Notice

Masks required in Abakanowicz Research Center; optional for rest of Museum MORE

August
17
August
17

Montgomery Ward’s First Catalog

Posted under Stories by Jojo Galvan

August 18 is National Mail Order Catalog Day. This year, the Chicago History Museum is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the company responsible for that designation: Montgomery Ward. Portrait of Aaron Montgomery Ward. CHM, ICHi-062410 The well-known company was founded by Aaron Montgomery Ward in 1872, with a mission to make its products more available More

December
14
December
14

The Marshall Field & Company Collection

Posted under Collections by Guest author

Collections volunteer Robert Blythe details the history of artifacts in our Marshall Field & Company collection. In 2006, many Chicago-area residents were crestfallen when all Marshall Field & Company stores were rebranded as Macy’s stores. A local institution, Field’s was the premier Midwestern department store with industry-leading customer service standards. Generations of Chicagoans cherish their More

November
20
November
20

A Perfect Hat for Fall

Posted under Collections by Jessica Pushor

Costume collection manager Jessica Pushor puts one of our Bes-Ben hats in the spotlight. With the autumn chill in the air, stores are enticing shoppers with warm clothes for the fall. Hats were once a major part of a woman’s wardrobe, and here at the Chicago History Museum, we have found the perfect one for More

June
25
June
25

Fiorucci: A Splash of Fun at Water Tower

Posted under Exhibitions by Petra Slinkard

Water Tower Place, a seven-story, 758,000 square-foot vertical mall, opened its doors on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile in October 1975. At the time, it was almost completely vacant with the exception of its anchor stores, Marshall Field & Company and Lord & Taylor. However, due to its almost immediate success and prominent location on North Michigan More

January
12
January
12

What Didn’t Make the Cut

Posted under Exhibitions by Guest author

Planning an exhibition such as Chicago Styled: Fashioning The Magnificent Mile® requires combing through the entire costume collection to find the most appropriate garments. We start this process by looking through our collection database and old catalog cards and then pulling the actual garments from storage to examine in person. For Chicago Styled, we pulled More

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