Past Programs & Events

Member Last Look Tours: Tiffany Lamps & Land of Oz

Wednesday, April 15 - Sunday, April 19, 2026

Before we turn out the lights and click our heels three times, join us for one last look at Tiffany Lamps: Beyond the Shade and The Land of Oz: Beyond the Page.

Brick of Chicago Walking Tour

Wednesday, October 1, 2025, 2025

Legendary brick expert Will Quam will guide you around the Driehaus Museum neighborhood to see artful examples of brick and terra cotta.

Walking Chicago’s Alleys

August 30 (SOLD OUT); September 13 (SOLD OUT), 2025, 2025

Discover how Chicago became the alleyway capital of the country, dig into the history of urban trash, and see Chicago architecture from a new perspective on this alleyway walking tour.

Materialities Community Days- Special Tour with Dr. Giovanni Aloi SOLD OUT

Saturday, March 1, 2025

Our Community Days are a free invitation to all to come to the Driehaus Museum and to experience our Materialities exhibition. Enjoy a free tour by the exhibition curator at 1:30 pm.

This tour is now sold out.

Wright in Focus: Frank Lloyd Wright Bus Tour

December 18, 2024

­­­­­This tour offers a unique day tour of Wright’s Chicago sites in conjunction with Photographing Frank Lloyd Wright. The tour is a collaboration between the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust and the Driehaus Museum.

Walking Chicago's Alleys

September 28 (SOLD OUT), 2024

Get outside this Drie-Summer and see Chicago architecture from a new perspective on this alleyway walking tour.

The September tour is sold out.

Brick of Chicago Summer Walking Tours

September 4 SOLD OUT!, 2024

Note; This tour is now sold out.

Get outside this Drie-Summer with legendary brick expert Will Quam, who will guide you around the Driehaus Museum neighborhood to see artful examples of brick and terra cotta.

Virtual Tour for Glass to Garden: Tiffany Inspired Floral Designs SOLD OUT!

Wednesday, January 3, 2024

Visit Garden to Glass: Tiffany Inspired Floral Designs virtually before the exhibition closes on January 7.

This tour is now sold out.

Live Virtual Tour for Hector Guimard: Art Nouveau to Modernism SOLD OUT!

Tuesday, October 24 , 2023

Join us for a live virtual tour of Hector Guimard: Art Nouveau to Modernism.

This event is sold out.

Live Virtual Tour Hector Guimard: Art Nouveau to Modernism

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

​Join us for a live virtual tour of Hector Guimard: Art Nouveau to Modernism.

This tour is for members only. Additional tours are now available to register for.

Paris in Chicago: Walking Tour of Grant Park SOLD OUT!

Wednesday, August 23 Rescheduled for Friday, August 25, 2023

This walking tour will take you on journey through Grant Park to see the many ways Parisian landscape design influenced Chicago.

Due to the soaring temperatures, this event has been rescheduled for Friday, August 25.

Brick of Chicago Summer Walking Tour

Friday, August 11, 2023

Legendary brick expert Will Quam will guide you around the Driehaus Museum neighborhood to see artful examples of brick and terra cotta.

Brick of Chicago Summer Walking Tour SOLD OUT!

Wednesday, July 19, 2023

Legendary brick expert Will Quam will guide you around the Driehaus Museum neighborhood to see artful examples of brick and terra cotta.

This program is now sold out.

Brick of Chicago June Walking Tour SOLD OUT!

Wednesday, June 14, 2023

Legendary brick expert Will Quam will guide you around the Driehaus Museum neighborhood to see artful examples of brick and terra cotta.

This tour is now sold out.

Brick of Chicago Spring Walking Tour SOLD OUT!

Thursday, April 27, 2023

On this tour, you’ll begin inside our Capturing Louis Sullivan: What Richard Nickel Saw exhibition, and see examples of ornamental terracotta from demolished Adler & Sullivan buildings. From there, Will Quam will take you around the neighborhood of the Driehaus Museum to see other artful examples of brick and terra cotta, including the Medinah Temple, the Warwick Allerton Hotel, and many in between!

Brick of Chicago Spring Walking Tour SOLD OUT!

Thursday, May 18, 2023

Due to popular demand, we’ve added another Brick of Chicago tour. Catch it in the last few days before Capturing Louis Sullivan: What Richard Nickel closes for good.

Brick of Chicago Walking Tour

Thursday, October 6 (Rescheduled from September 20), 2022

Inspired by Capturing Sullivan: What Richard Nickel Saw, this walking tour celebrates some of Louis Sullivan’s most favored building materials: brick and terra cotta. From quotidian to ornate, Chicago-style bricks are as iconic as a hot dog without ketchup. On this walking tour, architecture historian Will Quam from Brick of Chicago will show you an assortment of brick, stone, and terra cotta buildings in the neighborhood around the Driehaus Museum and help you see your city with new eyes.

The Murphy Auditorium at Open House Chicago

Sunday, October 16, 2022

Marvel at the 1926 John B. Murphy Memorial Auditorium and enjoy live music throughout the day from the Chicago Cellar Boys and Seth Boustead of Access Contemporary Music. The event is free; no reservations are necessary.

Theodora Allen: Saturnine Gallery Talk

Thursday, August 4, 2022

Before Theodora Allen: Saturnine closes on Sunday, August 7th, you’ll have one last chance to get to know why Cultured Magazine called Allen’s work “a leitmotif of the scientific journey of man and nature through time.” Curator Stephanie Cristello will guide visitors through the exhibition, giving them an up close and personal view of Allen’s paintings and a deeper understanding of Allen’s work process and influences, and reveal how they tie into the world of the Nickerson Mansion. Afterwards, The Cocktail Guy will mix up the program’s exhibition-inspired signature alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktail, the Devil’s Snare.

Beyond the Mansion: The Great Chicago Fire Walking Tour

Thursday, September 30 and October 7; Saturday, October 2 and October 9 SOLD OUT! Additional dates: Thursday, October 14 and 21; Saturday, October 16 and 23, 2021

A Tale of Today: Nate Young and Mika Horibuchi - Virtual Tour + Catalogue

Includes access to virtual tour featuring both artists + the exhibition catalogue, 2021

Virtually experience each gallery in the exhibition as Nate Young and Mika Horibuchi share the stories behind the works created specifically for the historically and architecturally significant space.

SOLD OUT - Member Exclusive: Chicago's Tiffany Trail Highlights Bus Tour

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Travel with art historian Rolf Achilles to a number of Louis Comfort Tiffany’s best ecclesiastical sites in Chicago.

SOLD OUT - Chicago's Oldest Cemetery: A Spooky Lincoln Park Walking Tour

October, 25 and 26, 2019

Historian Sally Kalmbach will lead the way as you discover Lincoln Park’s macabre history as a vast, windswept burial site.

Tiffany of the Midwest: The Ecclesiastical Windows of Milwaukee

Friday, September 27, 2019

Experience the magnificent collection of Tiffany Studio ecclesiastical stained-glass windows that Milwaukee has to offer including the largest Tiffany window ever completed at over 24 feet high.

Chicago's Gold Coast
in the Gilded Age Walking Tour - SOLD OUT

Saturdays, September 14 - October 5, 2019

Discover the fascinating history of Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood as you follow the footsteps of the neighborhood’s most illustrious residents.

Saints & Sinners Walking Tour: Chicago's Legacy of Virtue and Vice - SOLD OUT

Fridays, July 12 - October 4, 2019

Explore Chicago’s complex history of corruption and altruism through visits to famous watering-holes and churches.

McCormickville Walking Tour

Saturdays, July 6 - August 31, 2019

Sally Kalmbach will illuminate the lives of the prominent families and notable public figures who once called the area surrounding the Nickerson mansion home.

Streeterville Walking Tour

Saturdays, June 1 - June 15, 2019

From its “Rags to Riches” squatter beginnings, explore Streeterville and its fascinating history of hidden secrets, enclaves of art and academia, architectural wonders, and exciting tales of treachery.

Gilded Age Traditions and Holiday Tea at The Drake

Fridays and Saturdays November 30 – December 15, 2018

Explore the Christmas traditions of Gilded Age Chicago, visit historic landmarks, and enjoy afternoon tea at the Drake Hotel – a quintessential Chicago tradition.

Death, Disease & Bones: A Lincoln Park Walking Tour

Fridays and Saturdays, October 19 - 27, 2018

Historian Sally Sexton Kalmbach will lead the way as you discover Lincoln Park’s macabre history as a vast, windswept burial site.

The Stony Island Arts Bank

Sunday, October 7, 2018

Members and their guests are invited to visit The Stony Island Arts Bank, a hybrid gallery, media archive, library and community center – designed by William Gibbons Uffendell and built in 1923.

SOLD OUT - Travel Tour: Grand Rapids, Michigan

Saturday, September 22, 2018

Our fall travel tour will visit the historic and artistic sites of Grand Rapids, Michigan including the Meyer May House, the Meijer Gardens and the Grand Rapids Art Museum.

Chicago's Gold Coast Patronage and the 1893 World's Fair - Sold Out

Saturdays, September 8 - October 13, 2018

In honor of the city’s 125th Anniversary celebration of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, Sally Kalmbach, will treat you to tales about the famous Gold Coast residents and architects who designed buildings for the White City.

Mansions and Millionaires: The McCormickville Walking Tour

Saturdays, July 7 - September 1, 2018

On this walking tour, historian Sally Kalmbach will illuminate the lives of the prominent families and notable public figures of Gilded Age Chicago who once called the area home.

Saints & Sinners Walking Tour: Chicago's Legacy of Virtue and Vice

Fridays, July 6 - October 26, 2018

Through visits to the Gold Coast neighborhood’s churches and watering holes we will discuss Chicago’s history of prohibition and highlight the main characters in the City’s Temperance movement.

Help Wanted: The Summer Servants Tour

Wednesdays and Fridays, July 6 - September 28, 2018

Extended through September! In this popular living history tour, you will play the role of a prospective candidate, hoping to fill one of the household’s domestic service vacancies.

Spooky Walking Tour - Sold Out!

Thursdays & Saturdays, October 19 – October 28, 2017

Today, Lincoln Park is known as one of the city’s most exclusive neighborhoods, but in the mid-19th century the area served as one of Chicago’s original cemeteries.