McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum

The McCormick Freedom Museum was the first museum in the United States dedicated to the First Amendment by the McCormick Foundation. It was open from April 11, 2006 until March 1, 2009.[1][2] The museum offered visitors an interactive experience focused on first amendment rights which include freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, assembly and petition. It was located on Michigan Avenue along the Magnificent Mile next to the historic Tribune Tower.

Magnificent Mile Entrance

A sculpture by artists Amy Larimer and Peter Bernheim, titled 12151791 was put into storage when the museum closed. Its title represents the date of December 15, 1791, when the United States Bill of Rights was ratified.[3][4]

One journalist has noted the irony of a Freedom Museum being named after the Robert R. McCormick, owner of the Chicago Tribune newspaper, saying the name "puts ego before freedom".[5] A scaled-down 45 feet (14 m) mobile version of the museum, dubbed the Freedom Express, made its debut in Chicago's Pioneer Court on May 27, 2010.[6]

References
  1. "McCormick Foundation To Take Civic Education And Freedom Message On The Road" (PDF). McCormick Foundation. March 2, 2009. Retrieved January 7, 2011.
  2. Madeline Nusser (June 3, 2009). "Save the McCormick Freedom Museum: The recently shuttered Freedom Museum lives on". TimeOut Chicago. Retrieved January 7, 2011.
  3. James Yood (August 1, 2006). Celebrating Freedom: 12151791. forward by Alex Kotlowitz. McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum. ISBN 978-0-9777255-0-2.
  4. "12151791: Chicago, IL, 2006". official web site. Oakland, California: Larimer + Bernheim. Archived from the original on August 18, 2009. Retrieved January 7, 2011.
  5. Steve Rhodes (July 1, 2006). "Freedom Museum Rocks Acceptably". Beachwood Reporter blog. Retrieved January 7, 2011.
  6. brenna Swift (May 27, 2010). "McCormick Foundation puts First Amendment on wheels for Chicago students". Medill Reports. Archived from the original on September 30, 2011. Retrieved January 7, 2011.


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