Illinois Holocaust Museum Opens Temporary Loop Location During Renovation

The Illinois Holocaust Museum has reopened in a new downtown Chicago space while its Skokie home undergoes a yearlong construction project. The temporary location, called Experience360, is located at State and Kinzie streets in the Loop and features redesigned exhibits that continue the museum’s mission of education and remembrance.

"It's going to be a wonderful opportunity for people who can't get up to Skokie. For tourists who don't have a car, (they) can now hear the stories of our survivors," said Arielle Weininger, the museum’s chief curator of collections and exhibitions.

The Skokie-based institution temporarily closed to allow for a major renovation project, which includes expanding the lobby and adding more seating in the auditorium. While the original artifacts were carefully stored for safekeeping, museum staff curated new displays for the downtown site, ensuring the stories of Holocaust survivors remain accessible to the public.

"It allows us to see the conditions that led to Nazism, the exclusion of Jews, that led to the genocide of millions," said Kelley Szany, the museum’s senior vice president of education and exhibitions.

The new location offers core exhibits on Holocaust history, the origins of the Illinois museum, and interactive features such as a theater where visitors can hear testimony from survivors through advanced digital technology. Additional displays highlight other cases of genocide, broadening the educational reach.

"The whole reason the survivors established the museum is so that their stories are told, and this is just a way to broaden that," Weininger added.

One striking artifact—the full-sized railcar that transported Jews to Nazi concentration camps—was too large to move. Instead, it has been preserved and restored on-site in Skokie during the renovation process.

The museum’s temporary Loop space officially opens its doors to the public on Tuesday, welcoming both Chicago residents and visitors to engage with powerful lessons of history.

Originally reported by Joe Donion in CBS News.