The main building was built for the joint purpose of providing an additional facility for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, and subsequently the Art Institute.

The core of the current complex, located opposite Adams Street, officially opened to the public on December 8, 1893,[1] and was renamed the Allerton Building in 1968.

[5] It was originally established as both a school and museum, and stood on the southwest corner of Michigan Avenue and Monroe Street,[6] where it rented space.

[11] Upon his death in 1905, lumber merchant Benjamin Franklin Ferguson bequeathed almost $1 million (equivalent to $33,911,111 in 2023) for the purpose of establishing a public sculpture fund to be administered by the Art Institute.

[14] The building has a grand Italian Renaissance facade with a pedimented 5-bayed central section that protrudes forward from the 7-bayed wings on either side.

[15] Fullerton Hall was originally built in 1898 by Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge on the north side of the main floor in place of a formerly open court.

[16] Ryerson Library was built in 1901 to the south opposite Fullerton Hall in another open court by Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge.

[18] In 1916, Gunsaulus Hall was built by Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge as a two-story bridge addition spanning the Illinois Central Railroad tracks behind the original building.

[28] The Adler & Sullivan-designed Chicago Stock Exchange Building (1893–1972) Trading Room was salvaged from demolition and installed in the Columbus Drive Addition in 1977.

[31] The sunshade, dubbed "The Flying Carpet", is made of white extruded aluminum and is linked to the lighting system to adjust and compensate for incandescent fixtures.

Flanking the exterior Michigan Avenue entrance stairs are two bronze lions by sculptor Edward Kemeys that were a gift from a Mrs. Henry Field for the Art Institute's opening at its current location in 1893.

[34] Guardian lions had been an important architectural theme of the World Columbian Exposition, where six pairs guarded the entrance of the Palace of Fine Arts.

[35] The lions were moved back 12 feet (3.7 m) toward the museum in 1909-10 in conjunction with the widening of Michigan Avenue and the addition of a balustrade and terrace to the south, west and north sides of the building.