Fodor's Expert Review Henry B. Clarke House Museum

This Greek Revival structure dates from 1836, making it Chicago's oldest surviving building. It's a clapboard house in a masonry city, built for Henry and Caroline Palmer Clarke to remind them of the East Coast they left behind. The Doric columns and pilasters were an attempt to civilize Chicago's frontier image, while the everyday objects and furnishings inside evoke a typical 1850s–60s middle-class home. The house has been moved three times from its original location on Michigan Avenue between 16th and 17th streets: the last time, in 1977, it had to be hoisted above the nearby elevated train tracks. Free tours are given Wednesday and Saturday at 1 pm.