A Specific Museum in Chicago

[Margaret Note Spelling]

Is there anybody who's been to the Art Institute of Chicago and has a clear memory of what it looks like? I found the floor plan and some external pictures online, but I've never been to Chicago, or the Art Institute, and I have some odd questions for a scene I'm setting there.

1: What material is the outside wall made out of? Concrete, brick, stone, wood?

2: Are there bars on the windows? From the angle of a picture I found, it kind of looked like it did.

3: Are said windows accessible from outside, or is there some kind of hedge or fence in the way?

4: Where is the parking lot in relation to the main building? (The part with the lion statues.)

As you can probably guess, I'm not entirely certain that inputting all these questions into Google isn't going to put me on some kind of watch list for museum thieves! As an alternative to knowing the answers, can anyone recommend a good way that I could find the answers to these questions? (Naturally, I'm too lazy to go all the way to Chicago myself and look. )

 

[tegeus-Cromis]

There are two wings, an old one in front and a new one behind. The facade (main entrance) is stone.

No bars on the windows as far as I remember or can tell from online photos.

On the facade there's a balustrade before the windows. The new building is a lot of plate glass, but not actually windows that open.

It doesn't have its own parking. See here: Directions & Parking | The Art Institute of Chicago

 

[Margaret Note Spelling]

Thanks! Do you know if the museum shop that's marked on the map has any windows to it?

 

[tegeus-Cromis]

It does, on one side. It's the windows to the right of the main entrance (the one with the lions).

 

[Phyrebrat]

Why not check its outside on Google Earth?

 

[Elckerlyc]

It's temporarily;y closed, I see.
The bars you thought to see on pictures is probably a reflection of the opposite building.
There's scaffolding on one side (I forgot to see when this street view was taken), but it occurred to me that this is a good opportunity to reach higher floors (and windows) from the outside which otherwise are beyond reach.
Just theoretically, of course. (I ought to do some housekeeping, but this is more fun.)

 

[Margaret Note Spelling]

Why not check its outside on Google Earth?

Thanks! I just did. It was pretty helpful, although I wish it would have let you up closer to the building. I think whoever was taking the pictures was in a car.

It's temporarily;y closed, I see.
The bars you thought to see on pictures is probably a reflection of the opposite building.
There's scaffolding on one side (I forgot to see when this street view was taken), but it occurred to me that this is a good opportunity to reach higher floors (and windows) from the outside which otherwise are beyond reach.
Just theoretically, of course. (I ought to do some housekeeping, but this is more fun.)

Yeah, that's probably what was happening with the "bars". Too bad--I sorta liked the idea, although it's not that important. I want my characters to come through a hypothetical secret door (disguised as a window) into the museum shop, and being able to mention bars would have enhanced the feeling of trespass.

Scaffolding might be fun....

That was really helpful, guys, thanks! My only other question is about their particular security arrangements, but I know that's a long shot, and not something even a visitor might know about. Do they have security guards, motion detectors, alarms, protection on the building rather than the art itself? (I don't care about the art.)

 

[Phyrebrat]

Thanks! I just did. It was pretty helpful, although I wish it would have let you up closer to the building. I think whoever was taking the pictures was in a car.

it’s great isn’t it?! I agree it’d be much better if we could zoom in closer. I feel like such a cheat sometimes. These days we have so many tools in our possession that pre-WWW authors didn’t have.

pH

 

[Joshua Jones]

Thanks! I just did. It was pretty helpful, although I wish it would have let you up closer to the building. I think whoever was taking the pictures was in a car.



Yeah, that's probably what was happening with the "bars". Too bad--I sorta liked the idea, although it's not that important. I want my characters to come through a hypothetical secret door (disguised as a window) into the museum shop, and being able to mention bars would have enhanced the feeling of trespass.

Scaffolding might be fun....

That was really helpful, guys, thanks! My only other question is about their particular security arrangements, but I know that's a long shot, and not something even a visitor might know about. Do they have security guards, motion detectors, alarms, protection on the building rather than the art itself? (I don't care about the art.)

It's been about 13 years since I visited there, so it wouldn't surprise me if things have changed a bit, but I seem to remember guards and a metal detector. I'm sure there are motion detectors and alarms there for the building as well as the art, especially the historical art.