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The Museum of Holography in the West Loop of Chicago, is the labor of love of Loren Billings, a holographer and astrophysicist. Upon the urging of her husband, Billings opened in the museum showcasing outstanding 3D pieces of art in 1974 and still runs it. She reminds visitors that holography is a very fine science, and that Holography received the Nobel Prize in 1971.
The museum occupies four smalls rooms, and the holograms vary widely, from a tarantula to Michael Jordan. The place is dimly lit to aid in viewing the pieces, but some can still be challenging to see.
This is the only museum dedicated to holography in the United States (one in New York closed a few years back) though there are others in France and Germany. However, in the past decade, since the death of her husband in 1998, Billings' mental health has declined. Also, she took out a million dollar loan to help support a local business, but the business never took off. Her family thinks she was duped into giving the 'business' money, and sued the bank for giving a large loan to woman suffering from mild dementia. The museum is now in serious financial trouble.
The gift shop offers many holograms to take home with you, including holographic earrings and spinning holograms but go soon as the Museum of Holography may be in its final days.
