“The old Chicago Historical Society building at 632 N. Dearborn St. in River North is a bracing edifice—with its granite cladding and architectural features that might suggest a fortress or an armory.
“And as a plaque right on the exterior wall notes, the building started out as the Chicago Historical Society—now called the Chicago History Museum—before that institution moved to its current location at 1601 N. Clark St. at the south edge of Lincoln Park.
“Constructed in the Romanesque Style 1892, architect Henry Ives Cobb’s ‘mission was to design a fireproof headquarters for the Chicago Historical Society. The original and purportedly fireproof Historical Society building at the very same site burned to the ground during the Great Chicago Fire in 1871—destroying all its historical artifacts and possessions and all its records. President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation manuscript was among the items at the Historical Society that were lost in the Great Chicago Fire.’
“Rock-faced red granite from Wisconsin was used for the exterior of the building, steel for the interior, the Chicago Tribune reported in 1896.
“Inside, this new building featured a grand staircase featuring medallions showing the heads of explorers and Indigenous people who had lived in Illinois, and bas reliefs showing Père Jacques Marquette’s explorations along the Fox, Wisconsin, and Mississippi rivers, according to archive news reports. A relief of Père Marquette and fur trader Louis Jolliet on their expedition still graces the entryway to the building.
“Besides its amazing history and architecture, the structure is also known for a number of hauntings and paranormal sightings with ghost hunters believing it may be related to either fatalities from the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 or what is considered the city’s first official murder victim, French-Canadian fur trapper and trader Jean Lalime.” (Harrington/Tyson, CBS Chicago, 10/28/24)