Inventions

The Driehaus Museum

Originally the home was lit by a mixture of gas and electric lighting. An 1888 Chicago Tribune article about a Nickerson Christmas party describes the use of electricity in the house. The home's second owner, Lucius Fisher, installed Edison bulbs in the marble cornices of the first two floors.

International Museum of Surgical Science

Heiress to funds accrued from her father’s innovation—the diamond-shaped matchstick—Eleanor Robinson Countiss created products ranging from the first liquid shampoo to a town car produced by Ford. Presently the museum's collections encompass exemplary medical devices, including a perfusion pump invented by pilot Charles Lindbergh.

Pleasant Home

Second owner Herbert Mills and his Mills Novelty Company invented and manufactured the coin-operated slot, paving the way for innovations in slot machines and automated music boxes. A Mills Novelty Company Violano Virtuoso is on display in the home.