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Travel back to 19th-Century Chicago with a visit to the Richard H. Driehaus Museum.

Tuesday Dec 23, 2008.     By Stacy Warden

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On the corner of Erie Street and Wabash Avenue sits one of Chicago's last-standing mansions of its kind. Commissioned in 1879 by liquor and banking magnate Samuel Mayo Nickerson, and then later sold to Lucius George Fisher in 1900 for a modest $75,000, the mansion is now owned by philanthropist Richard H. Driehaus and functions as a museum under his name.

After learning about the Driehaus Museum through a friend, I headed straight for Google. It only took a handful of photos on the museum's website before I was contacting the space for a private tour.

Stepping inside the building was like walking straight onto the set of a 19th-century film. Had I a corset, a blooming skirt and ringlets in my hair, I would've been a perfect fit for this place. But my snug sweater, leather boots and denim were almost intrusive, along with the Blackberry in my back pocket; I was completely out of context.

Nevertheless, I was quickly whisked to the Main Hall, where almost everything seemed to be made of marble. David Bagnall, the museum's director, informed me that the mansion boasts 17 types of marble from all over the world, and then he looked up. "There are also slabs of marble in the ceiling," he said, explaining that many have referred to Nickerson's estate as the "Marble Palace" (not to be confused with the Marble House in Newport, Rhode Island, which now also functions as a public museum.

We then went on to tour a number of rooms, showcasing more marble, inlaid woodwork, silky ceilings and antique fixtures. The smoking room, a favorite of Bagnall's, struck a chord with me as well. The teal-tiled walls, stained-glass floor lamp and hand-carved fireplace recall a time well before Chicago's smoking ban. You can almost picture a group of distinguished gents kicking back with pipes, imported cigars and neatly-rolled cigarettes, discussing politics and the irrational behaviors of women.

While the rooms are set to represent another time entirely, certain elements seem to have been left by the wayside. For example, rather than ledges and mantels lined with baubles and vases (standard of that particular period), the extra space now remains clutter-free. But this isn't an oversight. As I said, the focus is on interiors, and Driehaus intentionally left out the accents because he wanted to keep that concentration.

There are, however, a few pieces from Driehaus' own personal collection, which serve as surefire show-stoppers. A walk into the mansion's old trophy room, for one, reveals a 2,000-pound statue of Cupid and Psyche. And the lavish dining room displays an original Louis Comfort Tiffany punch bowl centered on the rectangular table.

As my tour ended, I had the strange urge to do it all over again. I wanted to go back and take in all the details I might have missed the first time around. But the vibrating Blackberry in my pocket called me back to the demands of my modern life, so I left feeling inspired, excited and ready to plan another visit.

Stats: Tours take place on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Admission is $25 for adults, $12.50 for children 12 and under and $12.50 for students with a valid ID.