By Dan Kolen
Floating metallic spheres, light-up floors, and rooms of neon pinks, purples, and greens have rooted the WNDR art museum in the West Loop and Instagram feeds over the past three years. With its success and popularity, WNDR (pronounced “wonder”) museum seeks to expand from its location at 1130 W. Monroe St. with an addition at 1140 W. Monroe St., pending a zoning variance.
Revamping the museum would provide more gallery and studio space along with a kitchen for catering, cafe, and theater for lectures from Chicago Ideas, an organization hosting talks on a wide range of topics since 2015.
Recently, 25th Ward Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez and the Ward 25 Zoning Committee hosted a virtual town hall to share museum plans with neighbors and gather feedback about the expansion.
“The community is concerned with potential for noise, groups congregating outside once the museum is closed, and lack of parking,” said Carla Agostinelli, executive director of the West Loop Community Organization (WLCO). “However, WNDR is working on the creation of an appropriate plan of operation that will address these concerns as best as possible.”
“It’s been a really good process to meet with so many people in the neighborhood,” said WNDR museum’s Nora Daley. “It’s great to see people support an engagement. It’s always exciting to see, to expand our footprint, to be a vibrant part of the West Loop.”
Daley noted that the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is “slowing down the overall project. It’s hard to move forward on a possible 300-seat theatre during a pandemic.”
“After our community driven process, we developed a plan of operations that will address some of the neighbors’ concerns,” said Sigcho-Lopez. “So our Zoning Advisory Board in coordination with our office recommended the zoning variance, and it is pending City Council approval. WNDR museum is a cultural institution and we believe is important to support them.”
The museum would expand to 1140 W. Monroe St and operate as both a museum and event space. The plan requires WNDR to have regular closing times of 8 p.m. (midnight for special events) and post “no loitering” signs reminding patrons to respect neighbors. The museum would provide valet parking and encourage patrons to take public transit or use ride share services to get to its front door.
Local support
Chicago Children’s Theatre, Mercy Home, and Chelsea Townhomes all submitted letters of support, according to Armando Chacon, Ward 25 Zoning Committee member and president of the West Central Association (WCA).
“I’m hoping we can work through these operational issues and residents’ concerns because I do think WNDR can and will continue to be a good neighbor and add to the richness here,” Chacon said. “We all need to be respectful and mindful of our neighbors so that we can address all issues in a way that’s fair and equitable to everyone.”
“With the Chicago Children’s Museum across the street from WNDR and Merit Music a few blocks away, I’m thankful our community is home to organizations like these that support the arts, theatre, education, music, and also serve as incredible community partners,” said Susan Rothman, business owner of Pure Barre Fulton, a physical fitness center. “Let’s support positive growth that benefits our communities, supports the economy, and helps us stand out as a place where people want to work, live, play.”
After being closed since March 14, 2020, due to the pandemic, the museum reopened to the public on Feb. 26 with new interactive art, touchless experiences, and enhanced safety measures including temperature checks, masks, social distancing, sanitizing, increased air ventilation and filtering, and daily employee health screenings.
The museum reopened with more than 20 new instillations including Flux Room, a multisensory experience in an environment featuring artificial intelligence, machine learning, sounds, visuals, and scents.
Another new offering is I Heard There Was a Secret Chord, in which participants join people around the world in a humming choir.
“We are proud to present this evolution of WNDR, the fruits of many months of creative exploration and our commitment to explore the latest in immersive and interactive technology,” said Brad Keywell, founder of WNDR, about the reopening.
Popular museum
More than 300,000 people flocked to the museum from its opening on Sept. 21, 2018, to its closing due to the pandemic.
“WNDR museum has been a, no pun intended, wonderful addition to the neighborhood,” Agostinelli said. “We are excited to hear about their expansion plans and are looking forward to some normalcy again soon.”
The pending zoning change would put both buildings in the same zoning category, waiving parking requirements.
For Alderman Sigcho-Lopez, log on to 25thward.org or call (773) 423-4100. Call the WCA at (312) 902-4922. WLCO’s website is westloop.org or call (312) 666-1991. For WNDR, log on to www.WNDRmuseum.com or email [email protected].
Editor’s note: William S. Bike also contributed to this article.