Family
-
Samuel Mayo Nickerson (original owner)
The Driehaus Museum
Samuel Mayo Nickerson came to Chicago in the late 1850s with his bride Mathilda. After earning his first fortune in the liquor industry, Nickerson moved into banking and became president of the First National Bank in 1867. He commissioned the architectural firm of Burling & Whitehouse to build this mansion in 1879, replacing the original home destroyed by the Great Chicago Fire.
-
Roots
The Ernest Hemingway Birthplace
Clarence Hemingway, a doctor, and Grace Hall Hemingway, an opera performer, raised their son Ernest in a loving environment of learning, music, religion, and art. These early influences inspired much of his later work on these subjects.
-
Unity through Design
Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio
Wright firmly believed that the American family was integral to the successful future of American society. The Robie House, with its open, communal plan and central hearth was designed to foster family engagement and well-being.
-
The Madleners
Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts
The Madlener House was built for Albert and Elsa Madlener, a young couple whose families emigrated to the United States from Germany and made their fortunes in the brewing and distribution business. With their reputation for gracious entertaining, it is said that invitations to the Madlener’s home were never refused.
-
Oral Histories
National Public Housing Museum
The National Public Housing Museum has gathered oral histories from three families who lived in Jane Addams Homes; a Jewish, Italian, and African-American family. When the museum opens to the public, these and other memories will be used to shape and decorate apartments representing seven decades of life in public housing.
-
The King of Rock ’n’ Roll
Roger Brown Study Collection
Roger Brown was deeply connected with his roots. Early interest in family origins flowered into extensive genealogical research; tracing his autobiographical path became an obsession. Genealogical discoveries—like finding he was related to Elvis Presley—were woven into many paintings, and family relics are tucked into corners of the Roger Brown Study Collection.