Chicago - Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows

http://www.navypier.com/things2do/rides_attract/smith_museum.html

We really lucked into the Smith Museum. The other attractions that we visited were all better known. Either they were in the City Pass, or they were things that everyone tells you that you need to do, or that we already knew about.

It came up because I was checking another web page that I cannot even find now to see if we were missing any museums or tours. This sounded intriguing, and it was free, and because we were going to take our architecture tour from Navy Pier it was convenient.

I am really glad we did know about it, because it is just so beautiful. It would be pretty easy to miss. It felt like we were walking a long way, where maybe we had accidentally passed it, but then we saw a sign and kept going.

Because it was free, I don't think we were expecting that much, but it kept going on - 800 feet past 150 stained glass windows. I mentioned the beauty, but that does not fully express how much variety there was, and how you get an overview of how the craft developed by going through.

When I think of stained glass windows, the windows we saw from the 1890 to 1920 time period match the mental image. There were changes though, and different things being done in different time periods. Chicago's key spot in architecture influenced its art as well. So it is educational as well as inspiring.

It doesn't really come across in my pictures, but the arrangement and illumination of the windows is great, where you can really appreciate the individual works. It is very normal to go to Navy Pier; while  you are there, don't miss this.