Please Note: This program has a rescheduled date (originally June 24, 2025).

The Thorne Miniature Rooms are a much-loved exhibition of 68 perfectly crafted interiors housed in the Art Institute of Chicago. Created by Narcissa Niblack Thorne and her colleagues in the 1930s and ’40s, each recreates, in eerily perfect miniature detail, a room from the 16th to the 20th century—everything from a Gothic cathedral to a modern California hallway. She spared no expense and kept a small army of artisans employed throughout the Depression.

After touring the United States, Thorne’s amazing project went on permanent display at the museum in the 1950s, influencing everyone from Walt Disney to Orson Welles to Wes Anderson, as well as the nearly 20,000 visitors a month who are enthralled by the tiny wonders. Miniaturists, collectors, and even architects from around the world find inspiration in these replicas on the 1:12 scale.

Author Marianne Malone delves into the history and motivations of Thorne’s creative project. She also discusses how her childhood obsession with the exhibition inspired her series for young readers, The Sixty-Eight Rooms Adventures, set in the magical world of the Thorne Rooms.

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