The tour is good and goes over the history of the house, especially the Clarke Family and takes you through most of the house with the notable exception of the cupola. The house has been restored to what they think it may have looked liked originally and is overall well done. It is a little known piece of Chicago history that is waiting for people to go and visit.
Great tour and its free of charge! Loved the house, and the docent was extremely knowledgeable and interesting. Though the Clarkes furniture and artifacts have been lost over time, the home has been painstakingly restored to period authenticity and truly gives a feel for 19th century life in a great house. Definitely one of Chicagos best kept secrets.
Chicago’s first permanent resident was a trader named Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, a free black man apparently from Haiti, who came here in the late 1770s. In 1795, the U.S. government built Fort Dearborn at what is now the corner of Michigan Avenue and Wacker Drive (look for the bronze markers in the pavement). It was burned to the ground by Native Americans in 1812, rebuilt and demolished in 1857.
Really love the history of Chicago. This is a great place to visit by yourself or with your family
The tours are free and worth it for anyone interested in seeing the oldest house in Chicago. Some of the rooms have refurbished items that never belonged in the house. The tour guide was informative and super helpful.
Knowledgeable docents extremely helpful. A good demonstration of a house from 1835. The china on the table was really beautiful. Looking forward to going back
Interesting history. Free tour that takes an hour. No sitting allowed because of the old furniture.
Our guild was this old man, he had my mom and I laughing throughout the whole tour. We tried to tip the guild and security guard (an early 20s guy) and they turned us down. Our FREE tour was great, very interesting.
The museum is wonderful... Got to know a lot about the history with interesting facts. Tour guide was unable to make it, we were handed in headphones so we could have self paced tour. We 2 rooms well marked so we could relate the audio and rooms well. The upstairs rooms did not have markings and would talk the language of North East room etc, which was little confusing.. over all worth a visit.
Super interesting with beautiful grounds to walk around in the evening on your own. Just lovely!
Tour guide was amazing. Loved the tour and stories of life in the 1800s related to how the Clarke family must have lived. Amazing that the tours are free.
The oldest, still standing, house in the City of Chicago. Tours are free and lasts about an hour. The grounds can also be toured and it makes for an enjoyable afternoon event. There are restaurants within walking distance as well as the Marshall Fields mansion (now private residences). The history of this house is the beginning of Chicago.
The oldest house in Chicago, it is a must see. Its not amzing, or lavish, but it is an important structure. It was nice to see how Chicago was and what life was like in the 1800s. Plus, they give free tours, and have to say my tour guide was EXCELLENT!
Its a good museum to visit, best of all its free.
Our tour guide was very friendly and thorough, but I noticed that lots of the things he mentioned conflicted with the information provided in the exhibit. Cant complain for a free tour on a Tuesday, though. Beautiful grounds nearby.
Located in the beautiful Chicago Womens Park and Gardens, the Clarke House is the oldest house in Chicago, built I think in 1830s it is an example of the type of homes that those who were well off could afford to build. Almost all of the furniture has been replaced with period pieces from other houses, but it still paint a really good picture as to what the place might have looked like back in the day. It is very interesting to see the different scale on the inside since people were simply smaller over a hundred years ago. The docent (teacher tour guide) was amazing and explaining the architecture and what they were hoping to achieve with the use of space.The best part was that if you go on certain days, the tour is free and is paired with another AMAZING tour if the Glessner House.
Just a house. Coolest thing is that they jacked the house up to the height of the L tracks & also moved it a few times.
Really neat place to visit to get some Chicago history.
Informative
Great tour.