MILITARY MUSEUM & LIBRARY 9/11/2018

Pritzker MILITARY MUSEUM  &  Library – 104 South Michigan Ave., Ste 400, Chicago, IL., (312) 374-9333,  pritzkermilitary.org

Q-tips say: A small museum with artifacts/photos, books/magazines/paintings from WWI. This exhibit was mainly about WWI.  The exhibits do change from time to time and also offers “special events/speakers/Field Trips.  We went on a FREE day so did not pay anything to get in.  Admission to the Museum & Library is $5. Admission is free for memebers and all visitors with active military ID, Chicago police and fire departments and children under 18.  Tours are offered daily at 11 a.m.  Mon: 10:00 am – 4:00 pm, Tue-Thur: 10:00 am – 6:00 pm, Fri & Sat: 10:00 am – 4:00 pm, Sun: 12:00 – 4:00 pm.

Mrs. Q says: They have various programs from their “Medal of Honor Series,” which highlights stories from the MOH recipients themselves. You will be amazed and surprised by the vast collection of books as well as memorabilia and artifacts.  Have you ever seen those old fashioned recruiting posters or war bonds posters from WWII? This museum has the ORIGINALS hanging throughout. “Gee. if I were a man, I’d join the Navy!” and some really great ones designed to promote the WAVES. There are a number of artifacts from all eras of American History. Did you know that in WWI they separated the white soldiers from the black soldiers? Needless to say, ” the black soldiers were not treated with dignity.”  Great library and museum for adults but not for little ones. The building, the “Monroe Building” was impressive.

Housed in the Monroe Bldg. – The Monroe Building’s banded multi-toned terra cotta exterior, with its decorative pilasters and overhangs, enhance the building’s rich façade. The gabled roof and dormers of green Spanish tiles complete the Monroe Building’s unique exterior.

The interior’s vaulted lobby is graced by one of the largest commercial installations of Rookwood tile in the country. A sensitive restoration by the building’s owner, J&J Arnaco, includes the restoration of the exterior terra cotta façade and Ludowici tile roof. Decorative cast iron entrances on Michigan Avenue and Monroe Street have been replicated from original photographs.

The restoration of the building’s interiors includes the restoration and recreation of original design elements including Rookwood tile floors, walls and vaults, decorative iron elevator grilles, doors and hardware, and lighting fixtures. Restoration of historic elements was informed by surviving original construction documents, early photographs, and much extant historic material retrieved from the site.

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