Historic Roundhouse

Fifty years ago, the DuSable Museum began as a small gallery in the home of Charles and Margaret Burroughs. In 1971, the Museum moved to the original wing of our current facility. In February 1993, the Harold Washington expansion was completed. Now, we enter a new phase, the addition of the Roundhouse; a 61,000 square foot expansion, which when completed, will create the first African American museum campus in the United States.

The historic Roundhouse has humble beginnings. Built in the early 19th century by visionary architect Daniel H. Burnham, the building originally acted as a horse stable. Burnham supervised the layout of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition and, in 1909, with help from his assistant, prepared The Plan for Chicago, one of the nation’s first comprehensive planning documents.