Chicago Cultural Center

The Chicago Cultural Center, opened in 1897, is the nation’s first free municipal cultural center and one of the most visited attractions in Chicago. This stunning landmark building, originally constructed as the Chicago Public Library and a Civil War memorial, is operated by Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. The neoclassical structure is located in the Loop at 78 East Washington Street, across Michigan Avenue from Millennium Park.

The Chicago Cultural Center is a national landmark that reflects the best of Chicago, featuring breathtaking architecture designed in the Classical Revival style with inspiration from ancient Greece and Rome and the Italian Renaissance. The building showcases sumptuous marbles, vast vivid mosaics, a Carrara marble lobby, mother of pearl mosaics, and fine detailed craftsmanship throughout its four-story north wing and five-story south wing, with 3-foot-thick masonry walls faced with Bedford Blue Limestone on a granite base.

The Cultural Center is home to two magnificent stained-glass domes that are among its most treasured features. Preston Bradley Hall houses the world’s largest Tiffany stained glass dome, measuring 38 feet in diameter and containing 30,000 pieces of glass, which was restored to its original splendor in 2008. The Grand Army of the Republic Hall features an intricate Renaissance pattern dome. The building underwent an extensive renovation during 2021-2022 with the goal of unearthing original beauty, including complete restoration of the Tiffany dome, recreating long-lost light fixtures, cleaning and polishing marble, restoring mahogany doors, installing new glass, and removing layers of paint in historic rooms.

Each year, the Chicago Cultural Center presents more than 700 free humanities programs, making it one of the most comprehensive arts showcases in the United States. Programming includes free art exhibitions in four major galleries showcasing local and national artists, free music concerts in jaw-dropping acoustic spaces, dance and theater performances, films, lectures, and family events. The facility hosts special exhibitions covering wide-ranging visual arts and contemporary culture.

Visitors can enjoy the Learning Lab, an interactive studio on the first floor offering sights, sounds, and experiences for all ages and abilities, designed by Made in Englewood. BUDDY, a shop on the first floor, gives Chicago’s artists and small manufacturers a place to showcase and sell their goods and artwork, with 100% of sales going to the artists. The Welcome Center off the Randolph Street lobby provides cultural orientation featuring DCASE programming.

The building serves as the city’s official reception venue where the Mayor of Chicago has welcomed presidents, royalty, diplomats, and community leaders. It also serves as headquarters for the Chicago Children’s Choir. The Cultural Center is available for private events and offers a variety of options for large and small gatherings through the Cultural Community Rental Path, designed to reduce barriers for Chicago’s artists and arts organizations.

The facility is fully accessible with wheelchair access, assistive listening devices with FM headsets and over-the-head headphones available for concerts and lectures, an induction loop system in Claudia Cassidy Hall for hearing aids with T-Coil, touch tours and audio described performances available with advance request, and social narratives for neurodiverse visitors. Restrooms are located throughout the building. Bike parking is available around Grant and Millennium Parks, with a Divvy bike station on the Michigan Avenue side.

Admission is FREE and the Cultural Center is open daily 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. (exhibitions close 15 minutes before building closes). The facility is closed on holidays. Free guided tours depart from the Welcome Center, offering insights into the building’s architecture, history, and events on a first-come, first-served basis.