Farnsworth House Visitor Center

I had never heard of the Farnsworth House until a recent trip to Chicagoland, when I picked up a travel catalog for the Aurora area at a hotel in which we were guests. We were looking for something ‘different’ to do on our way back home to Iowa, and settled on seeing something in the area.
Farnworth House caught my eye, so we decided to make a visit. The cost seemed somewhat prohibitive, especially to someone who does not have much interest in architecture, save for the fact that I enjoy living with a roof over my head. My wife when looking up Farnsworth on her phone, spied a Groupon deal, which allowed 2 adults to enter for $ 21.00. She made reservations on her phone for the tour that was to begin in about 90 minutes, so after dining in Plano, we headed back out FH. (be aware that GPS directions will have you arriving at a location that is a few hundred yards west of the actual parking lot. Look for the larger roadside sign)
The small visitor center/​gift shop has a small theatre, with a short 8 minute introduction video. You will also be informed that shoes must be removed to walk inside the house, and that socks are the preferred method of foot covering. Make sure you sign and browse the Guest Book before you leave. The roster of guests during the week we visited included so many visitors from around the world — very impressive.
A docent will then lead you down a winding path to the house. At the beginning of the trail there is a tree-​mounted can of Mosquito repellent: use it. If you miss out, there is another one further ahead. Along the way your docent will give short talks with more information.
The house itself, as you can see by photos is quite interesting. After a short talk, we followed our docent into the wonderfully air conditioned house. The history of the house will be discussed, and a thorough tour will be conducted.
Time is allowed to take photos of the outside of the house. No actual interior photography is permitted.
What a wonderful building with a very interesting history, well told by staff. I’d be interested in visiting again during autumn, or winter. They also have Moonlight Tours which sound very alluring. I would recommend FH as a nice stop when visiting the Chicagoland area. But I would not bring young children, they would not appreciate the site, and might be disruptive to the tour.

I was very excited to visit this location but due to poor management and customer service, I would rather save the time and visit other architectural locations in and around Chicago. I pre-​purchased 2 discounted tour tickets and was ultimately unable to attend because my grandmother passed away and I attended her funeral in Pennsylvania. The funeral fell upon the scheduled Farnsworth tour date and out of respect I took the time, while with family in PA for the funeral, to call Farnsworth. I wanted to notify them I would not be attending due to the death in my family and that they should not wait to start the tour b/​c our party of two was out of state. They were understanding and told me to call back and reschedule the tour with the supervisor.
When I returned to Chicago, I initiated a few rounds of phone tag and upon reaching the Executive Director, I explained the situation and he said he could make no exception and that the discounted value would no longer be valid regardless of the extenuating circumstances. He explained that if he made an exception for one person, he would have to do so for everyone. I EVEN offered the death certificate in good faith and he refused to make any exception. The Executive Director explained they are a small 4 person team that could not mitigate extenuating circumstances because they had issued over 500 discounted tickets. He should have thought about the lack of human capital and done his due diligence before issuing this quantity of tickets. I was completely turned off by the frigid conversation and lack of empathy given my situation. I would recommend not supporting this organization as they clearly have neither heart nor consideration for their visitors.

A gem to visit! I myself would never have found this place on my own but an out of town friend came to visit me. Instead of me showing her around, it was the other way around. She is an architect and had specifically found a few top attractions in Chicagoland for us to visit that would interest her.
A brief movie, then a tour guide takes you around the outside of the house and gives a detailed lecture on the history and details of the house. Finally you are then taken inside to get a closer look at the furnishings and the spectacular views looking out.
Like living in the woods. I can just imagine how peaceful it would be to come home to after a busy day at the office to see the almost 360 open views of nature surrounding you. What an amazing house!

Absolutely a hidden gem… Pam provided a wonderful hour long tour and was very patient with all of our excited questions and invited us to return during the different seasons which we plan on doing… the house itself is a serene oasis that has withstood the test of time better than most houses built during that era (a testament to the architect). The small but info filled visitors center had a very welcoming staff and the 15 minute film shown is a great way to start the tour.

Farnsworth House is amazing and should be on any architecture enthusiasts must see list. The docents were friendly and knowledgeable. Sure it’s twenty bucks but where else are you going to get an up close and personal look at an American masterpiece.

I wish I could say I enjoyed this experience as much as I expected to. My husband is a second-​generation architect Harvard-​grad who lives and breathes Architecture. So naturally — I was ok with taking a major detour on his first visit to Chicago to come here. Having studied Architecture myself, he didn’t have to twist my arm too much. ;)
But I have to say I think the admission policy they have in place for children is ridiculous. Having to pay full price of adult admission so that I could bring my 13-​month old son along is outrageous. Perhaps if the attendant had been polite I wouldn’t bother leaving a review and I’d just try to forget that I wasted $ 50 on 2 kids under the age of 2. But she was cold, rude and condescending and honestly made it difficult for us to enjoy the tour. It’s too bad really, because my husband was so thrilled to share this experience with our son.
If you must come, don’t bother bringing kids — you need to remove your shoes to go inside and are not allowed to touch anything. Family or not — I won’t be recommending this place to any of our architecture buddies.

This is a great visit for someone interested in design. I was fortunate enough to have a private tour and was impressed with the detail of the house and understanding its position as an icon of the international style and modern design. There is walking on the tour and a informative video in the visitors center.

One of America’s Architectural treasures is just an hour and half from Chicago.
At the end of the construction, a whopping $ 74,000 had been spent, in contrast to the typical $ 5000 it cost to build a home in that part of Illinois, at that time.
Mies Van Der Rohe designed & built an amazing house for Dr. Edith Farnsworth between 1945 – 1951. It is nestled into a wooded area in Plano, IL — seeming removed from civilization, but actually quite near to it.
This may be one of the most pure and unadulterated examples of domestic modern architecture that we have in this part of the US. Glass and steal, and exceptionally minimal.
Considering the number of times this house has been flooded, it is in remarkably good shape. Now, as a part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation — you can purchase tickets to go on a docent lead tour of the property.
And let me tell you about the docents: they are amazing. Well spoken, knowledgeable and ready and willing to take questions. They are obviously passionate about what they do, and are impressively trained professionals.
Your ticket purchase supports the mission of the Farnsworth property, and we should all be interested in preserving such an important piece of landmark architecture.
The part of the tour that I enjoyed the most entailed removing my shoes, and getting a detailed tour of the interior of the Farnsworth house. It was almost like magic seeing the meticulously crafted cabinets and doors open — the seems and joints were so tight, everything seemed invisible.
A great weekend get a way for architecture buffs, and history fans. It was also a pretty amazing date for this geek.
Check it out. You will not be sorry!

This is one of those once in a lifetime places to visit. You start a visitor center approximately ¼ mile from the home. The guide was friendly and knowledgeable. The house has a lot of history to it. I wish the house was kept up a little better (rust), but I’m guessing the home is dependent on donations for preservation. Very pretty setting in the woods.
For any architecture student or lover of buildings, it’s a must see!!!
Go to Groupon or Living Social for discounted tickets.
Get there early and watch the film (15mins).
Also, it’s a long ride and not a lot to do. If you are hungry, eat before or bring snacks. Once off the highway, it’s backroads.

I have wanted to go to Farnsworth House for years. It took my 8 year old son and his LEGO model of Farnsworth House to finally get me there this April on our spring beak.
As for a rating, if you are an architecture buff, and you don’t give this place a rating of a 5, you are nuts. But for non architects or someone who doesn’t know Mies van der Rohe, it might seem like a lot of money to pay ($ 25 for adults) to visit and explore such a simple weekend cottage. And I can see this place getting anywhere from a 3 to a 5 rating depending on the knowledge the visitor brings to this place ahead of their tour.
Its simplicity is its brilliance, its point, its absolute wonder. And if you have a guide as good as ours was, even those who are non architecture students /​enthusiasts will come away understanding its significance and its elegant beauty. On this tour you will also learn about its faults, floods and the romantic interludes between the single female doctor who commissioned it and Mies van der Rohe.
If you can, arrive at least 30 minutes early, and watch the film in the Visitors Center BEFORE heading down to the cottage. Also, if they will let you, check out the wardrobe that they have in its own building next to the Visitors Center, because seeing it BEFORE the tour will help you understand better how this weekend cottage was functionally used by Doctor Farnsworth after it was built.
As I mentioned, I brought my 8 year old boy, who admittedly has developed a passion for architecture through his LEGO Architecture Series models. He loved this tour. He brought his LEGO model, and we took photos of it outside the house, and though it wasn’t something we had arranged to happen, our guide was so impressed with his interest in the house that she let me take a photo of him with his model INSIDE the house. This is not something we expected at all. There is no photography on weekends in the house, and during the weekdays, only with a pre-​arranged permit. Outdoor photos are enthusiastically encouraged on all tours.
My 12 year old daughter found it fascinating enough too, so don’t think of this as an adult trip only. If your children have been raised to appreciate such things, this is a magnificent day trip from the city. Combine it with a trip to Mies van der Rohe’s Federal Plaza in downtown Chicago, and make a day of it.
Finally, my only complaint, the east side of the house was being restored when we went on our trip this April, 2014. I would have liked to know that in advance, but they do not post this information on their website. I understand they need the dollars from all the visitors they can, even during restoration work, but not to get a sense of the glass opening to the outside on all four walls definitely took away from the experience, and it is why I have rated our trip a 4 instead of a 5. We hope to go back this fall when the leaves are at their peak and the work is done on that one area. Hopefully, then we can experience The Farnsworth House in all its splendor.
This is an undervalued Chicago GEM. At least from those of us here in the area. On our tour, besides ourselves, only three others were locals. The rest of the 14 tour participants were all from abroad… Germany, Austria, China. Fans of van der Rohe REGULARLY come from across the globe to view this masterpiece. If you live in Chicago and have never been out here, you owe it to yourself to add this to your Chicago area cultural literacy with a visit. It really is a stunning bit of architecture that continues to inspire architects around the globe.

Definately worth the trip. We bought our tickets online then drove to Plano and had lunch at T. K’s, a little roadside eatery (yummy). The drive to the house from there was about 15 minutes. The visitor center is beautiful, the movie is well done and the tour was great. The story of the house is fascinating. Single female kidney doctor from Chicago hires famous architect to build weekend getaway in remote location.
Construction delays, spiraling costs, love affairs, and lawsuits… this place has it all.
The house itself is stunning in its simplicity. Cool tshirts.

What a surprisingly great day trip! Neither my partner nor I are huge architecture buffs (though we like the Chicago Architecture Foundation tours quite a bit). But we’re curious and interested in new things so, having done just about everything in day trip distance, finally got out to Farnsworth House. It actually exceeded both of our expectations. The video in the visitor center is well worth watching before or after and our guide was knowledgeable — we picked his brain for everything we could think of. I thought it would be a little simple or boring: glass house, how much is there to say about that? (for non-​architecture people). But we were interested, impressed, and awed being inside the house. Simple, apparently, isn’t so easy. I was a little hesitant about the $ 20 ticket price but after hearing about the bidding war at auction to acquire the property, I was happy to pay that price. It really is a wonderful opportunity to walk inside a piece of art.

When I looked at the house on line I was wondering why this was so popular and why is this tiny house have its own tour? I came to this house via a Living Social Deal for $ 10. I would have never paid the $ 25 regular admission price.
The tour was actually pretty cool. The volunteer guide takes the group through the forest to get to the house so the moments leading up to it are enjoyable too especially in the fall.
Our guide really knew his stuff. He gave a lecture inside the house and out. There is a nice little history behind the house and its residents. No photography inside unless you pay for the photography permit. The permit only allows you 5 – 10 minutes of photog time at the end of the tour.
After the tour you can go back to the welcome center and watch the PBS documentary.

Nice, but go on a sunny day. This is for people who understand the «less is more» concept of the designer. There is not much to see if you do not understand what is being shown. The property is not kept up well.

A must-​see for architecture buffs — whether you’re of the modern ilk or classical aficionado. The Farnsworth House is the first Glass House of its kind in the US. Mies is one of the greatest architects of the 20^th century. It is an educational and awe-​inspiring experience to visit an icon of the 20^th century first hand.
It was my first trip to Chicago and being an architect and follower of Mies’ work, I could not miss this visit. Although I did not find the guide particularly knowledgeable about Mies history nor architecture, being able to tour the interior of the house gives visitosr first-​hand experience in a residence designed and executed by Mies.
Well worth the $ 20 admission and drive out to Plano from Chicago.
For more on my thoughts on the Farnsworth House, see my blog at
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What a wonderful example of modern architecture and right in our backyard. The story is intriguing, the guides are passionate, the site is fantastic and the building is something to behold.
The tour are limited to 10 people and the guides go out of the way to make sure you get a great tour and they let you spend enough time in and around the building to really appreciate it.
Kids have to be over 12 years old.
Take note of the visitor’s center. It’s nicely done and detailed and compliments the house very well.

How are there no other reviews of the Farnsworth House?
I’ve lived in Chicago for 8 years and finally made the trip out to Plano yesterday. The husband is an architect, I have an art degree, so we both should have been there long before. For shame!
The Farnsworth House is an architectural gem and a piece of history. Designed by Mies van der Rohe, this house in the woods is an icon of modern architecture. Even if you’re not a fan of Mies’s «black box» skyscrapers (as I am not), this gorgeous house will make you appreciate the technique and talent behind the buildings.
Tours are around $ 20 per person, and your money goes to help with the preservation effort, which is considerable due to the house’s placement on the banks of the Fox River, which apparently floods every 15 seconds. Tour guides are knowledgeable and passionate. While you are not allowed to take pictures inside the house, you’re given time after the tour to take all the exterior photos you want.
Also, you have to take your shoes off before entering the house, but clean socks are provided in case you didn’t wear any.