A towering figure in Chicago’s well-developed architectural scene is stepping down from one of its most important posts as the Chicago Architecture Center (CAC) announced that President and CEO Lynn Osmond will be departing the Center at the end of April in order to take on a leadership role with Choose Chicago, the city’s tourism agency. 

Since joining the CAC in 1996, Osmond has been pivotal in transforming the organization (then named the Chicago Architecture Foundation) into one of the largest of its kind anywhere in the world, overseeing its growth into a $25 million entity with an expanded audience of around 700,000 patrons in addition to helping it become one of the top tourist destinations in the city.

Under Osmond’s tenure, the CAC moved into its new permanent location in the Mies van der Rohe-designed 111 E Wacker Dr. building overlooking the River Walk and Michigan Avenue. Osmond also oversaw the creation of the ever-popular Open House Chicago in addition to spearheading the organization’s award-winning partnership with First Lady Cruises and a host of other educational initiatives such as the publication of the nation’s first-ever high school design textbook, Jennifer Masengarb and Krisann Rehbein’s The Architecture Handbook, in 2007.

Osmond said it was a “tough decision” but that she was “excited about this new chapter.” 

“As I prepare to lead Choose Chicago,” she said. “I am proud of my 25 years at the Chicago Architecture Center, everything we accomplished and all the work we did to promote our great city and our unmatched architecture. This puts me in a strong position to continue to show the world why Chicago is consistently a top destination for local, national, and international visitors."

For the time being, the CAC’s COO Juanna Blackwell will step into an interim role to direct the Center as the search for a new permanent replacement to Osmond gets underway. 

“Lynn has been a transformational leader for the Chicago Architecture Center. Her energy, vision and passion have resulted in the CAC becoming one of the top ten cultural institutions in the city and is recognized globally,” the CAC’s Board of Trustees Chairman John W. Rutledge said finally. “She had the vision to create the Chicago Architecture Center, which is now a major attraction. We’re sorry to see her go but are excited Choose Chicago will be getting such a dynamic leader. As an active and long-time national hotel real estate investor, developer and manager, I am acutely aware of how vital this position is to the city and its economy, and I am confident Lynn and her team at Choose Chicago will deliver tangible results as Chicago continues its ‘post-covid’ comeback.”