Rosemont is celebrating its 70th birthday by doing what Rosemont does best: building big and thinking about visitors. Mayor Brad Stephens this week rolled out plans to revamp the village’s convention campus and launch a new, free history museum inside the recently completed village hall. The projects center on a major renovation of the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center and the creation of the Donald E. Stephens Rosemont History Museum, framed by village leaders as anniversary-year investments to keep trade shows coming while preserving the town’s story.
Stephens unveiled the plans on Good Day Chicago, walking viewers through fresh renderings and describing the initiatives as "anniversary projects" tied to Rosemont’s seven-decade evolution, as reported by FOX 32 Chicago. The TV segment spotlighted both the convention-center work and efforts to update Rosemont’s small museum collection so it better connects with visitors. Stephens said the upgrades reflect the village’s long-standing ties to O'Hare and a strategy to attract larger events.
New Museum Will Sit Inside Village Hall
The village laid out formal details for the 4,300-square-foot Donald E. Stephens Rosemont History Museum, noting it will occupy the first floor of the new Village Hall and is "scheduled to open Q4 2025," according to the Village of Rosemont. The announcement names Chicago Scenic Studios and Live Art International as exhibit-design partners and says the museum will feature rotating displays and artifacts from the village’s past. Officials are inviting residents to share stories and mementos as curators finalize what will go on display.
Animatronic Mayor, Fuselage And A $3 Million Price Tag
More granular renderings and the budget surfaced in coverage that pegs the museum as a roughly $3 million project, complete with an animatronic likeness of the late Mayor Donald E. Stephens, a 1950s-era aircraft-fuselage simulator and multimedia interactives. Mayor Brad Stephens, quoted saying "We’ve got a great story here," signed an affidavit allowing the use of AI to recreate his father’s voice for the exhibit, as reported by the Daily Herald. Designers including Chicago Scenic Studios and Peter Hyde Design are credited with developing the museum concept, the report notes.
Convention Center Upgrades Aim To Keep Shows Coming
The Donald E. Stephens Convention Center has already been getting a behind-the-scenes tune-up, with recent systems upgrades ranging from rooftop HVAC replacements to Wi-Fi improvements as part of a broader effort to modernize the million-square-foot campus, per the Village of Rosemont. Village officials say the facility remains a crucial piece of the local economy at a moment when trade shows can shop around for venues. The Chicago Boat Show’s move to Rosemont last winter is one high-profile example of that demand, as reported by ABC7 Chicago.
Officials plan to release additional renderings and a firm museum opening date once fabrication work and permitting are wrapped up. For now, the anniversary projects pair a downtown-style museum experience with infrastructure upgrades designed to keep Rosemont firmly planted on the calendar for major national and regional trade shows.
