Robert R. McCormick House

Step Into the World of Colonel McCormick

The Robert R. McCormick House invites guests into a richly layered world of art, hospitality, journalism, and legacy — brought to life through immersive storytelling and the atmosphere of a bygone era.

Plan Your Visit

Once the private home of Colonel Robert R. McCormick, the Robert R. McCormick House now offers an experience shaped by the people, passions, and stories that defined it. Through reimagined gallery spaces, evocative historic rooms, and self-guided narration in a voice modeled after the Colonel himself, guests are invited to encounter Cantigny in a way that feels intimate, transportive, and distinctly memorable. Interpreted through the worlds of the Colonel, Amy McCormick, and Maryland McCormick, the house reveals a layered portrait of art, hospitality, legacy, and personal expression.

Art & Amy McCormick

Gallery spaces throughout the house pay tribute to Amy McCormick — painter, collector, gardener, and devoted lover of animals. Her appreciation for beauty and artistic expression offers guests a lens through which to experience the home not simply as a residence, but as a place shaped by refinement, creativity, and a deeply personal sense of wonder.

Hospitality & Maryland McCormick

The warmth and sociability of Maryland McCormick remain woven into the house’s enduring character. Her gift for entertaining helped establish Cantigny as a lively and gracious gathering place, and that spirit still lingers in the home’s atmosphere. Guests may also choose to extend their visit with an optional high tea inspired by this tradition of thoughtful hospitality.

The Colonel’s World

In Freedom Hall, the Colonel’s presence feels especially vivid. With its soaring ceiling, grand piano, hidden bar, rich woodwork, and walls lined with books, this extraordinary room reflects his intellect, convictions, and lifelong interests in journalism, military history, public life, and the wider world. It is a space of both grandeur and personality — distinctive, deeply personal, and unmistakably his. For those wishing to linger a little longer, handcrafted cocktails inspired by the Colonel’s own tastes and the spirit of the era offer an additional layer to the experience.

A Tribune Legacy, Told in His Voice

The story of the house is inseparable from the legacy of the Chicago Tribune, from Joseph Medill, who built the home, to Colonel McCormick, who helped shape one of the nation’s most influential newspapers. Adding to the sense of immersion, the self-guided tour is narrated in a voice modeled after the Colonel, creating the remarkable feeling that he is walking beside you through the house and its history.

The Robert R. McCormick House offers more than a glimpse into the past. It offers entry into a world — layered, intimate, and transportive — where art, hospitality, history, and storytelling come together with elegance and depth.

Explore the House