Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows

Navy Pier doesn’t promote this free, impressive attraction very well, but visitors who wander along the lower-level terraces of Festival Hall will discover the country’s first museum dedicated entirely to stained glass. Many of the 150 pieces on display were made in Chicago (a stained-glass hub in the late 1800s, thanks to the influx of European immigrants), and most hung at one point in Chicago churches, homes or office buildings. Even if you think stained glass is something for blue-haired grandmas, you should make a point of coming by; the articulately explained collection ranges from typical Victorian religious themes to far-out political designs (the Martin Luther King Jr one is especially noteworthy). And fans of Louis Comfort Tiffany will rejoice to find 13 of his works hanging here.