Join Docomomo US/Chicago for a drop-in bowling night at Avondale Bowl.

We've reserved two lanes; shoe rental is your responsibility. Not a bowler? Come hang out at the bar and discuss and learn more about modernism with Docomomo members and friends!

No RSVP required; just drop in.

Throughout October, Docomomo US/Chicago will be exploring the legacy of urban renewal.

The University of Illinois at Chicago Circle was created between 1963 and 1968 as an “instant campus” in response to major growth in college enrollment following WWII.  Its Brutalist design by Walter Netsch and SOM became a nationally recognized model for other campuses across the country, even as it displaced thousands of neighborhood residents and sparked local grassroots protests through its program of urban renewal. This tour will start and conclude at the famed School of Architecture and include visits to the buildings and spaces at UIC that have delighted and frustrated users since the day they opened.

Our tour will be led by Judith K. De Jong. Judith is an architect, urban designer, and Associate Professor of Architecture at the University of Illinois Chicago whose work investigates the reciprocating relationships between architecture and the city. De Jong’s interest in the future of the Netsch Campus at UIC, combined with her role as Associate Dean of CADA from 2014-2022, produced a pair of exhibitions at Gallery 400, co-curated by Lorelei Stewart, and led to the University’s 2019 international design competition for a Center for the Arts at UIC, won by OMA/KOO. 

More information and registration HERE.

Free / Docomomo members; $20 / non-members

Tour will begin at the main entry of the Architecture and Design Studios building, 845 West Harrison Street, Chicago, IL.

We also hope you’ll join us on Oct. 1 for a walking tour of the former Ogden Avenue, which contains a wealth of residential architecture from the 1970s through the 1990s. More information HERE.

This event is part of Docomomo Tour Day, an annual nationwide celebration of modern architecture and design. For more Tour Day events around the country, click HERE.

Throughout October, Docomomo US/Chicago will be exploring the legacy of urban renewal.

On Sunday, October 1, we’ll explore one of the most peculiar chapters in Chicago transportation and urban renewal history.  North Ogden Avenue was once a major arterial street that was extended from Union Park to Lincoln Park at enormous expense and disruption in the 1930s. Thirty years later, the City changed their mind and began closing and redeveloping the Ogden Avenue footprint in stages starting in 1967.

In addition to some of the best remaining 1970s-era streetscapes in Chicago, this tour will see the exterior of the former home of Skidmore Owings & Merrill partner Walter Netsch and Dawn Clark Netsch, the first female gubernatorial candidate in Illinois. Other notable modernist architects building single-family homes on the former right-of-way of Ogden Avenue including Stanley Tigerman and Larry Booth.

The tour will be led by Patrick Steffes, Docomomo Chicago board member and a founding member of Forgotten Chicago. Patrick has lectured and led several tours for Docomomo Chicago, including the highly-popular tour of Peterson Avenue. More information and registration HERE.

$20/Docomomo US members; $35/non-members

We also hope you’ll join us on October 14 for a tour of the UIC Circle Campus. More information is available HERE.

These events are part of Tour Day, an annual nationwide event celebrating modern architecture and design. This year’s thematic focus is Urban Renewal. For more Tour Day events around the country, click HERE..

Join us for Docomomo Chicago’s 2023 Annual Meeting on Tuesday, Sep 12 in person. The meeting will include board member elections and a recap of last year's chapter activities. The second part of the meeting will be dedicated to unveiling our new strategic plan. We'll discuss the key points of the strategic plan and how you can get involved in shaping the future of our chapter!

Members and non-members alike are welcome. If you're curious about getting more involved with Docomomo - or have friends, colleagues, neighbors, or relatives who are - bring them along and stop on by!

Drinks and light snacks will be provided. The annual meeting will be held at the John Hancock Residences, 44th Floor Party room (175 E. Delaware Place, Chicago, 60611).

The meeting is free to all, but registration is required by the building. Please RSVP by Monday, Aug. 29.

Join us for our annual Docomomo/US Chicago Summer Social & Picnic. This year, our event will be held on Saturday, August 26, 2023 at the Lewis House in Libertyville, IL. The event is complimentary for Docomomo US members as thanks for your ongoing support. (One guest allowed per member, please).

Designed by Frank Loyd Wright in 1939 for Chicago journalist Lloyd Lewis and his wife Kathryn Dougherty, this Usonian house sits on a banks of the Des Plaines river in the Northern suburbs of Chicagoland. 

• Enjoy a BBQ Luncheon (meats, vegetables, sides and beverages).

• Tour the house and meet the current homeowners and learn more about their restoration efforts on the house.

RSVP required by Wednesday, August 23. Please click here to RSVP

This is an exclusive members-only event, so if you would like to attend and you are not currently a Docomomo member, or your membership has lapsed, please join or renew below. Your membership helps support Docomomo's nationwide mission to celebrate and preserve modern architecture and design.

Join Docomomo US/Chicago for a tour of Modern houses in the southern suburbs of Chicagoland.

This house tour focuses on Chicagoland Communities with exceptional Midcentury Modern Architecture. The 2023 Rally will focus on Modernist Houses in the south suburban railroad commuter communities of Flossmoor and Olympia Fields. These communities became an area of progressive experimentation for many of the leading modernist architects of the 50’s and 60’s from Keck and Keck and Edward Dart to Bertrand Goldberg. The Rally will showcase 12 exemplary houses, many of which received design awards and have been included in period periodicals and books as well as recent publications illustrating their individual importance and the collective significance of this unique enclave of modernist architecture. This year, we are partnering with the Foundation for the Preservation of Flossmoor History, and a portion of proceeds will go towards the restoration of the historic Wagner Building, scheduled to open for Flossmoor’s Centennial in 2024.  

The event kicks off at Conservatory Vintage & Vinyl in the charming downtown of Flossmoor where you’ll pick up your event map and complimentary swag bag. Once you have your map, which includes architectural information for each home, it’s time to hit the road either in your own vehicle or hop on one of two dedicated trolleys. Please note that trolley service is included in your ticket price but must be reserved when you purchase your tickets.

After the rally, come party like it’s 1959 at a post-event party get-together hosted at Flossmoor Station Restaurant and Brewer, the former Flossmoor train station, c.1906. The Brew Caboose Tap Room will be servicing microbrews produced onsite, paired with delicious appetizers. 

You can purchase tickets to the tour, post-tour party, and sculpture tour at the Nate (see details below).

Modernism Road Rally event check-in will be available at the Conservatory Vintage & Vinyl to all paid attendees Friday June 23, 12:00 PM – 6:00 PM and Saturday June 24th, 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM. Advanced ticket purchase required,  no walk-up ticket sales available.

MODERNISM ROAD RALLY TICKETS

Want to volunteer? Click here!

Join Docomomo US/Chicago for a Spring Social meet and greet for members and guests.

Details coming soon.

Throughout October, Docomomo US/Chicago will be exploring Chicagoland’s fascinating history of shopping malls through a walking tour and a pair of virtual presentations.

On Wednesday, October 26 at 6 p.m. CST, we’ll explore “The Modernism of Carson Pirie Scott & Company.” Chicago-based Carson’s is perhaps best known for their downtown Chicago flagship store designed in 1899 by Louis Sullivan (recently nicknamed the “Goth Target”). Less appreciated, however, is Carson Pirie Scott’s patronage of modern design. Arguably, no other post-World War II retailer in the US embraced modernist architecture and employed more high-profile architects than Carson’s. This presentation by Docomomo US/Chicago board member Patrick Steffes will cover Carson Pirie Scott’s unique place in Chicago retail and hospitality history, and its long legacy of commissioning innovative modern architecture visited by millions annually. More information and registration HERE.

Free/Docomomo US members; $10/non-members

We also hope you’ll join us on October 12 for another presentation highlighting some of Chicagoland’s shopping malls. More information is available HERE.

These events are part of Tour Day, an annual nationwide event celebrating modern architecture and design. This year’s thematic focus is Shopping Malls. For more Tour Day events, click HERE.

Throughout October, Docomomo US/Chicago will be exploring Chicagoland’s fascinating history of shopping malls through a walking tour and a pair of virtual presentations.

On Wednesday, October 12 at 6 p.m. CST, join us for “Shopping can be a pleasure: Chicagoland Malls, 1916-2000.” This (virtual) trip to Chicagoland’s malls will explore the good, the bad, the demolished, and the underappreciated. We’ll visit the first shopping plaza in the country designed around the automobile, and end at the millennium with one of downtown Chicago’s vertical malls. Along the way, we’ll explore designs by architects Harry Weese; Victor Gruen; Loebl, Schlossmann & Bennett; Edo Belli; Ed Dart; and more. More information and registration HERE.

Free/Docomomo US members; $10/non-members

We also hope you’ll join us for our other Tour Day lecture on October 26. “The Modernism of Carson Pirie Scott & Company.” More information is available HERE.

These events are part of Tour Day, an annual nationwide event celebrating modern architecture and design. This year’s thematic focus is Shopping Malls. For more Tour Day events, click HERE.

Throughout October, Docomomo US/Chicago will be exploring Chicagoland’s fascinating history of shopping malls through a walking tour and a pair of virtual presentations. Join us on Saturday, October 8 at 1:00 p.m. CST for an in-person tour of three Michigan Avenue malls.

North Michigan Avenue, nicknamed the “Magnificent Mile,” began life as a 1920s luxury shopping district, was revitalized beginning in the 1970s, and faces an uncertain future as the very concept of retail evolves. On Saturday, October 8, we will explore three urban malls that shaped the Magnificent Mile into what it is today.

Water Tower Place, designed by Chicago architects Loebl, Schlossmann, Bennett and Dart in 1975, was downtown Chicago’s answer to sprawling suburban malls. Towering 47 stories above North Michigan Avenue, Water Tower Place had seven stories of retail, two flagship department stores, restaurants, cinemas, condominium residences, and a luxury hotel.

900 North Michigan, built in 1989 on the site of a much-loved apartment building, was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox as an elegant exercise in restrained Postmodernism. Clad in limestone and granite and capped with four square lanterns, 900 North Michigan has a six-story atrium with stores and restaurants and upper stories of offices, a hotel, and condominiums.

North Bridge, opened in 2000, occupies an unusual site, with a mall atrium built on the air rights above Grand Avenue and leading from Michigan Avenue to the retail stores located one block west. North Bridge is also notable for dismantling the façade of a landmark Art Deco building and re-hanging the façade on a new building.

Join Docomomo US/Chicago to explore the history, design, evolution, and challenges facing each mall. The tour will be led by Justin Miller, architectural historian and Docomomo US/Chicago chapter chair. Following the tour, guests are invited to continue the conversation at Aster Hall with a cash bar.

More information and registration available HERE.

Free/Docomomo US members; $15/non-members

These events are part of Tour Day, an annual nationwide event celebrating modern architecture and design. This year’s thematic focus is Shopping Malls. For more Tour Day events, click HERE.

Join us for our virtual Annual Meeting. Members are encouraged to attend and participate in shaping our vision and events for 2022. Our Board of Directors elections will take place during the meeting. Thank you for your support over the past year.

Join us on Saturday, August 27th, for a tour of one of Chicago’s most distinctive churches.

Many architects know of the Louis Sullivan-designed Holy Trinity, a beautiful modest-sized Ukrainian cathedral in Chicago, but not many have visited the expansive St. Joseph the Betrothed Church near O’Hare. Ukrainian-born Zenon Mazurkevich, designed the cathedral, completed in 1977. Mazurkevich worked for Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, as well as SOM where he was involved with the design of the John Hancock Center. This unique structure is often described as the cathedral that is “part Ukrainian, part-modern, and part Mars”. Please join Docomomo US Chicago for a tour of this wonder of Chicagoland modernism. Register HERE.

$10/Docomomo US members; $30/non-members

All proceeds from the tour will be donated to the church's Support for Ukraine fund.

The hour-long tour will begin at 11am outside the south end of the church, and will be led by Andres Durbak, a long-time parish trustee who has been involved with the building ever since and including its construction in 1977. Following the tour, we encourage you to explore the neighborhood for lunch. There are several restaurants within a half-mile radius of the church.

Getting there:

The church is just south of the I-90 exit ramp, and can be access via the CTA Blue Line stop at Cumberland with a 30 min walk south down Cumberland, or a transfer to either buses 331 or 81W.

Register here

Midcentury art and architecture are too often studied separately. In the case of Roger Brown and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, the cultural influences and societal undercurrents acting on these great Chicago Modernists brought their work closer together. Brown the artist and Mies the architect were towering figures in their respective practices—beacons of pure intention and masterful execution. Many of Brown’s paintings ruminate on buildings and contemporary cityscapes, and architecture was central to Brown and his life partner, George Veronda, an accomplished architect and designer. Not by accident, Mies’ restrained architectural compositions double as exceptional showcases for Modern art, in both residential and commercial contexts. This panel discussion provides fresh perspectives on the aesthetic interplay and philosophical crosscurrents that informed the careers of two of the 20th century’s most distinctive creative minds.

Panelists include:

Valerie Balint, Senior Program Manager, Historic Artists’ Homes and Studios Program, National Trust for Historic Preservation

David Mitchell, Director of Exhibitions, Kavi Gupta Gallery

Michelangelo Sabatino, Professor + Director, PhD Program in Architecture, Illinois Institute of Technology College of Architecture and Docomomo US Board member

Lisa Wainwright, Professor, Department of Art History, Theory and Criticism, School of the Art Institute of Chicago

This program is presented in partnership with the Edith Farnsworth House, where the exhibition Roger Brown and Miesian Metropolitanism, curated by Kavi Gupta Gallery and the Roger Brown Study Collection, is on view from August 7—November 27, 2022.

Roger Brown and Miesian Metropolitanism, an exhibition of Roger Brown’s work, is on view at the Farnswoth House from August 7th to November 22nd, 2022. The opening reception is on Sunday, August 7 from 2 to 5pm.

Midcentury art and architecture are too often studied separately. In the case of Roger Brown and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, the cultural influences and societal undercurrents acting on these great Chicago Modernists brought their work closer together.

Brown the artist and Mies the architect, were important figures in their respective practices—beacons of pure intention and masterful execution. Many of Brown’s paintings ruminate on buildings and contemporary cityscapes, and architecture was central to Brown and his life partner, George Veronda, an accomplished architect and designer. Not by accident, Mies’ restrained architectural compositions doubles as exceptional showcases for Modern art, in both residential and commercial contexts. This exhibition will put their work side by side to provide a fresh perspective on the aesthetic interplay and philosophical crosscurrents that informed the careers of two of the 20th century’s most distinctive creative minds. This includes Brown’s piece, “Me’s Modern City: View from the Veronda,” INSIDE the Edith Farnsworth House!

Join us on Saturday, July 9, for a walking tour that explores the history and legacy of modern architecture and urban renewal in Hyde Park. (Note: this tour was originally scheduled for an earlier date but has been rescheduled to July 9.)

The tour will be led by Lisa Napoles, a historian, preservation planner, and member of Docomomo US/Chicago board of directors who has written and lectured on the Hyde Park A and B urban renewal projects.

$10/Docomomo members; $30/non-members

Registration and more information is available HERE. Space is limited, so register soon.

Columbus
2017, Kogonada, USA, 104 minutes

Columbus, the critically-acclaimed debut feature film from Korean-American filmmaker Kogonada, follows a middle-aged Korean man who strikes up a friendship with a local woman. Described by the British Film Institute as "a love letter to the serene elegance of modern architecture," the film was shot entirely on location in Columbus, Indiana, and features buildings by Eliel Saarinen, Eero Saarinen, and I.M. Pei, among others. Panel discussion to follow film screening.

This screening is part of MODERNISM AS CHARACTER, a three-part series of screenings, conversations, and discussions, featuring Modernist design, buildings, landscapes, allied arts, and ideas organized by Docomomo Chicago and the Gene Siskel Film Center. Special thanks to film series partners MAS Context, Goethe-Institut, Chicago Architecture Center, Illinois Institute of Technology College of Architecture, and Preservation Chicago.

NEUTRA Survival Through Design
2019, PJ Letofsky, USA, 104 minutes

NEUTRA Survival Through Design is a comprehensive documentary into the 125 year life, work, and times of Austrian/American Architect Richard Neutra (1892-1970) – the legacy which continues to this day through the work of son Dion Neutra. Panel discussion with film director, series partners and audience Q&A to follow film screening.

This screening is part of MODERNISM AS CHARACTER, a three-part series of screenings, conversations, and discussions, featuring Modernist design, buildings, landscapes, allied arts, and ideas organized by Docomomo Chicago and the Gene Siskel Film Center. Special thanks to film series partners MAS Context, Goethe-Institut, Chicago Architecture Center, Illinois Institute of Technology College of Architecture, and Preservation Chicago.