Open House Chicago

Open House Chicago (OHC) is a free weekend festival held annually in Chicago that allows participants to visit dozens of buildings that are not typically open to the public. The next festival will be held on 16–17 October 2021 because 2020 was scrapped caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.[1]

Open House Chicago logo

OHC is organized by the Chicago Architecture Foundation over a two-day period each year in mid-October. The event promotes appreciation of architecture by the general public.

OHC began in 2011 and it is part of a worldwide network of Open House events that started with Open House London in 1992.[2] Its organizers state that event objectives include enabling participants to “venture into new neighborhoods, learn the stories of Chicago’s architecture and experience the diversity and culture of each community.”[3] OHC is an important event for tourism in Chicago.[4] Funding for the event comes from the Chicago Architecture Center and from corporate sponsors, government agencies, foundations, and individual donors. The event relies on approximately 2,600 volunteers to staff participating buildings.

Dates and attendance
DatesNumber of sitesVisits to included sitesEstimated individual attendeessource
Oct 15–16, 201113184,00023,000[5][6]
Oct 13–14, 2012198142,00040,000[7]
Oct 19–20, 2013157194,00055,000[8]
Oct 18–19, 2014167285,00075,000[9]
Oct 17–18, 2015204320,00085,000[10]
Oct 15–16, 2016213380,000100,000[11]
Oct 14–15, 2017257347,00091,000[12]
Oct 13–14, 2018280366,000100,000[13]
Oct 19–20, 2019"almost 350"??[14]
16 Oct–01 Nov 2020over 50000Held virtually on grounds of COVID-19 pandemic.

Sites
A sign announces the participation of the Fine Arts Building in 2019's Open House

Sites include spaces inside historic and architecturally significant buildings that aren't generally open to the public, including historic mansions, Frank Lloyd Wright homes, theaters, skyscrapers, exclusive private clubs, opulent hotel ballrooms and suites, rooftops, industrial sites and design and architecture offices.[15][16]

Highlights include Tribune Tower,[17] Kemper Building,[18] Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Fine Arts Building,[19] Chicago Board of Trade Building,[19] The Rookery, Aon Center, Chicago Temple Building, Emil Bach House,[20] Elks National Memorial,[21] New Regal Theater[22] and more.[23][24][19]

See also

References
  1. "Open House Chicago". Open House Chicago. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  2. Cassels, Jason Badrock/Alastair. "Open House Worldwide". Openhouseworldwide.org. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  3. "About". Open House Chicago. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  4. "Open House Chicago - Events - Choose Chicago". Choosechicago.com. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  5. "Open House Chicago architectural walking tour". Articles.chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  6. "Open House Chicago: Architecture Foundation Offers Free Tours". Archived from the original on 2015-10-05. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  7. "Open House Chicago 2012: 150 Sites Offering Free, Behind-The-Scenes Access (PHOTOS)". Huffingtonpost.com. 13 October 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  8. "Chicago Architecture Foundation Finalizes Sites for This Year's Open House Chicago". Chicagoist.com. Archived from the original on 13 January 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  9. Gebert, Michael. "What to eat and see this weekend at Open House Chicago". Chicagoreader.com. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  10. "Open House Chicago: Step inside the city's architectural wonders for free". Wgntv.com. 16 October 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  11. "100,000 people attended this year's Open House Chicago". Chicago.curbed.com. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  12. "Open House Chicago by the numbers". architecture.org. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  13. "The Chicago Architecture Center announced that 100,000 attendees visited a record number of sites and neighborhoods during Open House Chicago 2018" (PDF). Chicago Architecture Center. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  14. "Chicago Architecture Center announces new neighborhoods and special 2019 Year of Chicago Theatre trail for ninth Open House Chicago, October 19 and 20, 2019" (PDF). Chicago Architecture Center. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  15. "Peek Inside The City's Architectural Gems At Open House Chicago". Chicagoist.com. Archived from the original on 27 January 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  16. "Tour These 200 Historical Sites With Open House Chicago". Chicagoist.com. Archived from the original on 11 October 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  17. "The Immensely Gratifying and Deceptively Short Tribune Tower". Chicago.curbed.com. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  18. "Meet an OHC site host: Diana Hickert-Hill, Kemper Corporation". Chicago Architecture Foundation - CAF. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  19. Bellware, Kim (18 October 2013). "Open House Chicago 2013: See The Hidden Treasures Inside Chicago's Most Interesting Buildings". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  20. "Inside The Frank Lloyd Wright Home People Line Up To See: PHOTOS". DNAinfo Chicago. Archived from the original on 11 October 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  21. "Touring the Elks National Memorial; Roof at theWit; More!".
  22. "South Side's Restoration on Full View for Open House Chicago". DNAinfo Chicago. Archived from the original on 22 February 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  23. "10 new places to visit during Open House Chicago".
  24. "Sites". Open House Chicago. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
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