Originally built as the Chicago Public Library between 1893 and 1897, this Beaux-Arts landmark on Michigan Avenue houses what is believed to be the world's largest Tiffany stained-glass dome, a 38-foot diameter masterpiece containing an estimated 30,000 individual pieces of favrile glass. The building was designed by the Boston firm of Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge, successors to H. H. Richardson, and its grand staircase, Carrara marble walls, and mosaic floors were intended to rival the cultural palaces of Europe. The library relocated to the Harold Washington Library Center in 1991, and the building reopened in 1991 as the Chicago Cultural Center, a free municipal venue presenting over 1,000 programmes annually including art exhibitions, concerts, lectures, dance performances, and film screenings. No admission is charged for any event, making it the most visited free cultural institution in the Midwest. Two major interior spaces anchor the programming. Preston Bradley Hall on the fourth floor, beneath the Tiffany dome, hosts concerts and lectures. The Grand Army of the Republic Rotunda on the second floor features a second smaller stained-glass dome by Healy and Millet and Venetian mosaic walls commemorating Civil War veterans. The Sidney R. Yates Gallery on the fourth floor provides 7,500 square feet of exhibition space. The building occupies the northwest corner of Millennium Park at 78 East Washington Street, directly across Michigan Avenue from the park's Cloud Gate sculpture. It served as the city's official visitor information centre and is accessible from the Washington/Wabash elevated station serving all Loop lines. The building's exterior is clad in Bedford limestone above a granite base, with a roofline balustrade and corner pavilions that echo the Palazzo Pitti in Florence. The Randolph Street entrance leads to a grand staircase of white Carrara marble beneath mosaic ceilings inspired by early Renaissance Italian patterns. Over 700,000 visitors pass through annually, making it one of the most heavily used cultural facilities in the Chicago Park District system.

Type: Tourist Attraction

Address: 78 East Washington Street, Chicago, IL, United States, 60602

Website: https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/chicago_culturalcenter.html

Opening Date: 01/01/1897