The Art Institute of Chicago

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.