CHICAGO (October 4, 2023)—The Hellenic National Museum (NHM) in Chicago is offering free admission to all visitors on Saturday, October 14 and Sunday, October 15, 2023, as an official partner venue of the Chicago Architecture Center’s Open House in Chicago weekend. The NHM is open from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on both dates, and admission includes access to the museum’s permanent collection, rooftop terrace, and current exhibitions throughout the museum: Hellenic heads by George Petrides, Come Together: Chicago Street Photography by Diane Alexander White and Heritage, renewal and unity: celebrating 100 years of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Americawhich includes the special exhibition Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate: Protecting the future of the faith. THE Hellenic National Museum (333 S. Halsted Street, Chicago) is open Thursday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Regular tickets cost $10 and include entry to all exhibits, with special discounts available for seniors, students and children. Entrance to the museum is always free for NHM members. For more information on current exhibitions, events and memberships, visit nationalhellenicmuseum.org or call 312-655-1234. The directory Open House in Chicago The festival is one of the largest events of its kind in the world, offering Chicagoans and visitors the chance to get a behind-the-scenes look at the city’s more than 170 architecturally, culturally and historically significant sites. Originally founded in 1983 and located in Chicago’s Greektown neighborhood since 2011, the Hellenic National Museum shares Greek history, art, culture, and Greek-American history. The museum’s contemporary 40,000-square-foot building was designed by a Greek-American architect. Demetrios Stavrianos, the architect of record for RTKL’s Chicago office. Stavrianos took inspiration for the museum’s design from the famous Greek monasteries built atop tall rock formations in Meteora, which means “suspended in the air.” The main limestone form of the NHM is raised one level, leaving a continuous transparent glass facade along the first floor of the museum. Rather than focusing solely on Greece’s ancient past and the caricatures of classical design, the limestone and glass building synthesizes the symbolic antecedents of antiquity and Byzantine Christian architecture. The symbolic heart of the museum is a spectacular staircase, lit from east to west, which represents the Greek-American immigrant experience and cultural connections to Greece. The structure is complemented by a rooftop event space that offers an unconventional and breathtaking perspective of the city skyline. THE Hellenic National Museum (NHM)’s mission is to share Greek history, art, culture and Greek-American history. NHM preserves Hellenic heritage and makes this rich heritage relevant today through its extensive collection of more than 10,000 physical artifacts, hundreds of oral histories, exhibits, educational programs and special events. Originally founded in 1983 and located in Chicago’s historic Greektown neighborhood since 2011, the museum provides lifelong learning to the community and sparks research and discussion about the broader issues in our lives and Of our society. Regular museum hours are Thursday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, visit nationalhellenicmuseum.org or call 312-655-1234.
Photos: National Hellenic Museum
