Chicago Field Museum of Natural History
Name of Building
Chicago Field Museum of Natural History
Town or City, Country where the building was originally established
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Date the building was designed and/or first built
Construction begins (July 26th, 1915)
Constructed (1920)
Re-opened (May 2nd, 1921)
Name of Architect, Builder, or Primary Patron Responsible
Builder: D.H. Burnham and Company
Culturally Specific Time Period
Early 1900's United States
Geo-Location
41.86635104629851, -87.61697412659815
Materials
White Georgia Marble
Limestone
Steel
Size and/or Scale of Building
480,000 square foot exhibition space on the three main levels.
Architectural Type
Public
Formal Style
Neoclassical
Building Description
The Chicago field museum of natural history is largely rectangular in shape. The building is separated into two wings with a long open area in between. The outside of the museum is a yellowish-white limestone-like color. There are three entrances into the building. One on the ground level and two on the main level. The Ground entrance is to the east and the main level entrances are in the north and south.
Upon entering the ground level the family PlayLab is to the right with underground adventure and bioacoustics being to the left. Further in is the Egypt exhibit and Siragusa center. Finally all the way in the western wing of the ground level is the 3D movie theatre and the Harris collection.
Upon entering from the main level from the outside, visitors must pass under four tall sand-colored pillars at the entrance. The main architecture in the center of the building inside the main level is a bright white color. A long skylight allows for natural light to enter the area. Neoclassical pillars hold up the structure near the entrances to the different wings. Skeleton replicas of a titanosaur and a Spinosaurus are present in the main entrance areas of the building, along with some in-life replicas of two fighting elephants, some small pterosaurs, and a Quetzalcoatlus. The west wing on this floor is mostly dedicated to animals with two sections specifically focusing on birds and mammals. The east wing has two main focuses: indigenous American history and reptiles.
The upper level is more varied than the other levels. The east wing contains a fossil section, Chinese history area, plants section, and a small room on the southern point of the building for jades. There is also a small room on the northern side of the east wing displaying Audubon’s bird illustrations. The west wing contains a restoring Earth exhibit, a room about women and people of color in science, and a pacific history section. There is also a small room on the southern end of this level for gems. There is also a statue of a life-size standing Quetzalcoatlus in the center northern section of this floor.
Upon entering the ground level the family PlayLab is to the right with underground adventure and bioacoustics being to the left. Further in is the Egypt exhibit and Siragusa center. Finally all the way in the western wing of the ground level is the 3D movie theatre and the Harris collection.
Upon entering from the main level from the outside, visitors must pass under four tall sand-colored pillars at the entrance. The main architecture in the center of the building inside the main level is a bright white color. A long skylight allows for natural light to enter the area. Neoclassical pillars hold up the structure near the entrances to the different wings. Skeleton replicas of a titanosaur and a Spinosaurus are present in the main entrance areas of the building, along with some in-life replicas of two fighting elephants, some small pterosaurs, and a Quetzalcoatlus. The west wing on this floor is mostly dedicated to animals with two sections specifically focusing on birds and mammals. The east wing has two main focuses: indigenous American history and reptiles.
The upper level is more varied than the other levels. The east wing contains a fossil section, Chinese history area, plants section, and a small room on the southern point of the building for jades. There is also a small room on the northern side of the east wing displaying Audubon’s bird illustrations. The west wing contains a restoring Earth exhibit, a room about women and people of color in science, and a pacific history section. There is also a small room on the southern end of this level for gems. There is also a statue of a life-size standing Quetzalcoatlus in the center northern section of this floor.
Image source
1. Field_Museum_N (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Field_Museum_N.jpg)
2. 1200px-Field_Museum_(7398056420)(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Field_Museum_%287398056420%29.jpg)
Creative Commons or other copyright information
Image 1: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International
Image 2: Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic
Student First and Last Name
Jayce Johnson
Bibliographic references for the item
1. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Daniel-Burnham/The-Worlds-Columbian-Exposition-of-1893
2. https://www.fieldmuseum.org/about/history/architecture
3. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Daniel-Burnham/The-Worlds-Columbian-Exposition-of-1893
4. https://map.fieldmuseum.org
Citation
Builder: D.H. Burnham and Company, “Chicago Field Museum of Natural History,” World Architecture, accessed June 28, 2026, https://www.worldarchitecture.artinterp2.org/items/show/77.
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