I had long been interested in this museum because it was one of the few private mansions of Chicago’s first millionaires open to the public. And I was curious to see how they lived back then, and whether their tastes and opportunities differed greatly from the nobility of today. The building was commissioned in 1883 by Samuel Nickerson, founder of the First National Bank of Chicago. However, old Sam did not limit himself to the bank, he successfully traded in alcohol and explosive materials – a very versatile personality. The museum got its present name from another, no less “versatile” personality – our contemporary Richard Driehaus (Richard Driehaus, 1942-2021), who was quite successful in investing money and selling real estate. However, Richard did not just row “dough” under himself, but also donated a considerable amount of it for various charitable needs, for prizes to talented architects (Richard H. Driehaus Prize for Classical Architecture – $ 200 thousand annually) and the acquisition of historic buildings, which then became museums or other places available to the public. Although he didn’t do it exactly for “thanks”. Anyway, admission to the Driehaus Museum is $20 on normal days, but for us, admission was free. But still I ask you to take into account that crowds of workers and peasants do not burst into the museum, and a twenty-dollar bill is not able to pay for the maintenance of the mansion, so the museum is mainly maintained from the owner’s pocket.
On the first floor there is a living room, library, office, on the second and third floor – bedrooms and utility rooms. The exterior of the building does not make a great impression, which is not the case with the interior decoration. The rooms are decorated by the best masters, among them the outstanding master of stained glass Louis Comfort Tiffany (Louis Comfort Tiffany) and no less famous furniture makers Herter Brothers (Herter Brothers). If anyone doubts their skill, he can see their work at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The fireplaces and staircases are made of dark and light marble of warm colors, thanks to which the mansion was once called the Marble Palace. The building is richly decorated with wood carvings, mosaics and original ceramic tiles.
I think there is no need to go into the history of resale of the mansion – it has happened many times, but I can’t help but say that Mr. Richard Dreyhouse, who I mentioned, bought the building in 2003 and invested a lot of money in its restoration and provided the museum with his collection of paintings, including works by easily recognizable famous American artists. Richard Dreyhouse, who bought the building in 2003, invested a lot of money in restoration and provided the museum with his collection of paintings, among which there are works by easily recognizable famous American painters and sculptors. The museum was opened to the public in 2008, but immediately turned from “just a museum” into a cultural center. There is a society for the protection of antiquities, lectures and concerts are regularly held here. On the day of our visit there was to be a concert of contemporary music, and we had to wait only 15 minutes for it to start, but then for three hours we would enjoy the music of an unknown performer, who was arranging special equipment, because what she was arranging did not fit with the concept of “musical instruments”.