McCormick House Tour - 2024

Elmhurst Art Museum

150 S. Cottage Hill Avenue
Elmhurst, IL
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McCormick House Tour - 2024

The McCormick House is a single-family home designed in 1952 by Mies van der Rohe, one of the great architects of the 20th Century. It is one of only three free-standing residences designed and built by Mies in the United States--and one of only two open to the public.

The McCormick House is located on the campus of the Elmhurst Art Museum. To fully explore Mies’ vision and his impact on art and culture in the 20th and 21st centuries, the museum encourages conversations between past and present. The house serves as a stage for rotating exhibitions of mid-century modern design and contemporary art and inspires a variety of museum-wide programming.


Enjoy spending time in this mid-20th century gem. Inspect the architectural details, experience the art and objects on display and discover the unlikely history of this exceptional structure. Join us for a 1-hour tour led by a musuem docent to learn more about the unique history and design of the McCormick House. 

Capacity is limited and spots sell out quickly, so advance tickets are recommended.  Your ticket for the tour includes admission to the rest of the museum. Please check-in at the Front Desk of the museum upon your arrival.  You may view the museum exhibitions either before or after the tour.

$23  non member / $18 member - Docomomo US members receive a $5 refund per member at the door by showing a current membership card or membership confirmation email. (Join or renew your membership here)

 

More Tour Day events:

Formica Plant Tour with cf3

Formica, founded in Cincinnati, recently celebrated its 110 year anniversary. Known for revolutionizing the world of kitchens, bathrooms, diners, schools, and so much more, its humble origins grew to the international company it is today. Tour the plant with Docomomo US friend group cf3 (Cincinnati Form Follows Function), see Formica made, and hear the journey of their iconic designs, and where the company is headed next.

Formica Corporation

10155 Reading Rd, Cincinnati, OH, 45241

General Motors Technical Center at 68: History and Preservation

General Motors Technical Center, dedicated in 1956 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 2014, is an icon of midcentury design and the prototype of the modern American corporate campus. Located in the Detroit suburb of Warren, the complex was the first major project by celebrated Finnish American architect Eero Saarinen (1910 – 1961). This day-long reassessment of GM Technical Center’s history and its continued stewardship by General Motors will feature morning talks at Cranbrook Art Museum, afternoon tours of the Cranbrook campus and Cranbrook Archives (GM Technical Center tour is SOLD OUT). 

Cranbrook Art Museum

39221 Woodward Ave, Bloomfield Hills, MI, 48304

Featured Sites

McCormick House

In 1952, the renowned modern architect Mies van der Rohe designed a home for Robert Hall McCormick III, a member of Chicago’s most prominent families, and his wife, the poet Isabella Gardner. The home is a rare and important example of Mies van der Rohe’s mature style, incorporating elements of his celebrated designs for the Farnsworth House (1951) and 860-880 Lake Shore Drive (1951). The McCormick House—one of only three single-family homes designed by Mies in the United States—originally served two purposes: it was a home for the McCormick family and a prototype for a proposed group of smaller, affordable mass-produced modular homes in the western Chicago suburbs that McCormick and co-developer Herbert S. Greenwald were hoping to build. However, the cutting-edge, high-end buildings were not met with enough buyers to begin construction.


Sold by its last occupants, Ray and Mary Ann Fick (Ray was the former mayor of Elmhurst), to the Elmhurst Fine Arts and Civic Center Foundation in 1991, the structure was moved from its original location at 299 Prospect Avenue to a new campus for the museum in Wilder Park in 1994.  Made part of the new Elmhurst Art Museum (EAM), which opened in 1997, the walls were reconfigured to create a larger open space for events and exhibitions in the south wing and to house administrative offices in the north wing. In the summer of 2015, the administrative offices were moved to another space on site, which opened up both wings of the building to the public.

 

Description taken from the Elmhurst Art Musuem.

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