Collection
About the Collection
The Museum’s collection of more than 23 million objects, images, and documents records the evolution of Chicago, one of the nation’s most significant cities, from fur-trading outpost to modern metropolis. The collection reflects our commitment to share Chicago’s stories by serving as a hub of scholarship and learning, inspiration, and civic engagement. The collection also includes historical materials that document the rise of America from colonial possession to independent nation to divided country engulfed in civil war.
Research
Research the Collection
The Chicago History Museum welcomes scholars, students, genealogists, filmmakers, journalists, and the general public to access the Research Collection, which includes prints and photographs, archives and manuscripts, architectural drawings and records, books, and other published materials. The Museum Collection, which consists of architectural fragments and models, costumes, textiles, paintings, sculpture, decorative arts, and other artifacts and works of art, is also available to researchers on a more limited basis due to specialized storage and handling requirements.