A Chicago Cultural Center renovation project is returning the building’s Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Hall and Rotunda to their original 1890s glory. The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) and Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Thursday announced that the Cultural Center will reopen to the public June 2, with the restoration of the neoclassical building’s northern glass dome underway.
According to the announcement, the reopening of the “People’s Palace” will include new art exhibitions and visitor amenities, with health and safety protocols to be announced later. Restoration work will continue until early 2022, when it will be unveiled to the public.
The dome is on the north side of the building and is one of two glass domes at the Chicago Cultural Center. The other Tiffany Glass dome, on the south side in Preston Bradley Hall, was restored in 2008.
The new restoration of the Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Hall and Rotunda, including the 40-foot diameter, 62,000-piece, art glass dome, returns natural light to the room. It was made possible by an private grant valued at $15,425,000 (the city did not reveal the donor) and is being executed by Harboe Architects and a team of preservation experts. The Cultural Center project also includes upgraded lighting, Wi-Fi and other improvements and is part of Culture in My Neighborhood, an initiative that’s part of the newly announced Arts 77.
The June 2 reopening — the Chicago Cultural Center has been closed since March 2020 — will include the exhibitions “Jeremiah Hulsebos-Spofford: League of Nations” and “what flies but never lands.” Soon after, “Chicago: Where Comics Came to Life, 1880–1960” will open June 19. A new shop called Buddy will give Chicago’s artists and small manufacturers a place to showcase and sell their goods. More at chicagoculturalcenter.org
Update: This story has been changed since it was first published; the renovated space will not be accessible until it is fully complete in 2022.
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