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River North is a neighborhood on the Near North Side of Chicago. It’s bound by the Chicago River to the south and west, Chicago Avenue to the north, and the Magnificent Mile to the east.
Introduction to River North
River North is home to a countless number of great hotels, restaurants, and bars, as well as high-rises housing corporate offices and condos. There are also some architectural gems, fantastic museums, and art galleries. This post covers a few of the historical and cultural sites that grace the area.
Driehaus Museum
First, Erie Street contains a few historic buildings. You can visit two of them, the Murphy Auditorium and the Nickerson House, at the Richard H. Driehaus Museum. It’s open from Wednesday through Sunday. Adult admission is US$20 and children are admitted free (as of August 2024). Guided tours are offered a few times a day for an additional US$5 (as of August 2024).
John B. Murphy Memorial Auditorium
The official entrance to the museum is through the cast bronze doors of the John B. Murphy Memorial Auditorium. It was built in 1926 by the American College of Surgeons as a memorial to Dr. John Murphy (1857-1916). The building was designed by Marshall & Fox in the Baroque Revival style. The Driehaus Museum acquired the property in 2022 and started restoration work in June 2023. It opened to the public on June 21, 2024, and includes a learning center with classrooms, studios, and seminar rooms. There’s also an outdoor terrace on the top floor.
Samuel M. Nickerson House
The Samuel M. Nickerson House next door is the original wing of the Driehaus Museum. The mansion was built in 1883 for banker and distillery owner Samuel M. Nickerson (1830-1914), and was designed by architect Edward J. Burling (1819-1892). It was once the finest home in Chicago and preserves many of the original features along with other authentic pieces of the period. Architect George Washington Maher (1864-1926) added a stained glass dome skylight for subsequent owner Lucius George Fisher (1843-1916) in the early 20th century.
The 23 room mansion underwent massive restoration after being purchased by Richard Driehaus (1942-2021) in 2003. All it takes is to step into the main hall to be awestruck. It’s well worth visiting and takes you back in time to the Gilded Age, one of the most prosperous times in American history.
Ransom R. Cable House
Across the street is another famous mansion, the Ransom R. Cable House, built in 1886 by architects Cobb and Frost for Ransom R. Cable. Robert Hall McCormick II (1847-1917) purchased the house in 1902 for his son, Robert Hall McCormick III (1878-1963). McCormick III, who hosted Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi (1874-1937) at the house during his visit to Chicago in 1917, lived there until 1926 when the house was sold and became a funeral home. Today, the Ransom R. Cable House is privately owned by Driehaus Capital Management and contains their offices.
St. James Episcopal Cathedral
St. James Episcopal Cathedral sits behind the Nickerson House. It was built in 1875 and is the oldest Episcopal church in the city. The original church was built in 1857 on the same site and burned down in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Only the bell tower survived and it was incorporated into the rebuilt structure.
Holy Name Cathedral
Holy Name Cathedral, the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, is a couple blocks away at State and Superior. It was built in 1875 after the original cathedral burned down in the Great Chicago Fire. It’s a beautiful cathedral that’s worth popping into.
Holy Name Cathedral was designed by Irish-American architect Patrick Keely (1816-1896). It can seat over 1,100 people and has a spire reaching 210 feet into the sky. Stained glass windows line the nave.
The sanctuary contains an altar made of six tons of monolithic red-black Rosso Imperiale di Solberga granite. Hanging above is the wooden Resurrection Crucifix sculpted by Ivo Demetz. Behind is the cathedra (bishop’s throne) of the Archbishop of Chicago, while the galeros (hats) of the deceased cardinals to serve Chicago hang on the apse.
To the left of the sanctuary is the Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament along with a reliquary containing bone fragments of several saints as well as pieces of the True Cross. To the right of the sanctuary is the Shrine of the Blessed Mother.
Finally, at the west end of the nave is a huge 71-stop Flentrop organ made in Zaandam, Netherlands. On the south chancel is a smaller 19-stop Casavant Frères organ made in Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec, Canada.
River North Art District
The River North Art District is the place to go for art lovers. It has the highest concentration of art galleries in the country outside of Manhattan. The corner of Superior and Franklin Streets is the heart of the district.
Museum of Broadcast Communications
(Note: the Museum of Broadcast Communications is on the move. The location seen below is closed while a new location is chosen. The museum is expected to reopen in 2025 (as of April 2024).)
A good museum in Chicago that often flies under the radar is the Museum of Broadcast Communications, located at the corner of State and Kinzie. It covers the history of radio and TV throughout the years and has got some excellent displays that bring back a lot of memories. It’s open Thursday through Sunday from 10am to 5pm. Admission is US$14 for adults (as of April 2023).
National Radio Hall of Fame
The first floor of the museum is the National Radio Hall of Fame, with several plaques honoring inductees that have made their mark on the radio. There is also an AP news ticker with the original feed announcing the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
Museum Exhibits
The second floor and main part of the museum has displays about successful TV shows in just about every genre. There are some incredible artifacts from TV history, including the camera that televised the Kennedy-Nixon Debates in 1960 and may have swayed the election in Kennedy’s favor. Those listening to the debate on the radio thought that Richard Nixon had won while those watching on TV thought that Kennedy had won. Nixon looked ill and was sweating profusely while Kennedy looked young and energetic. It forever changed the future and importance of televised presidential debates.
Some other interesting artifacts include actual props from Jay Leno’s Tonight Show, costumes and props from The Bozo Show, and the set from Meet the Press used until the untimely death of long-time host Tim Russert in 2008.
It’s also possible to schedule your very own personalized interview with the one and only Larry King (a video of him, of course). Or you can do your own newscast, complete with a real green screen for the weather. Reservations are required. Contact the museum for more info and scheduling.
