almost $1 million (equivalent to $34,996,296 in 2024) for the purpose of establishing a public sculpture fund to be administered by the Art Institute. The first gift from this memorial fund was the Fountain of the Great Lakes, which was commissioned in 1907.
The current building is a classical Beaux-Arts building, by Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge of Boston, Massachusetts. The Fullerton Auditorium and Ryerson Library were added to the building in 1898 and 1901 respectively. The building is composed of 273 galleries that total 562,000 square feet (52,200 m2). The following is a summary of all additions. The building has a grand Italian Renaissance facade with a pedimented 5-bayed central section that protrudes forward from the 7-bayed wings on either side. The arcaded entry loggia is topped by three grand palladian arches that are separated by Corinthian half-columns.
Fullerton Hall was originally built in 1898 by Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge on the north side of the main floor in place of a formerly open court. It was built to seat an audience of 425. It has a stained glass dome and formerly had a crystal chandelier both made by Louis Comfort Tiffany.
Ryerson Library was built in 1901 to the south opposite Fullerton Hall in another open court by Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge. The Burnham Library of Architecture, which opened on January 12, 1920, was added south of and adjacent to the Ryerson Library by Howard Van Doren Shaw.