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History of the Field Museum Building in Chicago


The Field Museum of Natural History: A Monumental Legacy of the World's Fair


The Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, established in 1893, was born out of the success of the World’s Columbian Exposition. Originally named the Columbian Museum of Chicago, its purpose was to house the fair’s extensive collections of anthropological, botanical, and zoological specimens.

The museum received a transformative $1 million donation from retail magnate Marshall Field (equivalent to over $33 million today), securing its long-term viability. The original building in Jackson Park was intended as temporary; a permanent home was planned on Chicago’s lakefront as part of the Burnham Plan.

Due to legal challenges over park land use, the museum’s new site was shifted to a reclaimed portion of lakefront just south of Grant Park. Designed by the prestigious firm Graham, Anderson, Probst & White, the Beaux-Arts-style structure was constructed from over 400,000 cubic feet of white Georgia marble and built with steel-reinforced concrete for fireproofing and open interior halls.

The building measured nearly 1,000 feet long and cost approximately $7 million (over $120 million today). Labor involved over 500 workers at its peak—stonecutters, steelworkers, carpenters, and marble setters—many of them unionized. The building was one of the largest museum projects of its time, embodying civic pride, educational ambition, and Chicago’s status as a cultural capital.

🛠️ Field Museum Construction Timeline (1915–1921)

  1. 1915 – Site Secured
    After prolonged legal disputes, a reclaimed lakefront area south of Grant Park is approved for the museum’s permanent home.
  2. 1916 – Architectural Plans Finalized
    Beaux-Arts design completed by Graham, Anderson, Probst & White; modeled after Greco-Roman temples with monumental scale.
  3. 1917 – Groundbreaking
    Construction begins with deep caisson foundations installed beneath soft lakefill soil.
  4. 1918 – Steel Framework Rises
    Structural steel framing for the Great Hall and east-west wings erected.
  5. 1919 – Marble Cladding and Roofing
    White Georgia marble panels installed; roofing and skylight construction begins.
  6. 1920 – Interior Construction and Exhibits
    Mosaic flooring, vaulted ceilings, exhibit halls, electrical, plumbing, and elevators installed. Display setup begins.
  7. May 2, 1921 – Museum Opens to the Public
    The new Field Museum is inaugurated with public ceremonies, scientific exhibitions, and full operation under its new name.



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Be not confused with the similar MSI:



The Palace of Fine Arts (Now MSI) was built for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition and was designed by Charles B. Atwood for D. H. Burnham & Co. During the fair, the palace displayed paintings, prints, drawing, sculpture, and metalwork from around the world. Unlike the other "White City" buildings, it was constructed with a brick substructure under its plaster facade.

After the World's Fair, the palace initially housed the Columbian Museum, largely displaying collections left from the fair, which evolved into the Field Museum of Natural History. When the Field Museum moved to a new building five miles north in the Near South Side in 1920, the palace was left vacant.

School of the Art Institute of Chicago professor Lorado Taft led a public campaign to restore the building and turn it into another art museum, one devoted to sculpture. The South Park Commissioners (now part of the Chicago Park District) won approval in a referendum to sell $5 million in bonds to pay for restoration costs, hoping to turn the building into a sculpture museum, a technical trade school, and other things. However, after a few years, the building was selected as the site for a new science museum.

At this time, the Commercial Club of Chicago was interested in establishing a science museum in Chicago. Julius Rosenwald, the Sears, Roebuck and Company president and philanthropist, energized his fellow club members by pledging to pay $3 million towards the cost of converting the Palace of Fine Arts (Rosenwald eventually contributed more than $5 million to the project). During its conversion into the MSI, the building's exterior was re-cast in limestone to retain its 1893 Beaux Arts look. The interior was replaced with a new one in Art Moderne style designed by Alfred P. Shaw.

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1893 Chicago's World Fair/ World's Columbian Exposition

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