The Clark house is the Chicago oldest house that has been move every time it got bought. When got bought by a Priest, it was move very close to a train track. The last move is done by the city and hopefully it is the final resting place. The house currently own by the city and use it as a museum. This house was build 1936. It is typical Victoria house with four chimneys. The house was build by skill carpenter using interlocking system for the connection. It has the stair case lead to the top. Most of the house original wall was not there. Many of the furniture was brought in by other. The tour is free. You have to go to the basement to ring the bell if you like a tour. The city worker are not familiar with the house. The tour person and security has done the tour twice and read out the narrative from a paper. Other than admire the structure, not much to say. read more

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I did a tour of the Clark House on Saturday as it was part of the Smithsonian Museum free day. The normal tour price is $10 or if you do both the Glessner & Clarke House, it's $15 total. Tours are at Noon and 2pm and last about an hour. If you're doing both houses, it will take two hours. Both are in the historic Prairie Avenue District which is a fun neighborhood to take a stroll around. I was extremely lucky to have a fantastic docent Joan for my tour. She was very friendly, incredibly knowledgeable and a little gangster (she scolded one lady who kept her phone on when it rang which I loved). She gave us so much interesting information including a lot of random Chicago facts that I am going to memorize and repeat parakeet style. The big draw of the Clarke House is that it's the oldest structure in Chicago, built in 1836. It's not in its original location although is close to it (it was moved twice) but it's the original building (with a new foundation) all the same. The grounds are gorgeous around Clarke House which is no doubt why many have their weddings here or at least come for photos. Not much is known about the Clarke family but what is known is fascinating. I don't want to ruin all the fun facts for you - so you can take the tour for yourself and expand your mind. I highly recommend this tour to others. And if you have any choice in your docent, Joan is great! read more

Clarke House Museum - Outside of the house from the garden area - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Highly enjoyed it! Security was super sweet and welcoming and made sure we all had audio guides and even waited for those who were a tad late (parking/traffic). Beautifully redone on the inside and the audio guide is extremely informative. They restored the entire building to reminents of what they thought it looked like based on things they found during the restoration. My audio guide kept starting over after the kitchen part lol, but honestly everything was well printed also to read so it wasn't a deal breaker. I loved it, and would recommend to anyone for sure to check out! read more

Learning about the early settlers of Chicago while getting a guided tour of this Near South Side museum has led me to believe that I really might fit in with the early settlers of Chicago. They lived a regimented life. I'm anal about time. They had few visitors or neighbors. I'm kind of anti-social. And, perhaps most fittingly, they did not have left or right shoes. I have two left feet. This last one is actually a new fact I learned on the tour. Until after the Civil War, shoes just pointed straight ahead. There was none of this foot saving curvature like we have today. And, so, I got this out of the tour thanks to the guide. Unlike many other museums in Chicago, Clarke House (famous for being the oldest house still standing in Chicago) really does depend on your docent to get the most enjoyment. In fact, unlike many other museums, Clarke House will only let you in with a guided tour run twice a day (noon and 2:00 p,m. on Wednesday through Sunday). These depart from Glessner House around the corner (along Prairie Street) and run a little over an hour going over every room in the house. I mean, every nook and cranny. It's a nice workout with the stair climbing, but there's quite a bit of redundancy. The restorers (including the Chicago Architecture Foundation) did an amazing job of returning the house to its original condition and in recreating what life was like inside of it. They have amassed a collection of pieces from early-to-mid 19th Century (very few of which actually were owned by the Clarke's) including authentic children's games, books, furniture for entertaining, and even the wallpaper and window coverings that were in fashion in the period. It really does serve to bring history to life. And being in the original location, you can see the distance to downtown (even though it was much smaller and harder to get to then). Here's the problem I had though. I could never be lead to care about the Clarke's. Besides their house (it's not like a cabin or something, these people had money), they really don't hold much importance to me. And this is coming from someone who practically threw their phone when they lost the Mayorship of the Chicago History Museum on Foursquare; so I love Chicago history. Fans of Little House on the Prairie or really, really huge Chicago geeks would probably find a lot of pleasure at this place. I just found it decently interesting and not quite worth the admission price of $10. The good news is, since the city owns it, it's free on Wednesday. It's a good compliment to the Chicago History Museum so it might be a good day out to combine them. But to come down to the Near South Side for it alone is something I'd never do. read more

Clarke House Museum - Maybe a lot like it looked like in settlers time or maybe not. - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I came during open house Chicago weekend. It wasn't exactly how I was picturing it in my head. I was impressed with the antique furniture, the huge yard, and the fire places were lovely. But the vinyl flooring and walls didn't give the house justice. It looked awful and I'm not the only one to notice. The woman behind me made a comment too. I understand you have too preserve the house, but there could of been a better choice, at least for the walls in the hallway is where I'm talking about. On a normal day it costs ten dollars to get in. I believe some of this money should be used to fix the damage that is in the front of the house. It doesn't look good. Another plus though, is that you can rent out this house/gorgeous yard for events. read more

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I took this tour today, and come to find out- Wednesdays are free tour days. But get there early because the tour fills up fast. It lasts one hour, which is really a little long for such a small house. But the docent REALLY knew every detail about the home. The home was one of a middle class pioneer family, and is not original to Prairie Avenue, but is the oldest house in Chicago. I recommend visiting this place once, but if you have to choose one or the other- choose the Glessner home next door. read more

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The Clarke House is the oldest house in Chicago and is absolutely adorable and breathtaking. We had our wedding at the Glessner House Museum in early August and did both our engagement and wedding photo's here and in Women's Park that is on the same grounds as the Clarke House. We had fun taking pictures on the steps and with the Mini-Clarke House next to it. The property also has a fountain that one of my bridesmaid's fell into and a great vegetable and flower garden. read more

Clarke House Museum - Mini Clarke House - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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A group of Yelpers and I did the 1hr tour here and it was very informative and interesting. I learned quite a few things about life during the time of the house's original occupants and about Chicago history in general. We were a group of 7 and had I known ahead of time we could get a custom tour w/ a docent tailored to our specific historic interests, I would have. Our docent was O.K., but didn't really delve into things I wanted to know more about or didn't touch on it at all until I asked. Kind of like . . . Docent : "Here's a painting of people from that time, but they aren't the Clarkes. Over here. . ." Me: "Well, who are they then?? Docent: "I'm not sure, it should say over there somewhere." :-/ I wanted to know not only who there were, but why were they even being displayed. I also wanted to know more about the fixtures, furniture, the fine dinnerware that was out, and what type of foods they usually ate. There was this cool chest with a hat drawer. I had never seen or heard of a hat drawer in furniture, so I asked if we were able to see inside the drawers. It wasn't behind the rope, so I thought it a fair question. I got a smart-alecky answer. :-/ By all means, don't let that turn you off. It's a great tour in general. Just get a group to go so you can request a custom tour and hear about what you really want to know. I can see how beautiful the Woman's park, which is right on the grounds, could be in the Summer. I'm going back to tour the Glessner house come Summer and enjoy the garden. read more

We toured the Clarke and Glessner Houses one fine Saturday in August. It's sort of a nerdy way to spend some time, but I really enjoyed it! It's really pretty amazing the stories behind the houses and you learn a lot about the Prairie District neighborhood in the process. The Clarke House isn't has prestigious as I thought. It's really a beautiful home though and a true to middle class story. Be sure to get a discounted tour rate by touring both the Glessner and Clarke Houses at the same time. The tours run back to back and you can do them in either order. They're both worthwhile visits. read more

I was hoping to not rate it but I can't publish my comment without adding stars. I shouldn't even give this site any stars...because I never made it inside. But here's why: You can ONLY tour this house and the Glessner house with the noon and 2:00pm GUIDED tours. Arrive at 12:02pm and the door is locked, and if you're like me and have to speak to the most cold, unfriendly and unhelpful woman in the city you won't even be able to ask a question without a snarly non-response. Just make sure you are on time and in the door at the designated times. They won't even let you past the door if you are not on the guided tour, so while the website suggests the homes are open for several hours, they are not open to the public. Also, even though the tour is of the Clarke House, you MUST start the tour at Glessner. If you arrive at Clarke to a locked door, and then walk over to Glessner, better make sure it's not a second past the start time because again... see above. It would be great if they would put this information on the website. But they don't, so here you go. It's off-putting to know a tourist attraction has such unwelcoming staff, at least one staffer anyway, but at least she will make sure this house has the least number of visitors so it will be preserved longer. There's always an upside. Here's hoping someone at the City level will read this and look into the misinformation on the site. I know at least one of the women working the door won't pass it along. read more

Not as impressive as the Glessner house museum that is nearby. If you have your choice, do the Glessner. However, this is an interesting place, and more a portrait of pioneer life than Architectural pioneering. read more

Oldest residence in Chicago city limits. This house is an example of Greek revival architecture.

its cost $50 to tour the clarke house BUT the gardens surrounding it is free. the clarke house tours end at 5 pm but the park is open until 11 pm. Its nice for a brisk walk or break in your hectic day! read more

I went down to this area at some point in the '90s and it has changed.The Clarke House looks incongruous in it's setting and that's part of the charm.It was essentially an upper middle class house when built.Nice but not grand.The grounds are pretty.Worth a visit, although not necessarily on your first trip. read more

Interesting tour... The website info is kind of confusing so here's my experience with how it currently works - the entrance for the tours is down some narrow stairs into the basement. You ring a bell and they open the door. However they will not let you in until 5 minutes before the tour starts. I tried to get there early as it said "first come first serve" but I was turned away. I don't think they really have enough visitors for the "first come first serve to come into play". The tour itself was good and can't complain much as it is free. My guide was great. Interesting to learn about the history of the house and how it is moved around. None of the furniture etc. is original to the house. The garden/park outside the house is beautiful. read more

This was an awesome way to spend a misting Saturday afternoon. The tour was great and educational. The house is awesome to see and the grounds are a lot of fun to explore for people interested in history. read more