Recently CBS2 News posted the 10 Best Free Things to Do in Chicago and we congratulate HyPa’s own trio of FREE museums for making the list; Oriental Institute, Smart Museum and Renaissance Society. This is just the beginning! Chicago’s Culture Coast boasts 12 FREE arts and cultural venues for you to explore.  The price is right!  And all parking in University of Chicago parking lots and garages is free after 4 PM and on weekends. So, there is no excuse.  Check out HyPa’s 12 Free Places to visit in Hyde Park by clicking the link below.

12 Free Places to visit in Hyde Park:

1. 57^th Street Art Fair and Hyde Park Community Art Fair – June 5th and 6th.  Join artists and art lovers at Chicago’s oldest juried art fair in the streets of the historic Hyde Park neighborhood and visit the annual arts and crafts fair that runs next to the Art Fair on 57^th Street.
2. Friends of the Blackstone Library. Free events and presentations at the Library, 4904 S. Lake Park Ave.
3. Hyde Park Art Center at 5020 S. Cornell Ave. It is the oldest alternative exhibition space in Chicago with on going exhibitions, events, and activities for all ages.
4. Hyde Park Historical Society.  Open on weekends at 5529 S. Lake Park Ave., offering exhibits and information about the unique history of Hyde Park.
5. International House.  Founded in 1932 by John D. Rockefeller, Jr., it is a dynamic program center and residence hall offering a variety of free events at 1414 E. 59^th St.
6. Little Black Pearl at 1060 E. 47th St. is a cultural arts center providing opportunities in art, culture and entrepreneurship to youth, adults and families across Chicago.
7. Oriental Institute Museum at 1155 E. 58th St., is a world-renowned showcase for the history, art, and archaeology of the ancient Near East.
8. Renaissance Society.  The Society at 5811 S. Ellis Ave., Bergman Gallery, Cobb Hall 418, is actually an exhibition space presenting art seldom seen in the Midwest showing the most recent developments in contemporary art.
9. Rockefeller Memorial Chapel at 5850 S. Woodlawn Ave. is a magnificent tiled Gothic cathedral and their carillon is the single largest musical instrument ever built.
10. Smart Museum of Art at 5550 S. Greenwood Ave. houses a permanent collection of over 10,000 objects, spanning five millennia of both Western and Eastern civilizations.
11. Special Collections Research Center in the University of Chicago Library at 1100 E. 57th St. exhibits rare books, manuscripts, University Archives, and the Chicago Jazz Archives, and special programming.
12. The Opportunity Shop temporarily located at 1530 E. 53rd St., is a transitory, experimental project space for contemporary art in Hyde Park.