A building for the world’s fair
The building was designed by Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge for the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893, when it served as the World’s Congress Auxiliary Building. The Art Institute moved in on 31 October that year.
The lions
The two bronze lions by Edward Kemeys were unveiled on 10 May 1894. Each weighs more than two tons, and they have guarded the Michigan Avenue entrance ever since.
An arch from the Stock Exchange
At the east entrance stands the stone arch of Louis Sullivan’s Chicago Stock Exchange of 1894. The Exchange was demolished in 1972, and parts of its Trading Room were rebuilt inside the museum.


