Glessner House

Happy 148th birthday to Frances Glessner Lee! 🎂✨ The "mother of forensic science" moved to Prairie Avenue at age 9 and lived here until her 1898 marriage. Celebrate the legacy of the woman behind the Nutshell Studies today! FrancesGlessnerLee #ForensicScience #NutshellStudies

Explore the homes of Frances Glessner Lee! 🏠✨ Join us this Wednesday, March 25, at 7pm to tour the sites where she revolutionized forensic science and crafted her famous "Nutshell Studies." Tickets: glessnerhouse.org/events/homes-o… #FrancesGlessnerLee #History #NutshellStudies

Happy #PhotoFriday! 📸 We’re welcoming spring with hopes for better weather than last year. 🌸 Spring 2025 kicked off with 3 inches of heavy snow! This view shows Prairie Ave looking south from Glessner House on March 20, 2025. ❄️🏙️

Tickets are flying for our 14th annual Mother-Daughter Tea on Sat, May 2! ☕🍰 Join us in our parlor for delicious teas, scones, & sandwiches. Seatings at 11:30am & 2:30pm. All are welcome—bring your mom, daughter, or friends! Book now: glessnerhouse.org/events/14th-an…

Why was Glessner House so controversial in 1887? 🏡 Neighbors were puzzled by H.H. Richardson’s fortress-like design. Explore this enigma on our Special Interest Tour (3rd Sat of the month, 9:30am). See hidden areas + the original sketch! Tickets: glessnerhouse.org/special-intere…

Photo Friday celebrates National Craft Month with a gold‑and‑black‑opal necklace crafted by Frances Glessner, a master of needlework, silversmithing, and jewelry making. (Chicago History Museum; photo by John A. Faier for the Driehaus Museum)

March 31: “Stories Connect Us,” a free story‑sharing event with The Connecting Routes Project. Chicago Playback Theatre Ensemble brings your true stories of community and solidarity to life. Free with registration: glessnerhouse.org/events/stories…

Join us this Sunday, March 15 at 4:00pm for our first 2026 salon concert! 🎻🎹 DUO FAE presents “Dissidents of the Gilded Age,” featuring works by Chaminade, Smyth, and Beach in honor of #WomensHistoryMonth. Tickets: glessnerhouse.org/events/salon-c…

It’s #PhotoFriday! 📸 This brass urn finial sits atop a mahogany bed in the parlor guest room. Purchased in 1890 during the Glessners' only trip to Europe, this suite reflects the late 19th-century revival of the French Directoire style. 🇫🇷🏛️ #GlessnerHouse #VictorianDesign

Happy Birthday, Chicago! 🎂🏙️ The Windy City was incorporated 189 years ago today, on March 4, 1837, with just 4,000 residents. This 1890s seal features the motto "Urbs in Horto" (City in a Garden) alongside a sheaf of wheat, a ship, and more. #ChicagoHistory #ChiHBD

Step inside the world of the "Mother of Forensic Science." 🕵️‍♀️ Join us online Wed, March 25 at 7:00 PM to explore the homes of Frances Glessner Lee—from her Chicago mansion to the NH cottage where the "Nutshell Studies" were born. 🎟️ Tickets: glessnerhouse.org/events/homes-o…

For National Embroidery Month, this week’s Photo Friday features a May Morris embroidered silk panel once owned by Frances Glessner and later donated to the Art Institute in 1918. Learn more in our online program Sunday, March 8 at 1pm. Tickets: glessnerhouse.org/events

Join us Sunday, March 15 at 4pm for the first concert in our 2026 salon series. Duo FAE presents Dissidents of the Gilded Age, featuring works by Chaminade, Smyth & Beach for Women’s History Month. Tickets: glessnerhouse.org/events

Chicago’s Loop was born on this day in 1882, when the Chicago City Railway launched its new cable cars on a downtown loop bounded by State, Madison, Wabash & Lake. The cars were housed at State & 21st, just blocks from Glessner House. Chicago ended its cable car system in 1906.

Happy #PhotoFriday! 📸☕ This stunning porcelain tea set was made by Minton in Staffordshire, England, circa 1900. Note the Japanese influence: the delicate transferware features sprigs of flowers and butterflies—a classic example of "Japonisme" from the turn of the century. 🦋🌸

164 years ago today—February 18, 1862—Camp Douglas began its grim shift from a Union training camp to a Confederate POW camp. 🛡️🏛️ Located in the "undeveloped prairie" south of 31st & Cottage Grove, this 60-acre site eventually held 30,000 prisoners at its peak. #ChicagoHistory

Did you know Mount Washington was officially named in 1784? 🖋️ This 1890s photo by George Glessner shows the peak from The Rocks in Bethlehem, NH. It’s the highest point in the NE, followed closely by peaks named for Adams and Jefferson. ⛰️ #WhiteMountains #HistoricalPhotos

#PhotoFriday: A crowd outside the Regal Theater in April 1941. 📽️✨ This Bronzeville centerpiece opened in 1928 and hosted icons until it closed in 1968. Join our FREE online Black History Month program this Sunday, Feb 15, at 2pm to learn more! Register: glessnerhouse.org/events/bronzev…

On Feb 11, 1960, #GlessnerHouse was one of 38 buildings first named Chicago Landmarks. 🏛️ The honor was purely symbolic then—Adler & Sullivan’s Garrick Theatre was razed just a year later. Real protection didn't arrive until a stronger ordinance in 1970. 🛡️#ChicagoHistory

On Feb 9, 1898—128 years ago—Frances Glessner married Blewett Lee in the Glessner home parlor. 💍 The same minister had married her parents in 1870! In 1928, the parlor hosted yet another wedding for Frances’ eldest daughter, also named Frances. 🏛️✨