Museum
The Art Institute of Chicago
Beaux-Arts palace of galleries built at speed for a World's Fair deadline, its stone-look walls actually brick.
0:00≈ 2 min
Location
0:00≈ 2 min
About this audio guide
This guide to the Art Institute of Chicago tells the story of the building's rushed construction: a contract signed in 1892 for $325,000, a deadline set by the 1893 World's Fair, and a final bill that climbed past $900,000 as trustees raced a Chicago winter to avoid forfeiting their bond. You'll hear how the museum's stately gray walls came together faster than quarried stone ever could. It's a story about ambition built on a deadline instead of a budget.
This audio guide was created using AI.