Step inside the world of 'Downton Abbey' at new exhibition in Skokie
Fans of the award-winning television series “Downton Abbey” will feel at home, upstairs or downstairs, in a revealing new exhibition.
“Downton Abbey: The Exhibition” will run from Nov. 10 through March 31, 2024, in the former Bloomingdale's department store space at the Westfield Old Orchard Shopping Center in Skokie.
The exhibition brings furnishings, jewelry, settings, props and more than 65 costumes, along with multimedia presentations featuring the talent behind the PBS Masterpiece series.
“You've seen it on the screen, now you're almost walking among them,” said Tom Zaller, CEO of Imagine Exhibitions, which presents more than 40 unique exhibitions around the world. Portrayals of the “Harry Potter” films, “The Hunger Games,” “Jurassic World” and “Titanic” are among them.
The 1912 sinking of the Titanic serves as prelude to “Downton Abbey,” which over six seasons from 2010-15 detailed the relationships between the aristocratic Crawley family, its staff and servants in post-Edwardian England.
“The dynamics of love and power,” as Zaller described it.
Written by Julian Fellowes and winner of 15 Primetime Emmys and 60 awards overall, according to the Internet Movie Database, “Downton Abbey” reached 26 million viewers in its final season, the highest-rated PBS drama. It spun off feature films in 2019 and 2022.
Old Orchard will be the exhibition's sixth domestic stop since more than 250,000 people attended its 2017 debut in New York City.
“It's such a great story, and the characters are great and fans love it,” Zaller said. “They feel they've got this physical manifestation of it rather than watching a TV show or a movie.”
Along with the evening gowns and period clothing worn by cast members such as Dame Maggie Smith, the exhibition brings the settings where much of the pivotal action of the series took place, including entire and exact re-creations of the Crawley dining room and the downstairs kitchen.
Zaller said people have enjoyed seeing the props used in the series, such as the original wall of bells the Crawleys used to summon the servants.
An introductory film written by Fellowes and narrated by cast members like head butler Charles Carson “rounds out the experience,” Zaller said.
The exhibition includes what he called “multimedia moments” that incorporate English life and historical and cultural events of the series' 1912-26 time period such as World War I, the impact of segregation and women's rights, and the invention of the refrigerator.
“What I like about it is you really feel like you're going to Downton Abbey,” Zaller said. “You're stepping inside this world.”
Tickets for “Downton Abbey: The Exhibition” range from $27-$64 at downtonexhibition.com/.
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“Downton Abbey: The Exhibition”
When: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, from Friday, Nov. 10, through March 31, 2024
Where: 4905 Old Orchard Center, Skokie
Tickets: Start at $27 for adults; free for kids 11 and younger; VIP tickets $64
Details: downtonexhibition.com/