Facing Roosevelt Road, overlooking the entire length of Grant Park, is the broad facade of the FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY.
The Field Museum, one of the renowned scientific museums in the world, houses a vast and constantly growing collection of exhibits on anthropology, zoology, botany, and geology. founded in 1893 after the Columbian Exposition, it was endowed by a number of prominent citizens, chief among whom was the late Marshall Field, Chicago merchant. To his initial gift of $1,000,000 he added more than $400,000 during his life, and at his death in 1906 bequeathed $8,000,000. Until 1921, when the present building was opened, the museum was housed in the Palace of Fine Arts in Jackson Park. Nucleus collections were exhibits transferred from the Exposition, purchases, and private gifts, notably an anthropological collection by Edward E. Ayer.
Most of the objects have been collected by expeditions, of which the Museum has had as many as eighteen at work in one year. Their scientific reports, as well as the findings of the local research staff, are published and circulated internationally by the Museum. The vast research collections are open to scholars, on application. New acquisitions, improvements in the permanent exhibits, and the extensive lecture activities create recurring interest in many of the 1,000,000 annual visitors to the Museum.
The massive white Georgia marble building, one of the largest marble structures in the world, was designed by Daniel H. Burnham, but the work was completed after his death by Graham, Anderson, Probst, and White. Its architecture is pure Greek Ionic, with some of its details following the Erechtheum in Athens. A great flight of steps leads to the majestic pedimented portico, two rows of columns in depth. This flanked by long wings, four stories high, that are decorated with Ionic colonnades ending in transverse halls.
The main hall, known as the Stanley Field Hall, rises unbroken to the roof. The heart of the Museum, it contains exhibits, frequently changed, drawn from the various divisions of the Museum. Two African elephants mounted in fighting pose, and bronze groups of African natives in the act of spearing lions, all the work of the late Carl Akeley, are permanent exhibits. Sculptor, author, and naturalist, Akeley became chief taxidermist in 1896, and for fourteen years his research, exploration, and taxidermy brought renown to him and to the Museum.
The guide goes on to give a detailed description of each department within the Museum. I don't think that they did the Stanley Field Hall justice. It is an awesome, beautiful space. To see it at its best, climb up to the third floor and from one end of the Museum, look down the length of the hall. The huge exhibits like Sue the T-Rex and the Wooly Mammoth look dwarfed when compared to the scale of this space.
Give yourself plenty of time to explore. The exhibits change regularly and along with old favorites, like the jewel collection, are new and fascinating exhibits.
On the main floor of the building you'll find a cafe. The food is a little pricey for a cafeteria style meal, but the sandwiches are delicious and it is worth it to take a break and rest your feet before heading back out to the museum to continue exploring.