The Art Institute of Chicago Thorne Miniature Rooms exhibit is from Mrs. James Ward Thorne of Chicago, who loved dollhouses and miniatures as a child. After traveling in Europe, where she collected miniature furniture and accessories, Mrs. Thorne commissioned over two dozen miniature rooms created by cabinetmakers from her own drawings. The scale of the furnishings is 1:12 (one inch to one foot). The rooms were exhibited in the 1933-1934 Chicago's Century of Progress Exposition, the 1939 San Francisco Golden Gate International Exposition, and in the 1940 New York World's Fair.
One can stare at the Thorne miniature rooms for hours.
Later, Mrs. Thorne had 29 more rooms created, copying Europe's castles, museums, and historic homes. She commissioned architects to create historically accurate settings and had the textiles and carpets made by the Needlework Guild of Chicago. The rooms showing the French and English architectural and decorating styles from the 1500s to the 1920s were exhibited in 1937 at the Art Institute of Chicago. In 1942, Mrs. Thorne gave 37 more Miniature Rooms to the Art Institute of Chicago. Those rooms offered views of American history between 1875 and 1940. The 68 Thorne Miniature Rooms enable one to glimpse elements of European interiors from the late 13th Century to the 1930s and American furnishings from the 17th Century to the 1930s. Painstakingly constructed on a scale of one inch to one foot, these fascinating models were conceived by Mrs. James Ward Thorne of Chicago and built between 1932 and 1940 by master craftsmen according to her specifications. The Art Institute of Chicago's Thorne Miniature Rooms exhibit of 68 individual rooms is said to be the world's largest miniature-room collection. The black and white postcard photographs are from the 1940s. The modern color photographs are of the same rooms for comparison. Some items have been added, moved, or are missing from some miniature rooms between the 1940s photos and the modern color photographs.
Can you find the changes made from the b/w 1940s to
the 80s color postcards in these miniature rooms?
Thorne's Cape Cod Cottage Living Room. 1750
Thorne's Georgia Double Parlor. 1850
Thorne's Jeremiah Lee Mansion Drawing Room, Massachusetts. 1768
Thorne's Maryland Dining Room. 1770
Thorne's Mount Vernon West Parlor, Virginia. 1758
Thorne's New Mexico Dining Room. 1940
Thorne's New York Parlor. 1850-70
Thorne's Oak Hill Bedroom, Massachusetts. 1801
Thorne's Pierce Mansion Entrance Hall, New Hampshire. 1799
Thorne's Shaker Community House Living Room. 1800
Thorne's The Hermitage Tennessee Entrance Hall. 1835
Thorne's Virginia Kitchen 18th Century.
Thorne's Wentworth Gardner House Dining Room, New Hampshire. 1760
A boulevard to link Chicago's north and south sides was proposed as early as 1891. An early plan called for a tunnel to link Michigan Boulevard south of the Chicago River with Pine Street north of the river. Pine Street (400 to 999N) was renamed to Lincoln Park Boulevard (600 to 999N) as far south as Ohio Street (600N) when the street connected with Lake Shore Drive in the early 1890s and then became part of Michigan Avenue in 1920 when the Michigan Avenue bridge was completed connecting Michigan Avenue (Michigan Boulevard before the Great Chicago Fire in 1871), south of the Chicago River. In 1903 an editorial in the Chicago Tribune proposed a new bascule bridge across the Chicago River at Michigan Avenue. Other plans suggested that the bridge should be a replica of the Pont Alexandre III that spans the Seine River in Paris, France, or, rather than constructing an entirely new bridge, the existing Rush Street bridge should be double-decked.
The Pont Alexandre III Bridge, Paris, France.
Plans for the boulevard and the construction of a Michigan Avenue Bridge were further elaborated upon in Daniel Burnham's 1909 Plan of Chicago. In 1911 a plan was selected that included the widening of Michigan Avenue from Randolph Street to the river, replacing the Rush Street bridge with a new bridge at Michigan Avenue and the construction of a double-decked boulevard along Pine Street as far as Ohio Street. An ordinance to fund construction was passed in 1913 but was declared void by the Supreme Court of Illinois. A second ordinance was passed in 1914, but legal battles continued until the end of 1916.
Looking south from the northside of the Chicago River at Michigan Avenue and the Rush Street bridge on the far right. June 1915
The final three lots of real estate necessary for the construction of the Michigan Avenue bridge were secured in 1917.
(1) The city paid $719,532 to the estate of W. F. McLaughlin for a piece of property on the east side of Michigan Avenue fronting the south side of the river. (2) $62,500 went to John S. Miller for a triangular piece of land across Michigan Avenue from the McLaughlin property. (3) $91,760 was paid to Levy Mayer for a small piece of property directly south of the McLaughlin building.
The three real estate lots on the south of the river were purchased to build the new Michigan Avenue bridge.
With these three transactions ($13,127,710 today) the city was ready to build the bridge that would change the north side of the city forever. The Rush Street bridge, which was dismantled when the Michigan Avenue bridge was opened, is on the right.
Michigan Avenue Bridge Dedication on May 14, 1920.
Construction finally started on April 15, 1918, and the bridge was officially opened in a ceremony on May 14, 1920.
The open Michigan Avenue Bridge raised to let ships pass. 1931
On March 28, 1921, the executive committee of the Chicago Plan Commission through its chairman, Charles H. Wacker, issued the following statement:
We are happy to announce to the men and women of Chicago that William Wrigley Jr., has contributed $50,000 towards a fund of $100,000 for a fitting treatment of the four Michigan Avenue bridge houses. This gift is especially generous because Mr. Wrigley, at the request of the Chicago Plan Commission, already has spent an extra $20,000 on the beautification of the entrance to his monumental building. Matching his public spirit, the Ferguson fund trustees have contributed the additional $50,000 for the bridge houses. The site of Fort Dearborn and the spot where stood the first house constructed in Chicago by Jean Baptiste Point du Sable are both represented as reliefs on the bridge houses.
Looking North at the Michigan Avenue Bridge. 1948
The bridge was officially renamed the "Du Sable Bridge" in October 2010, to honor Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable was the first negro, non-native, settler in Chicago.
The construction contract was signed on February 6, 1892, to build the Art Institute building by Jonathan Clark and Sons Company. The amount specified in the contract was $325,000 ($9,362,000 today). In the end, the total cost for construction ran $975,000 ($29.4 million today).
Jonathan Clark said it would take a few weeks to raze the Interstate Industrial Exposition Building. The demolition took place around March 15, 1892. Funds for the new building came from three sources.
The Art Institute nears completion as the Illinois Central Railroad continues to surround it with coal smoke. The photo was taken from the 17-story Auditorium Building, the tallest building at the time.
The sale of the Art Institute's former building had raised $275,000. The World's Fair Directory put in the sum of $200,000, and Charles L. Hutchinson, President of the Art Institute, had raised $55,000 through private subscriptions.
Jonathan Clark was under considerable pressure to complete the building quickly. According to the contract, it must be ready by May 1, 1893, or the World's Fair Directors are released from their contractual obligation to pay any amount of the $200,000 they have pledged. The contractor was under "forfeiture bonds" amounting to $100,000 if the building was not finished by the specified date. The World Congress Auxiliary of the World's Columbian Exposition occupied the new building from May 1 to October 31, 1893, after which the Art Institute took possession on November 1, 1893. The Art Institute was officially opened to the public on December 8, 1893.
The World Congress Auxiliary opened its doors a few days after opening the World's Fair on May 13, 1893.
