ISAC — Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures
The museum Rockefeller funded in 1919 to trace Western civilization back to its ancient Middle Eastern roots — on a university campus, not downtown.
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Egyptologist James Henry Breasted wanted a "laboratory for the study of the rise and development of civilization," and John D. Rockefeller Jr. wrote the check. The result is one of the world's finest collections of Near Eastern and Egyptian artifacts, according to anthropologist William Parkinson of the Field Museum — tightly focused on southwest Asia and Egypt, not spread thin across every culture.
What to look for
- The Gothic Revival building at the corner of 58th Street and University Avenue — the architecture announces the ambition
- Artifacts from ancient Near Eastern civilizations, the collection Breasted assembled over decades of fieldwork and university teaching
- Scope of the research mission: the institute still runs Chicago House, an active field facility in Luxor, Egypt
On the University of Chicago campus in Hyde Park; the Gothic Revival building sits at the corner of 58th Street and University Avenue. Formerly signed as the Oriental Institute — search either name.
ISAC — Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures is one of 37 sights worth the detour in Chicago, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Chicago pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Chicago
- Willis TowerIt held the world's tallest title for nearly 25 years after opening in 1973 — and the Skydeck is still the highest observation deck in the United States.
- Art Institute of ChicagoFour paintings you've seen your whole life — Nighthawks, La Grande Jatte, The Old Guitarist, American Gothic — hang in the same building.
- John Hancock Center (875 N Michigan Ave)A moving platform pivots you 30 degrees outward over the Magnificent Mile — 1,128 feet of nothing beneath your feet.
- Aon CenterWhen it opened in 1973 as "Big Stan," this 83-floor tower was the fourth-tallest building on Earth — and clad entirely in marble.
- United CenterThe Bulls hardwood floor is literally assembled over the Blackhawks ice and taken apart game by game — two teams, one frozen surface, shared by puzzle.
- Soldier FieldThe NFL's oldest stadium lost its National Historic Landmark status because of the renovation meant to save it.