The Griffin Museum of Science and Industry’s south portico, the temple-like entrance facing Jackson Park’s lagoon, is set to reopen next year for the first time in more than a century. Museum leaders say the revived entry will add a small café and a balcony outside the paid galleries, turning a long-quiet facade into a public-facing gateway just as the nearby Obama Presidential Center readies its June 2026 debut and a likely surge of visitors to the South Side.
Restoration Backed By Major Grant
The overhaul is being funded largely by a $10 million grant from the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, which the museum says will cover accessibility upgrades, a terrace, and new public amenities, with full completion targeted for 2027. Construction started in spring 2025, and the institution plans to phase the work so galleries stay open throughout, according to the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry. Framing the gift as a preservation win for the city’s last surviving "White City" building, the Driehaus Foundation said the project will reopen the building’s original main entrance while honoring its historic architecture.
Park Fix-Up To Handle Crowds
In a parallel effort outside the museum walls, U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly secured $1.2 million in Community Project Funding for the Chicago Park District to improve pathway paving, lighting, and security along the route between the museum and Jackson Park, according to Rep. Robin Kelly. Park and museum officials say the upgrades are meant to brace for large crowds when the Obama Presidential Center stages its grand-opening celebrations June 18–21, 2026, as announced by the Obama Foundation. Park District leaders have cast the funding as one piece of a broader push to improve access to Jackson Park’s amenities and nearby cultural institutions.
What Visitors Will Find
The South Portico is defined by tall brass doors, carved stone details, and a broad plaza, and the plans call for an at-grade accessible entrance cut into the grand staircase, along with a balcony and a small café just inside the portico but outside the paid-admission zone. “It’s momentous,” Voula Saridakis, the museum’s head curator, told WBEZ in describing the effort to reconnect the building to Jackson Park. Architects are aiming to keep new elements visibly distinct from the historic fabric while reopening the space to the public.
A Rare White City Holdout
The structure began life as the Palace of Fine Arts for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition and is the only major "White City" building still standing from the fair, a point preservation advocates regularly highlight. After reviewing the renovation plans, Landmarks Illinois wrote that it supports reactivating the south entrance while putting accessibility at the center of the design. The Driehaus Foundation has called its grant a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reconnect the museum to the Columbian Basin and Jackson Park.
How The Visitor Experience Could Shift
Museum staff says the current attendance of roughly 1.2 to 1.3 million visitors a year could climb to more than 2 million once the south portico is activated and park access improves. That forecast, along with other project details, was covered by WBEZ, which noted the south entrance has been largely dormant since the early 20th century.
What Happens Next
The museum says it will stay open during construction and will stage the work to keep the campus and surrounding park areas accessible, according to the museum announcement. With renovations expected to wrap in 2027, museum leaders say the restored South Portico will give South Side visitors a more direct and accessible way to enter the Griffin and linger along the Jackson Park lagoon.
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