Michigan Avenue between Washington and Randolph

Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs is housed in the Cultural Center. Once the city’s central library, the Cultural Center, built in 1897, has four floors of reception rooms, auditoria, galleries and public spaces where something is always going on. Sometimes the soprano voices of a children’s choir echo down the grand staircase from Preston Bradley Hall, with its extravagant mosaics; sometimes it’s chamber music or jazz. Movies, fine art, scholarly lectures and Loop architectural tours are just a few of the choices. The popular café program, “Downtown Thursday Night,” showcases local talent in a convivial atmosphere. Celebrity birthdays are celebrated on weekdays at one o’clock in the afternoon with musical tributes. 

On the Washington Street side of the Cultural Center, you’ll find the Museum of Broadcast Communications. Bruce DuMont, founder and President of the MBC, is a well known political commentator, whose radio show, “Beyond the Beltway,” is heard nationwide. The MBC also houses the country’s only Radio Hall of Fame.

 Whether you’re old enough to remember Fibber McGee and Molly, or too young to remember Wolfman Jack, the Radio Hall of Fame will enlighten and entertain you. Don’t go up to the archives of the MBC unless you have a lot of time on your hands. First, you’ll be distracted by the monitors in the reception area playing excerpts from a favorite “I Love Lucy” episode, or the Beatles’ appearance on Ed Sullivan. Then you’ll be dizzied by the catalog of shows archived here. You can request videotapes and view them in specially equipped carrels on the premises, but be forewarned that nostalgia can be habit-forming.

It’s safer to take a walk through the MBC’s permanent exhibition and sit for a while in one of their twin viewing areas, where you might catch a few of Ernie Kovacs’ cigar ads. The Museum will make a Kuklapolitan out of you, even if you weren’t one when you walked in.