Open House Chicago

Open House Chicago logo

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.

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.^[1] 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.”^[2] OHC is an important event for tourism in Chicago.^[3] 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

Dates	Number of sites	Visits to included sites	Estimated individual attendees	source
Oct 15–16, 2011	131	84,000	23,000	[4][5]
Oct 13–14, 2012	198	142,000	40,000	[6]
Oct 19–20, 2013	157	194,000	55,000	[7]
Oct 18–19, 2014	167	285,000	75,000	[8]
Oct 17–18, 2015	204	320,000	85,000	[9]
Oct 15–16, 2016	213	380,000	100,000	[10]
Oct 14–15, 2017	257	347,000	91,000	[11]
Oct 13–14, 2018	280	366,000	100,000	[12]
Oct 19–20, 2019	almost 350			[13]
Oct 16–Nov 1, 2020	over 500	0	0	Virtual due to COVID-19 pandemic
Oct 16-17, 2021	over 100			[14]
Oct 15-16, 2022	over 150			[15]
Oct 14-15, 2023	over 170			[16]
Oct 19-20, 2024	over 170			[17]

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.^[18][19]

Highlights include Tribune Tower,^[20] Kemper Building,^[21] Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Fine Arts Building,^[22] Chicago Board of Trade Building,^[22] The Rookery, Aon Center, Chicago Temple Building, Emil Bach House,^[23] Elks National Memorial,^[24] New Regal Theater^[25] and more.^[26][27][22]

See also

• Chicago Architecture Foundation
• Open House New York
• Open House London
• Doors Open Toronto
• Open House Brno

References

1. Cassels, Jason Badrock/Alastair. "Open House Worldwide". Openhouseworldwide.org. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
2. "About". Open House Chicago. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
3. "Open House Chicago - Events - Choose Chicago". Choosechicago.com. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
4. "Open House Chicago architectural walking tour". Articles.chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
5. "Open House Chicago: Architecture Foundation Offers Free Tours". HuffPost. Archived from the original on 2015-10-05. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
6. "Open House Chicago 2012: 150 Sites Offering Free, Behind-The-Scenes Access (PHOTOS)". Huffingtonpost.com. 13 October 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
7. "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.
8. Gebert, Michael (16 October 2014). "What to eat and see this weekend at Open House Chicago". Chicagoreader.com. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
9. "Open House Chicago: Step inside the city's architectural wonders for free". Wgntv.com. 16 October 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
10. "100,000 people attended this year's Open House Chicago". Chicago.curbed.com. 9 November 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
11. "Open House Chicago by the numbers". architecture.org. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
12. "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.
13. "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.
14. "Where to Go During Open House Chicago 2021". WTTW. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
15. "Chicago Architecture Center presents Open House Chicago 2022 October 15 & 16, 2022". Preservation Chicago. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
16. "The 20 best buildings to see during Open House Chicago 2023". Time Out. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
17. "Open House Chicago offers the chance to visit 170 city landmarks". NBC 5 Chicago. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
18. "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.
19. "Tour These 200 Historical Sites With Open House Chicago". Chicagoist.com. Archived from the original on 11 October 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
20. "The Immensely Gratifying and Deceptively Short Tribune Tower". Chicago.curbed.com. 17 October 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
21. "Meet an OHC site host: Diana Hickert-Hill, Kemper Corporation". Chicago Architecture Foundation - CAF. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
22. 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.
23. "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.
24. "Touring the Elks National Memorial; Roof at theWit; More!". 23 October 2013.
25. "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.
26. "10 new places to visit during Open House Chicago".
27. "Sites". Open House Chicago. Retrieved 11 October 2017.

External links

• Open House Chicago Homepage
• Chicago Architecture Center Website
• Open House Worldwide