Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) Memorial Hall and Rotunda Reopening

Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot and the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) are pleased to announce the reopening of the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) Memorial Hall and Rotunda at the Chicago Cultural Center following a year-long restoration - also celebrating the 125th anniversary of the Chicago Cultural Center, which opened in 1897.
Learn more at ChicagoCulturalCente.org.
In addition to in-person, opening-weekend programming on March 26 & 27 2022, a new TV documentary (“Restoration”) airing in May chronicles the work of Harboe Architects and a team of fine artists and preservation experts as they restore the historic Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Hall and Rotunda in the Chicago Cultural Center to their original 1897 grandeur and beauty. “Restoration” will air in May on Comcast, RCN, and WOW on Cable25.
The Chicago Cultural Center restoration, which began in February 2021 following an intensive yearlong study, was executed by Harboe Architects and a team of highly specialized preservation experts and artisans, in partnership with the Department of Assets, Information and Services (AIS) and in consultation with conservators and Tim Samuelson, Cultural Historian Emeritus for the City of Chicago. The Landmarks Commission reviewed and unanimously approved the project. The meticulous restoration of the art glass dome and decorative finishes in the G.A.R. rooms, a Civil War memorial, was made possible by a generous grant of services valued at $15,425,000 to the City of Chicago. (The Chicago Cultural Center is home to two magnificent stained-glass domes; the restoration of the Tiffany dome in Preston Bradley Hall was completed in 2008.)

[@davegudewicz1311]

Looking forward to my next visit to see the newly restored GAR section of the building.

[@gailfitzpatrick8709]

The exterior of The Cultural Center was defaced last year and so far this defacement has not been fixed; additionally the structures at the corner of Randolph and Michigan are a disgrace and should be leveled and replaced as after all This building is the Cultural Center of the City of Chicago -do you want visitors to observe this defacement -we tax payers do not