More Then and Now
Inspired by our recent post about vintage photos of Chicago, Berg with Fries went out and reshot most of the images from the same spot for a little then-and-now action. (Thanks, Amanda!)
Merge
Category
History
"You Will Like Des Plaines"
Revitalize Des Plaines! will be of great assistance if you're interested in our northwestern neighbor's politics, history and, in one case, amazing sheet music.
Your Friendly Neighborhood SpiderDan Skyscraperman
About 28 years ago a fellow by the name of Dan Goodwin scaled both the John Hancock Center and the Sears Tower and a few other famous skyscrapers. Now he's back with a book. Look out! There goes the Spider Dan!
The Great Snowstorms of the Last Century
While we sit out the longest rain in recent memory, Kevin Guilfoile shares footage of the great snowstorms of 20th Century Chicago. Well, the first two, anyway -- 1939 and 1967; look elsewhere for 1978 and 1999.
A Submarine in the Chicago River?
Lodner D. Phillips was an inventor and engineer in turn-of-the-century Chicago who specialized in submarines and diving suits. One of his subs, which claimed the life of its owner and his dog, was pulled out of the Chicago River in 1915. [via]
The City in Celluloid
There weren't a lot of movies shot in Chicago during the first Daley's reign, but those that were captured a city a bit grittier than today.
Building History
If last week's historical Chicago photos whet your appetite for others, here's a great shot of the Hancock Building under construction from a compilation set of relatively historical photographs.
Our History in Print
HelloChicago hosts scans of several historic books about Chicago. You have to download them as PDFs, but it's still pretty cool.
Casimir Pulaski's Citizenship Status
On President Obama's to do list: Sign a resolution declaring Casimir Pulaski an honorary citizen of the U.S. If he signs the resolution, which was sent to his office after being unanimously passed by the Senate yesterday, this Polish Revolutionary War hero would become the seventh foreigner who's been granted this status.
"We Don't Die, We Just Get High"
We Are Supervision blog shows a series of old '70s and '80s Chicago gang calling cards. Crudely drawn, sometimes offensive, and frequently opaque, they're also quite compelling.
Get Your Piece of Kiddieland
How do you put a price on a memory? Rides, equipment, signage and other bits of Kiddieland will be auctioned off by Norton Auctioneers on Nov. 24. Here are some photos of auction items.
Flying Out of Chicago
On this day in 1909, the first airplane flight in Chicagoland occurred at Hawthorne Park racetrack in Cicero. Chicago Public Radio has the full story.
Deep Below the Loop, Trains Once Ran
While we're digging into the archives, Granta's story on the semi-forgotten tunnels that led to the "Great Loop Flood of 1992" gives us the opportunity to link again to this site about the Chicago Tunnel Railroad Company.
The Twitter of an Extraordinary Gentleman
"Chicago femme fatale, known to police as 'The Nemesis Sweetheart,' claims sixth victim in underworld--one husband, five lovers." Librarian/researcher/author Jess Nevins finds and posts amazing historical headlines like that to his Twitter page under the "on this day in 1929" #otd1929 tag.
And Daniel Burnham Looked Upon the Ruins and Said, "Let's Rock!"
It's the 138th anniversary of the Chicago Fire, and MTV pays sentimental tribute with... Dragonforce? Indeed, the city did arise from the ashes like a huge, shredding, windmill-headbanging phoenix.
If Chicago's Youth Violence Were Elsewhere
Bernadine Dohrn, writing on the Huffington Post, reminds us that "Were this in Colombia, the Congo or Myanmar, we would recognize that children who are recruited into warring groups by much older adults to fight as child soldiers must be disarmed, demobilized, rehabilitated and reintegrated into the community."
Brown's Chicken Murder Verdict
James Degorski, the second suspect in the infamous Brown's Chicken Massacre case, was found guilty this afternoon. Now all that remains is sentencing before this grisly tale finally comes to a close.
The Mighty Maroons
Did you know that Chicago's first college football team was at the University of Chicago? Led by Coach Amos Alonzo Stagg, the Maroons won all but two games from 1905 to 1909, and were Big Ten champions seven times. Discovered in the Library of Congress' stash of photos from the Chicago Daily News.
A Conventioneer's Guide to Chicago Nightlife, 1957
Chicago's hospitality is world famous -- but the city's less savory entertainment options for visiting opthalmologists and auto part salesmen were a bit more on display in the '50s than today. [via]
Michael Jackson, the Earliest Years
Jake Austen details the discovery of the earliest known recording of Michael Jackson and his brothers in today's Reader.
Have $2.6 Million on Hand?
Then you may want to consider buying Al Capone's Wisconsin retreat. It has "407 secluded acres with a 37-acre private lake, an eight-car garage and a guard tower."
They Say It Ain't So
The classic book Eight Men Out about the 1919 "Black Sox" may be much more fiction than fact, two Chicago lawyers argue in the latest issue of Chicago Lawyer.
Emmett Till's Original Casket Going to Washington
The National Museum of African American History and Culture will take possession of Emmett Till's glass-topped coffin on the 54th anniversary of his death. The ceremony will take place at Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ, the same location as his funeral.
Steve Stone in Playgirl?!
The things you learn from someone's Wikipedia entry. Here's the semi-SFW (no full frontal) pictorial. Delicious innuendo: "Many ballplayers were dazzled by Steve's slick curve ball."
Don't Forget the Beer
Forgotten Chicago focuses on Chicago's bygone breweries in its latest feature -- and has started selling some lovely photos of historic structures.
White Sox, Black Ops
"Scholar, Lawyer, Catcher, Spy," a fascinating 1992 profile of Moe Berg, a third-string catcher for the White Sox -- and a WWII spy. [via]
Shambling Through the Second City
We debut a new occasional feature in A/C today: Chicago Revenant, which sheds light on some of the lesser known neighborhoods of the city. First up, Dunning and Schorsch Village on the Northwest Side.
Historically Speaking, of Course
The Chicago Reader's blog points us to this home video from the 1930s that shows plenty of family and canine fun but also gives a rare moving picture look into Jackson Park and the lakefront.
A City of Superlatives
A travelogue from 1948: Chicago The Beautiful -- and another examining our nightlife. [via]
Create Your Own Speakeasy Tour
Want to drink in some history? The Chicago Bar Project has a list of still-active bars that were once Prohibition era speakeasies.
Burn That Mutha Down
Sunday's the 30th anniversary of Disco Demolition Night. This week's Reader has a great sampling of photos from the night (and is sponsoring an exhibition of more on Sunday), while Time Out Chicago has a more nuanced take on the event.
Even Capone Needed a Vacation
When Al Capone needed a break, he and his cronies headed up to Wisconsin ... and you can too.
Confessions of a Corrupt Alderman
WindyCitizen points us to The Untold Stories of Alderman Don Perillo, "the most admittedly corrupt Chicago politician you probably never heard of," by Anthony DeBartolo.
Requiem for Spike
Did you know... Laurens Corning "Spike" Shull, a U of C alumnus and WWI war hero whose "doughboy" image graces Rockefeller Chapel, is featured in Wikipedia's "Did You Know..." section today?
Spoiler Alert!
Taking full advantage of the buzz surrounding Public Enemies, the gun that fired the fatal shot for John Dillinger in 1934 will be up for auction along with its holster, a letter and press photos on July 28.
The Chicago Music Scene: 1990-1999
Chicago Rocked! 1990-1999 is the working title of an - as yet unpublished - book by former Q101 radio show host, James VanOsdol. The book chronicles the Chicago music scene in the 90's, as experienced by those who were at the core of it; and VanOsdol himself. He plans to independently publish the book and is currently seeking donations.
What Makes a Nerd?
The answer varies depending on the times -- and who exactly you're talking about.
Ah-One, Ah-Two, Ah-Three...
Harry Caray's famous "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" singing didn't start at Wrigley Field, even if North Siders have made it their own. FuzzyMemories.TV digs up video of Harry leading the 7th Inning Stretch at a Sox game in 1980
When Muscle Cars Ruled
Big Happy Funhouse turns up photos of spokesmodels from the 1968 Chicago Auto Show.
Crying Over Cooked Milk
Speaking of old news, Chicagoist went digging through LexisNexis and found a 100-year-old story about the controversy over pasteurizing milk.
Bad News from the Past
The Hope Chest, scans of microfilmed tabloid newspapers of the 1930s. Lots of Chicagland murder and mayhem (and witchcraft?) in there. [via]
A Day to Remember
After Memorial Day weekend, it's nice to see some veterans get the "thank you" they deserve. Recently, Honor Flight Chicago took several area World War II vets on a special trip to the memorial in Washington D.C.
More than Capone's Old Haunt
The Uptown Chicago History blog highlights the grandeur and class that once pervaded in that neighborhood.
Without Bounds or Limits
The Art Institute's Ryerson & Burnham Archives has launched a website about the Burnham Plan of Chicago for its centennial, including a set of lantern slides of images from the plan.
Historic Tube Steaks
"Hot Doug" Sohn and culinary historian Bruce Kraig will be discussing the history of the hot dog at Kendall College tonight; details in Drive-Thru and Slowdown.
Endangered Places
Landmarks Illinois has released its 2009 list of the 10 most endangered places in Illinois. Chicago entries include two hospitals -- Michael Reese (as covered in Mechanics) and Prentice Women's. Chicago's Landmarks Ordinance itself got special 11th designation.
The House That Scarface Built
A house once lived in by late gangster Al Capone is for sale, and is expected "to fetch a $450,000 asking price."
Elie Wiesel to Speak at Illinois Holocaust Museum
A public grand opening ceremony Sunday for the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center in Skokie will feature Nobel Laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, in addition to former President Bill Clinton and a host of local and international dignitaries. Thousands of guests are expected, so plan ahead for transit, and get more details in Slowdown.
Voices of Gettysburg
Local storyteller Syd Lieberman is bringing the Battle of Gettysburg to life with a new blog, Voices of Gettysburg, featuring first person accounts of the bloodshed. The blog is a companion to Lieberman's new story, Abraham & Isaac: Sacrifice at Gettysburg.
New Neighbors for the Bean
Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Burnham Plan, Millennium Park will enjoy two new pavilions come June 19. More in A/C.
Bridge Out Permanently
There are a lot of bridges over the Chicago River -- but there used to be a few more.
Introducing the Illinois Holocaust Museum
The Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center will be opening in Skokie on April 19. You may request tickets to the public grand opening ceremony or get a sneak peek by purchasing tickets for the Inaugural Gala on April 2.
Addams on Burnham
What would Jane Addams have said about the Burnham Plan? That's the question asked in a forthcoming book timed to the 100th anniversary of the great plan for our city.
A Life in Layers
Can't make it down to the Oriental Institute but want to learn more about mummies? The University of Chicago Magazine created an interactive mummy dissection that combines photographs, CT scans and interviews with researchers to examine the Institute's 2,800-year-old dummy -- without cracking the seal.
Lost Connections
My family lineage is a bit murky and hard to trace, so I'm always flummoxed when people ask me where my ancestral heritage came from. Even so, I'm enthralled by the stories of Chicagoans who can visit the homes their ancestors lived in -- but this post by John Tolva is one of the best I've read.
Happy Pulaski Day!
Unless you're a K-12 student or a government official, you might have forgotten that the first Monday in March is Casimir Pulaski Day. Chicago Public Schools, Cook County government offices, and the Chicago Public Libraries are closed today.
The TV Generation
How many of these Chicagoland TV ads do you remember? [via]
Avast, Ye Landlubbers
The Chicago Maritime Festival will be weighing anchor at the Chicago History Museum Saturday. Details in Tailgate.
Serving the People of Chicago Since 1835
A brochure for the Chicago Board of Health, circa the early 1960s.
Lincoln bLogs
Chicago Public Radio's blog is celebrating Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday with a day of posts about the president.
Lincoln at 200
In celebration of Abe's 200th on Thursday, The Newberry Library and the Chicago History Museum have launched Lincoln at 200, a pair of online exhibitions about our 16th president, featuring hundreds of nineteenth century photos, maps, manuscripts, letters, cartoons and broadsheets. The site offers a tool for zooming in close, allowing close inspection without getting yelled at by a museum security guard.
Gaga for Googie
NewCity explores a vanishing architectural style. More examples of Googie on flickr.
Ketchup To Reality
Most Insignificant News Item of the Day: After more than 100 years, the H.J. Heinz Company is removing the pickle from the logo on its ketchup bottle and replacing it with the more appropriate tomato. The Chicago connection? The pickle logo idea was hatched during the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.
The Scene of the Crime
The Chicago Crime Scenes Project seeks to document the locations of the city's infamous crimes. [via]
Architecture of Years Past
If you haven't explored Google Book Search, you owe it to yourself to find the time. Lynn Becker has an excellent starting point for you. [via]
Is the Time Is the Place Is the Motion
Did you know that Grease was based on Chicago's Taft High School in the late '50s?
Segregated Chicago
"[B]lacks in Chicago are the most isolated racial group in the nation's 20 largest cities, according to a Tribune analysis of 2008 population estimates. To truly integrate Chicago, 84 percent of the black or white population would need to change neighborhoods."
588-2300
Empire Today has collected videos of its classic carpet commercials at EmpireCarpet.tv. Sing along!
Blast From The Past
The "unique" local political scene gets yet another national dissection. This time, it's The Atlantic. And this time it's from October, 1930. The more things change...
Forgotten but Not Yet Gone
Forgotten Chicago profiles Michael Reese Hospital, most recently in the news as the just-purchased future location of the Olympic Village.
A Life of Reform
Northwestern's law school recently created a new site dedicated to Florence Kelley, one of Chicago's most important social reformers at the turn of the century.
A Tragedy 50 Years On
On this date in 1958, 92 students and three nuns died when fire ripped through Our Lady of the Angels School. In Detour, Drive-Thru editor Robyn Nisi recounts the tragedy and introduces a 2004 in-depth article about it, republished with permission.
Set Your TiVo for the Lake
On Dec. 1 at 7:30pm, WTTW debuts a new documentary on Chicago's lakefront.
Voices of Hope
So what were you doing when you heard the news? The Chicago Reporter wants to know your reaction when you first heard that Barack Obama had won the election as part of their upcoming "50 Days/50 Voices" project. Video, audio and essays are all welcome.
Height of Fashion
The Chicago History Museum has an exhibit of "Couture Treasures" running right now. If you don't have time to hit the museum, check on this flickr slideshow of the highlights.
Chicago LIFE
Speaking of random imagery of the city, Google is now hosting images from LIFE magazine, including a trove of photos of, in and around Chicago.
Historic Warmth
Today's mid-70s temperature may set a record, and makes me think of "Indian Summer." Read more about that term in Ask the Librarian, and a very heated discussion in the Fuel archives.
A Sock Monkey Story
Picture this: You/your baby/your toddler/your dog are dressed up as a sock monkey for Halloween and someone poses the question, "Oh, a sock monkey. Nice job with the local costume." You stare back at them blankly. The horror! You didn't know that the sock monkey was created in Rockford, Illinois! Read up, and don't be afraid.
Feel Good About Chicago Baseball
Tune in to WYCC at 6:30pm on November 9th for the premiere of Buck O'Neil and Black Baseball in Chicago. O'Neil was a Negro League player and coach and subsequently spent more than 30 years with the Cubs becoming the first black coach in the majors. More info at the Chicago Baseball Museum website.
Burge Background
Need refreshing on John Burge and the Police Torture scandal? Read up on the U of C's Chicago Police Torture Archive and Human Rights Watch's overview.
Architecture is in the Details
More than you ever expected to learn about "sculptured glass modules," a particular subgenre of glass blocks.
Sent Back
The documentary A Forgotten Injustice, by Chicago journalist Vincente Serreno, highlights the "repatriation" of thousands of Mexican Americans in the 1930s. The film is screening at the Instituto Cervantes this weekend. Here's an interview with Serrano on Chicago Public Radio.
Fossett's Plane, Belogings Found
After a hiker discovered money and identification of missing Chicago-based adventurer Steve Fossett while hiking in the mountains of eastern California this week, the wreckage of his plane has been found as well.
Sooouulll Traiiinn!
Roctober's Jake Austen tells the story of "Soul Train" and its roots in Chicago in this week's Reader.
Postcards From History
The Florence and Laurence Spungen Family Foundation recently acquired a collection of over 250 postal documents from World War II, many of which were smuggled out of concentration camps. The collection will be exhibited in the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Skokie, which opens next year.
Further Frank Lloyd Wright
...this time courtesy of Jason Fried: The Mike Wallace Interview.
World Famous Architect
Edward Lifson digs up a video of Frank Lloyd Wright on the game show "What's My Line?" in 1956. [via]
Resurrecting Pilgrim Baptist Church
Architecture fans take heart. Plans are afoot to rebuild Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan's Pilgrim Baptist Church, which caught fire in January 2006 (one of three Sullivans to burn to a crisp that year). The current estimate for repairs is $37 million. Donations are encouraged.
OTS Looks To Community for Musical History
The Old Town School of Folk Music is assembling a huge "Timeline of Music" that will encompass the varied flavors of music that its students study, know and love. The school's executive director Bau Graves posts an invitation on his blog for music lovers to contribute to what he wants to be "the most flamboyant and informative bulletin board in town."
"They Better Be Good"
The Reader has a great excerpt from a book by Tim Reid and Tom Dreesen about their experiences as the first black-and-white stand-up team.
Racing on Lake Shore
Ron from Big Happy Funhouse tipped us to this site dedicated to Robert Lester and Team Wink, amateur racer and one of several members of The Outer Drive Hero Drivers Club, which runs clue-based car rallies in Chicagoland even today.
This Guy's Insaaaaaaannnnnneeee!!!
Today, Wikipedia is featuring former Elgin native Earl "Madman" Muntz -- engineer, entrepreneur, grandfather of the 8-track tape player (among other inventions), and the original television saleslunatic.
Think Back to '68
You may not have any memories of the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, but your parents might. Tell them that Chicago Public Radio wants to hear their stories. (In the meantime, Vocalo.org really wants to hear from you.)
Dead Hospital
A big set of photos of the abandoned Edgewater Hospital in Andersonville. [via]
Happy Birthday, Chicago
Wikipedia tells us that on August 12, 1833, the Town of Chicago was founded. Population: 350.
The Plot to Kill Castro
Chuck Goudie memorializes Robert Maheu, the FBI agent who hired the Chicago mob to try and assassinate Fidel Castro.
More Vintage Chicago Pix
Some cool shots of 1950s Chicago (part 1, part 2) by Institute of Design student Leon Lewandowski. Keep an eye on bighappyfunhouse for more amazing found photos. (link found at Pete Lit)
Crime in Chicago, Then As Now
While Chicago suffers through a devastating crime wave, the Smithsonian takes a look at a murder that rocked the city and the nation...84 years ago. If the case sounds familiar it might be because you ran across it here first.
ChicagoCrime.org, 1926 Edition
Not another googlemap -- an actual map of Chicago's gang activity in 1926, as well as ethnic and socioeconomic data. Did you know that where Cabrini Green is was once "Little Sicily?"
Gigglesnort, Bozo & More
Do you remember Chicago's Kids TV?
See You In Chicago
There are plans afoot to reenact the 1968 DNC protests. Tell your parents.
A Perfect Memorial
Cultural Chicago thinks the Harold Washington Library is a fitting tribute to the late mayor.
Remembering Maxwell Street
As the Sun-Times asks Chicagoans for their favorite memories from the past, no doubt many would include the one-of-a-kind Maxwell Street. A new DVD looks at the history of the cultural crossroads and includes a 1964 documentary on the street, vintage recordings of some of the blues legends who plied their trade on the street and a 38-page booklet.
The Ripper Crew
Learn about a gang of four serial killers from the daughter of one of the detectives who caught them.
I Want to Take You to a Gay Bar
Well, more like the history of Chicago gay bars, actually.
The Wizard of Oz Effect
The Library of Congress has uploaded an impressive amount of photos to Flickr, including these breathtaking pix of trains and railway workers taken in the 1940s. In color!
Adjust that Dial
Step back in time on the charmingly old-school Chicago Television History website.
This Date in Chicago History
On June 2, 1883 the first electric elevated railroad had its first trial run around the main building of the Chicago Railway Exposition. The expo ran from June 5 through June 23, during which the prototype train carried over 26,000 passengers.
Find Any Crystal Skulls Yet?
Undergrads from the University of Chicago have launched the first archeological dig of the site of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, aka the "White City." The students are following in the footsteps of another famous U of C archeologist who's been in the news a lot lately.
All Together Now: Chicago! Bang-Bang!
Lincoln Avenue was gussied up for the new Michael Mann film Public Enemies, as testified by this Flickr photo set. Johnny Depp plays Dillinger. I wonder if he's heard the (false) rumor about what happened to Little Dillinger after John was gunned down near the Biograph Theater?
Yet Another Googlemap - Ancestry Edition
Chicago Ancestors helps you track down historical and genealogical info based on street address.
Under the Park
Did you know that much of Lincoln Park was not originally a park? Learn more at Hidden Truths, a website with real world companion pieces in the park itself.
Laurie Dann's Rampage, 20 Years Later
In Winnetka on this day in 1988, a 30-year-old woman with a history of mental illness attempted to burn down a house, tried to poison people she knew, went on a shooting spree in an elementary school—killing one student—and shot a college student in his home before killing herself. The Tribune spoke with three people who’s lives were impacted by Laurie Dann on that terrible day.
Exclusive Unabomber Feature Preview
The Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, planted his first bomb in his hometown of Chicago in 1978. Thirty years later, Tribune investigative reporter Robert K. Elder has gained rare access to family photos and letters, and unpublished writings which contradict the Unabomber's public image as an eco-crusader. The feature will be published on Monday, but the Tribune shared an exclusive photo with Gapers Block; link after the jump.
My School Ruled
Did your high school get closed or torn down? Its memory lives on. [via]
No Relation to Forrest
Today, in its weekly Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed series, the Comics Should Be Good site shares the sad story of Sidney Smith -- Trib cartoonist and creator of the incredibly successful but seldom remembered comic strip "The Gumps".
Chicago in Black and White
Between 1946 and 1948, Wayne Miller photographed residents of the "small town" of Chicago's black community. Buy the book here. [via]
This Date in Chicago History
On April 21, 1878 Chicago firefighter George Reid and his captain David Kenyon invented the firepole, which soon made their Engine Company 21 the first responder to Chicago fires and prompted the fire chief to order poles installed in all Chicago firehouses.
The County's Family Tree
Let's take a look at Cook County.
"Conveyor Belts Speed Your Mail to Oblivion in Half the Time!"
The Modern Mechanix blog revisits the August 1931 issue, which announced the creation of the largest post office in the world. No mention is made of the building's suitability for condo conversion.
8mm Zeitgeist
Watching family home movies can be duller than dirt, but there's something beautifully captivating about this slice of Chicago Americana—scenes from a wedding at St. Benedict's on Irving Park—from the 40s... in color no less. Man, people dressed so much better back then.
Architectural Background
The Art Institute has an impressive collection of oral histories from Chicago architects. [via]
Chicago 1968 Reexamined
AREA Chicago's new 1968/2008 takes a new look at the cultural legacy of 1968 in Chicago: the Democratic National Convention, riots, Chicago 10, Daley's shoot to kill order, etc.
More Then & Now
Following in our footsteps, Joe M500 recreated several more shots from the Charles W. Cushman Photograph Collection.
"Gran' ol' river! Onhealthy, says ye?"
ClusterFlock casts a sideways look at the Chicago Sanitary & Ship Canal on this fine St. Paddy's Day.
If Thomas Jefferson Had His Way
We'd be living in the state of Assenisipia today!
Happy Pulaski Day!
It's the first Monday in March, and in Illinois that means Casimir Pulaski Day. If you're a Chicago Public School student, a garbage truck driver, a Chicago librarian, or a county court employee, you get the day off! Everyone else has to work.
Glimpses of the White City
Couldn't make it to the 1893 Columbian Exposition? Here's a Flickr collection of scenes from the big fair.
Zippoty-Doo-Dah
The University of Chicago Press published Vietnam Zippos: American Soldiers' Engravings and Stories, an amazing gallery of Vietnam era Zippo lighters engraved with the sort of images and sentiments you'd expect of American soldiers of the era.
Valentine's Violence
If you're not up for a tour, Voice of America Radio reaches back to 1929 for a report on the enduring legacy of the Valentine's Day Massacre. Capone must not have appreciated the messages on the candy hearts the unlucky seven gave to him.
Dwell loves Chicago
The March issue of Dwell shows a lot of Chicago love; first with a profile of Wilkinson Blender Architecture's gut-renovated, Gold-certified LEED-H home the Wis Tavern Building and secondly an interesting article about architect Bertrand Goldberg, best known for his landmark Marina City complex and the endangered cloverleaf-towered Prentice Women's Hospital.
History of The Chicago Young Lords
Here's a set of extended videos about the Chicago Young Lords, a late-60s movement out of Lincoln Park.
The Most Disturbing Show on Earth
Ladies and gentlemen! Today Dr. X provides us with vintage circus photos from the 1940s. Coulrophobia is apparently not a new development.
Where Might One Purchase Beefsteak These Days?
Margaret Truman Daniel, the only child of President Harry Truman, has passed away at the age of 83 in a Chicago assisted-care facility. A mystery novelist, Truman is best remembered for an incident regarding her former singing career. After critic Paul Hume panned her performance, Harry sent him a letter threatening "you'll need a new nose, a lot of beefsteak for black eyes, and perhaps a supporter down below. You are a guttersnipe!" Give those critics hell, Harry!
Movies as Historical Documents
From Call Northside 777 to The Blues Brothers, the Trib reminds us of another reason to check out movies filmed in Chicago.
City of Cards
The Chicago Postcard Museum takes a look at the Museum of Science and Industry this month.
FAQ: MLK in Chicago
The Chicago Public Library offers answers to some FAQs in regards to Dr. King's time in Chicago. If you want a bit more, take a look at the Encyclopedia of Chicago History.
A Public Housing Museum?
Efforts to create the Public Housing Museum on the West Side are gaining ground but still require more than $13 million.
Black Sox Revealed
The Chicago History Museum has acquired an archive of documents related to the 1919 Black Sox scandal. The collection was on auction in Burr Ridge and will eventually be available for viewing by the general public here and copies will be on display in Cooperstown.
Who Owns the Machine?
Modern Mechanix blog reprinted a charming blurb from the September 1934 issue, showing how perpetual motion was soundly discredited at the Century of Progress International Exposition. Who owns the machine? No one does. That's right. No one.
Forgotten Chicago
Though the design is often frustrating, Forgotten Chicago has put together a rather wonderful archive of places gone from our city. Stop in to see the
Happy Anniversary, Max!
20 years ago tonight, Max Headroom the Video Pirate hijacked Chicago's Airwaves. He's never been caught. If anyone cares to confess please drop us an email.
Will Venerated Grocery Fly the Coop?
In a move typical of urban landlord schools, the University of Chicago is dangling an organic carrot in front of the venerated Hyde Park Co-op, promising to forgive their back rent if they'll close down and make way for a chain. The co-op has been beset by organizational and management problems for several years. The move would certainly spell the death of the 75-year-old grocer, long viewed as a model cooperative enterprise.
"This is Marina City"
A new site about the Marina City building complex just launched, including a great promotional film from 1965. (As you'd expect with any condo association, there were some disagreements about how it should be done, so two condo owners did it themselves.) [via]
A Self Made Man
Did you know that the founder of Selfridges, one of Britain's famed department stores, got his start in Chicago? (Thanks, Matt!)
Haunting Ruins
Being Halloween week, it seems like a good time to link to the legend of Bachelor's Grove. Here are a couple videos. [via]
A Cemetery Resurfaces
Up near Harvard, a family cemetery lost since the 1880s was recently discovered in the Alden Sedge Meadow nature preserve.
Drunken Debauchery -- and Dancing!
Found in the Library of Congress: The Public Dance Halls of Chicago, published by the Juvenile Protective Association in 1917. (Thanks, Erin!)
Mississippi Apologizing
The Tallahatchie County Board of Supervisors of Mississippi signed a resolution to apologize to hate crime victim Emmet Till's family over the conduct of the trial of his murderers (both men were acquitted and later confessed to the crime in a 1956 magazine article). Till, whose death partially inspired the modern Civil Rights Movement, is buried in Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, IL.
From Pseudonym to Lisagor Award
Chicago Magazine's recent profile of Jeff McCourt is not only interesting for its discussion of the Windy City Times founder's life but for its Chicago gay and lesbian history. [Thanks, Matt!]
Little Italy: Mostly Mob-Free
Chicago Daily News tells the story of Dead Man's Tree, and finds Taylor Street is largely free of mob influence.
That Old Town
The Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago has a video preview available for their new exhibit; Daily Life Ornamented: The Medieval Persian City of Rayy.
Speaking of Tunnels...
The Tribune takes a tour of the tunnels below the Green Mill and other businesses at the Broadway/Lawrence intersection; watch a video here.
An Oldie but a Goodie
We've linked to this site about the old freight tunnels under the Loop before, but I just came across a 1933 article in Time about them. "Bowels of Chicago," indeed! (You might also be interested in the Central Electric Railfans Association.)
Haymarket Monument Memories
In just a few hours, a walking tour of Haymarket history will take off from the Hull House, but yesterday former Chicagoan Josh MacPhee and a nearby Milwaukee art historian Nicolas Lampert spoke about that history on Berkeley's famous radio show Against the Grain Radio on KPFA. Their discussion deals primarily with the history of the monuments associated with Haymarket's contested history.
Save the Viking!
No, not the street artist -- the replica of the Gokstad Viking ship, which is weathering away in dry dock out in Geneva. It's on the Landmarks Illinois endangered list, and there's an international movement afoot for its preservation.
"Put Traction Issue Up to Straphangers"
The Tribune has an interesting list of Chicago transit facts (with an inexplicably capitalized headline).
Workers Unite! and Learn History!
There are many places and opportunities to celebrate May Day (the worker holiday that most people in the world celebrate instead of the US's Labor Day) this year and GB's Slowdown calendar will keep you in the loop! On Friday you can get some history lessons with the folk's organizing a free conference on anarchism and a film festival at Loyola, the conference continues through the weekend but the downtown walking tour starts friday at 330. Then on May 1st you can join up with the immigrant rights demonstration that promises to be huge (especially after last night's raid's in Little Village) and on May 2 there is another walking tour and celebration at the Hull House.
Beyond the Concert Hall
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is taking great strides to expand its audience and influence, notably including a retooled nationally syndicated radio program and a performance and educational video series.
Chicago History Roundup
From the establishment of the Hull House Theater to the World's Columbian Exposition, the Sun Times lists their take on "The 50 Greatest Chicago Moments."
The Last Lamb and Veal Slaughterhouse in Chicago
Now that Easter and Passover are almost here, the New York Times offers two features on Chiappetti Lamb and Veal. NOTE: The first link is a TimesSelect article, so if you aren't enrolled in the program, you can either sign up or start a free trial. If you are a student or faculty member with a .edu email address, you can get a full account for free right now.
"Excuse Me? Which Way to Fort Dearborn?"
The Map Room site (no relation to the bar of the same name), currently featured links to U of C Library pages featuring gorgeous old maps of the city that you can "zoomify." Zoomify? I do not think that word means what you think it means.
Yours Truly, Jack the Reporter
The Whitechapel Club is a strange bit of forgotten Chicago lore. A late 19th Century gathering of Chicago journalists who wet their whistles at a local tavern and named themselves after the London slum terrorized by Jack the Ripper, the group eventually held meetings in a room decorated with skulls, nooses, and other grisly artifacts. Guest speakers were invited to address the club, only to be insulted away from the podium, and the subject of death was routinely lampooned. Alas, it lasted only five years, but the Newberry Library holds the club's remaining papers.
Happy Pulaski Day!
If your city or county bank, library, public school or government office is closed today, it's in honor of Revolutionary War hero Casimir Pulaski. However, you will get mail and, sadly, you must feed the meter.
A City Paved with Wood
Chicago once had 481 miles of wood-paved streets; only two small stretches remain today. YoChicago has a video of one of them: Wooden Alley, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. [via]
Three Decades of Opinions
Now that the locally produced General Social Survey completed its 26th run, the New York Times published a sneak peek of the 2006 results. Some interesting findings include a precipitous drop in the percentage of those who have a "great deal of confidence" in the military since 2004, as well as a 50% decline in daily newspaper readership since 1972.
This Godless Communism
It's 1961 and the communists have overthrown the government of the United States of America. Prepare yourself for the U.S.S.A.! What is the communists' first step? Move the government to Merchandise Mart! As J. Edgar Hoover says, read this comic now in order to "help us recognize and detect communists as they attempt to infiltrate the various segments of our society."
Another Step Towards the Great Midwestern Megalopolis
Now that Kenosha, Racine and Milwaukee are seriously considering feeding into Metra, a Milwaukee historian has summarized the interesting transportation history we have with our neighbors to the north.
One in Two Hundred
What appeared to be the theft of an original Monadnock Building ornament turned out to be the theft of the only replica ornament in the building.
From Slave to Priest
Interesting article on Augustine Tolton, the first black priest in America, who preached in Quincy and the South Side of Chicago in the late 1800s.
President Ford and Chicago
While I'm sure you've read several national tributes to President Ford, his local connections deserve a mention.
Chuck's Tree
Evanston-based Pop Matters has a great story about the making of "A Charlie Brown Christmas."
Believe it or not, Chicago's gallows auctioned off
There was a macabre item up for auction this week: the Cook County gallows, which was built in 1887 for hanging some of the men convicted for the Haymarket Square riot. The Chicago History Museum wanted to purchase the item for their collection, but they were beat out for the item by the San-Francisco-based Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum. No word on where the gallows will be displayed, although a spokesperson for Ripley's promises the city's history will be a part of the ultimate display of the item.
Populated Street Photography
Photographer Lee Balterman shot Chicago in the '50s and '60s, and unlike many of his street photography compatriots, he included people -- lots of people. [via]
The Sausage Vat Murderer vs. H. H. Holmes
How much do you know about bizarre Chicagoland murders? Take this short quiz and find out!
Touring the Dead
Dan Kelly and friends made a day of visiting South Side cemeteries recently, and they came across many graves of famous folk, from politicians to bluesmen.
From cow to Bean
Gadgetgirl reminds us that today is the 135th anniversary of the start of the Great Chicago Fire. It started at 8:30 PM (according to a newly found Chicago Fire Department log) and lasted for two days (see this interactive map of the fire's progression). The debris from the fire was pushed into Lake Michigan, forming the base for what would eventually become Grant Park. So if it hadn't been for Mrs. O'Leary's cow, there would be no Millennium Park group on Flickr.
Chicago History Museum Debuts
The Chicago History Museum (formerly known as the Chicago Historical Society) reopens this this weekend after an extensive renovation, and it's celebrating with free admission, performances by dance troupes, the Jesse White Tumblers and other acts, and more. This will be your first chance to see the first El train car, and Federated and Target just donated Norman Rockwell's painting of the Marshall Field's Clock to the museum, so you can see that too. Big crowds are expected, so you might want to make a reservation.
Getting Weird in Chicago
Over at Metroblogging Chicago, contributor Artemis gives a thumbs up to Weird Chicago Tours, a 3-4 hour citywide tour of Chicago's most unusual locations, from the site of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre to Underpass Mary. The tours started this past weekend, and run Friday and Saturday nights through November, in case you need some weird inspiration in the Halloween season.
Chicago: Present at the Creation
NPR's Present at the Creation provides unique insight to some Chicago-related icons. Our fair city pops up in some obvious place like Animal House, A Raisin in the Sun , and Nighthawks, but it's also there for Cracker Jacks!
Chicago's living history
Flickr geotaggers and those viewing one recent post may have noticed that Chicago's historic neighborhoods like Little Hell and Shantytown are alive on the Internet. Other interesting locations include the Berkeley Cottages and Packingtown.
Guide to the Gangsters' Homes
The Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest has an interesting tour for you mob aficianados: "Welcome to the Neighbor Hood," a trolley tour of gangster homes in the two suburbs. On Sept. 24 and Oct. 8, see the former homes of Sam Giancana, Tony "Joe Batters" Accardo and Paul "The Waiter" Ricca. Combine it with an "Untouchables" gangster tour and you've got yourself a day you can't refuse.
Buzz Buzz Buzz
Do you remember the great cicada invasion of 1990? That was the last time 17-year cicadas came out of their underground burrows in Chicagoland, and the Lake County Forest Preserve is collecting stories about it in anticipation of next year's resurfacing. Eric Zorn reprints a column from '90 about the 1973 invasion in his blog.
Today in Chicago History: August 12, 1833
On August 12, 1833, Chicago was incorporated. The population of the town at the time was about 350 people. According to the Chicago timeline from the Chicago Public Library website, the original boundaries of the city were "Kinzie, Desplaines, Madison, and State streets, which included an area of about three-eighths of a square mile." Happy 173rd Birthday, Chicago!
Today's Forecast: a Seiche
Sunday's Coastal Flood Statement predicts a seiche caused by severe thunderstorms. While not uncommon, they have caused considerable damage in Chicago. In 1954, an eight to ten foot reflective wave caused by a seiche drowned eight people (page 24) and swept dozens into the lake (page 67). But don't worry: today's seiche should be less than a foot tall.
Midway Magic, Then and Now
Erik Larson's perennial best-seller, The Devil in the White City, has done much to resurrect interest in the 1893 World's Fair, but the event has fascinated the public ever since it came and went in a season. In today's paper, Sun-Times art & architecture critic Kevin Nance talks to Larson, author Chris Ware, historian Tim Samuelson and others about why it continues to capture our imagination. Relive the magic with an under-construction visual simulation model being developed at UCLA, and if you've not read Larson's creative non-fiction, the GB Book Club will be tackling it in September.
Thinking Allowed in Chicago
In 2002, BBC Radio 4's Thinking Allowed visited Chicago to do a five-part series about the city in the spirit of early Chicago School sociologists. With interviews from prominent Chicago academics, musicians, and public thinkers, the programs are surprisingly fresh four years later.
Hey, is that building a landmark?
The city's Landmarks Division has prepared interactive Chicago Landmarks Maps that include photographs and important information about officially notable places. While you're on their website, check out their comprehensive Historic Resources Survey and other fascinating resources.
Need more Tut?
If the Field Museum's Tutankhamun exhibit piqued your interest, head to the Oriental Institute's dual exhibitions of artifacts from the Tut era and Harry Burton's photographs of the Tutankhamun expedition. If you have an mp3 player, don't forget to download the podcast ahead of time.
Representin' CHI
Did you know that July is Chicago Hip Hop Heritage Month? Lots to do.
Misty Chocolate-Covered Memories
Once upon a time, Milk Duds were produced in Chicago (they're now made downstate in Robinson). Daniel Pinkwater reminisces about the allure of working next door.
Chicago's smallest museum?
Almost exactly two months after opening the Freedom Museum, the Tribune is opening another museum: the McCormick Tribune Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum, which will be housed in a bridge-tender tower on the southwest corner of the Michigan Avenue bridge. According to the Associated Press, the building has only 1600 square feet of floor space, and will only be able to accommodate 34 visitors at a time. The museum officially opens on Saturday, and admission will be a suggested donation of $3.
The Real Estate Board and Beyond
"The story of institutionalized racial discrimination and economic segregation in Chicago begins in 1931." So begins the second installment of BeyondChron's provocative three-part series, "Paradise Lost: A Recipe for Gentrification in Chicago, San Francisco, and Beyond." (The first ran yesterday; the last is forthcoming.)
Mafia in the Machine
Today marks the conclusion of the Sun-Times's three-part series on the continuing political influence of mobster Bruno Roti Sr., even fifty years after his death. Let's just say his family sounds pretty well-connected.
The Crime of the (19th) Century
This week marks the 120th anniversary of the Haymarket Riot. Accordingly, All Things Considered interviewed James Green, author of the recently published Death in the Haymarket, about the events of May 4, 1886, and the NPR website offers additional commentary about the modern-day meaning of the affair, as well as an excerpt from Green's book.
Who Was First Policeman Killed in Line of Duty?
In case you missed it, the Chicago Tribune has a fascinating cover story today on the local debate over which Chicago police officer should be remembered as the first to be killed in the line of duty. Was it Casper Lauer or James Quinn? Former DEA officer Rick Barrett claims it was Quinn, as he told NPR's Melissa Block this afternoon. Further coverage from the Trib here.
April 14, 1865
Cocktails and Pain reminds us that on this day 141 years ago, also a Good Friday, Abraham Lincoln was shot. The sixteenth president of the United States died the next morning.
Royko at the Goat
The Week Behind digs up a 1982 video of legendary columnist Mike Royko hanging out at the Billy Goat Tavern, talking softball, his father's bar and more. (via)
The Big 175
As all of Naper-land gears up for Naperville's 175th birthday celebration this summer, the city is looking for help pulling it together. Take the brief survey and be a part of the gala. You can even buy a set of historic medallions as a keepsake.
What Ever Happened at Haymarket?
The true story of the "Haymarket Affair" is one we'll probably never know, but Caleb Crain does a good job chronicling the apparent facts and fiction surrounding it in his review of the historical literature. Crain's impetus is James Green's Death in Haymarket, a book that bears the pithy but evocative subtitle "A Story of Chicago, the First Labor Movement, and the Bombing That Divided Gilded Age America."
Hair For Sale
Are you that creep who keeps locks of your ex's hair in an envelope? Do you have a "thing" for famous people? If so, or even if you're normal, you might enjoy an upcoming event by an auction house in Willowbrook. They're auctioning off the hair of celebrities like Mickey Mantle and Elizabeth Taylor.
Skilling Factoid
Here's a wild tidbit from everyone's favorite Chicago meteorologist: fewer than 1% of all Chicago thunderstorms since 1970 have occurred in February.
Map of 1874 Fire
The "Ask the Librarian" column on Gapers Block this week discusses Chicago's Second Great Fire of 1874. As an addendum to the column, check out this illustration of the damage from the 1874 fire. Thanks to The Newberry Library Genealogy News for tracking it down.
McCarthy, RIP
Eugene J. McCarthy, the Minnesota senator and presidential candidate who was a central figure in the 1968 Democratic Convention and riots in Chicago, died this weekend. (NewsBusters points out an interesting error in the Tribune's profile of the senator.)
Lost City
Claire Zulkey interviews David Garrard Lowe, author of Lost Chicago, about the city's architecture and other related topics.
A Little History with Your Humor
Pete Lit excerpts a couple of anecdotes from Herbert Asbury's Gangs of Chicago.
Who Wants To Be A Chicagoan?
Test your knowledge of local history with this interactive quiz. You can even play against a friend. It's part of the detailed site for the PBS American Experience film, Chicago: City of the Century.
Sing a Song of Gangsters
Coudal's Fresh Signals points to this amazing 1931 map of "Chicago's Gangland." That Encyclopedia is something else, huh?
All Those Useless Letters
Ever wonder why the Sox aren't the Socks? Wonder no more. Slate's "Explainer" takes a look at the early 20th century's rather strange linguistic priorities.
October 18, 1931
Today in Chicago history, on October 18, 1931, Al Capone was convicted on several counts of tax evasion. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison, fined $50,000, charged nearly $8,000 in court costs, and held responsible for more $200,000, plus interest, in back taxes. Capone spent time in the Cook County Jail while waiting for appeals, then was sent to the high security U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta in May 1932. In 1934, Capone was transferred to Alcatraz, where he served until his release in 1939. For more on Al Capone, visit the History Files from the Chicago Historical Society and the Famous Cases page from the FBI.
Jazz Age Chicago
Ever wondered what Chicagoans did for fun in 1913? Jazz Age Chicago is a highly detailed resource of information about leisure in Chicago in the first half of the 20th century. The site is chock full of historic information on the period's "bright light districts", department stores, theaters, dancehalls & cabarets, as well as essays about this new "modern life" of entertainment, leisure, and consumption.
Studs Stories
In honor of its namesake's efforts at documenting the lives of everyday Americans, the Chicago Historical Society has announced plans for the Studs Terkel Center for Oral History [PDF]. CHS has about 5000 hours of Terkel radio programming, as well as recordings related to other projects like the recent Teen Chicago exhibit, and all future oral history efforts will bear the Center's imprimatur. Terkel was a huge influence on the StoryCorps project, which recently visited Chicago and was featured in Detour. (And, speaking of sound, GB audio content is now available via podcast; details here.)
Something Rotten in Sanitation
Another municipal hiring scandal. (No worries for Daley, though -- this one took place in 1966.)
Research Librarians
The Newberry Library, 60 W. Walton, hosts a panel on "Researching Chicago's Local History," featuring our favorite librarian, Alice Maggio. It's free, and it's at 6pm; more details in Slowdown.
Feel the Magic
A new DVD about the Columbian Exposition comes out tomorrow. EXPO: Magic of the White City tells the story of the 1893 World's Fair, narrated by Gene Wilder.
Evanston artifacts wanted
The Evanston Historical Society is seeking donations that represent the past 50 years of city history. The list of items of particular interest tells something of a story by itself, but if you have objects associated with the city's repeal of alcohol bans, post-1960s immigration to Evanston, or local political issues such as gun control, zoning, and school integration, and you're interested in contributing to an upcoming exhibit that traces the city's history to the present day, you're encouraged to contact the Society to arrange a donation appointment. Curatorial staff can be reached at 847/475-3410.
Calling all stories
StoryCorps, a national project to record the stories and experiences of everyday Americans (stories that are heard occasionally on NPR's Morning Edition), is coming to the Field Museum in two weeks to add Chicago stories to its growing cache of interviews at the American Folklife Center. If you know someone who has a great story to tell, and want to record an interview for the project, keep an eye on the Chicago Public Radio site; they'll start accepting reservations this coming Friday, August 5th, for the recording of interviews.
Chicago Ephemera
Yale University's Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library features over 90,000 high resolution images of rare books and photographs, all of them readily accessible online. Tapping "Chicago" into the search field yields fascinating images of the Union Stockyards, grain elevators along the Chicago River (Anyone care for a Schlitz?), views of the lakefront as it once was, a letter from photographer Alfred Stieglitz and many more interesting documents. A Chicago history buff could lose a lot of sleep exploring it all . . .
Slaughterhouse-One
The Washington Post marks a nearly-passed era with its profile of Chicago's last abattoir, Chiappetti Lamb and Veal. Even as Chiappetti stands as the final bastion of its industry, times continue to change. Because of ongoing gentrification of the stockyards area, the company will be moving its facilities within the next two years. Nevertheless, it has embraced the future: like any 21st Century survivor, Chiappetti's products are available online.
The Heat Wave of 1995
On July 13, 1995, the temperature in Chicago was recorded at 106 degrees, setting the high mark in a week-long heat wave that ultimately claimed over 700 heat-related deaths. Ten years after the Chicago heat wave, the city has since mobilized 17,000 people in the city to check up on the elderly, a group of people that was most affected by the 1995 heat. And as author Eric Klinenberg (Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago) notes, Chicago is still learning from the 1995 experience and trying to improve its response to hot weather. Meanwhile, the high today will be around 83 degrees, so check out the city's tips for dealing with hot weather.
North by northwest
Curious about why Chicago's north/south streets don't quite pass muster on the compass? Just enquire at Ask MetaFilter; no doubt the folks there will be happy to debate the answer. As for the grid system, Alice has that covered in an archived Ask the Librarian.
Pamphlets of the French Revolution
Do you love printed ephemera? Then you'll enjoy this digitized collection of "Pamphlets and Periodicals of the French Revolution of 1848," from a collaboration of the Center for Research Libraries, the University of Chicago Libraries and the ARTFL Project. The archive is comprised of more than 100 digitized materials from 1848 to 1851, including this published letter from Louis Napoleon.
Atomic Aftermath
Writing for the Chicago Daily News (which ran for nearly a century before folding in the mid 1970's) George Weller was the first reporter to arrive in Nagasaki after the August 1945 atomic bombing. His reports of ruin and a mysterious disease afflicting survivors were banned by order of General Douglas MacArthur. Decades later, Weller's son discovered carbon copies of the original articles. Today, they've been made publicly available for the first time.
Everything you ever wanted to know about BBS
You already knew that, back in February 1978, Chicago saw the birth of the world's first BBS. Well, the CBBS is back in the news with the recent release of BBS: The Documentary. The DVD set features eight episodes running five and a half hours, but, honestly, the promotional site is a history lesson in and of itself.
A history of violence
Just as the FBI exhumes the body of Emmett Till, the Chicago Historical Society gets ready to show an exhibition that "documents brutal acts of terror from America's past"; Without Sanctuary, a pictorial history of lynching in America, opens Saturday, June 4. The display will be supplemented with drawn renderings of the trial of Till's killers, and it will be accompanied by various lectures, including one discussing his death, "the murder that changed America."
Fire-water at Fort Dearborn
As the latest entry in its Empire archive, Harper's Magazine has posted "The Massacre of Fort Dearborn at Chicago." Originally published in 1899, the piece was written by Simon Pokagon, former chief of the Pokagon band of Pattawapomie Indians and known in his day as the "Redskin Bard." In his essay, Pokagon gathers oral and written accounts of the original attack on Fort Dearborn, and he offers a remarkable picture of the sad and troubling contingencies of history.
Black Sox Lore
Stephen Dubner, who co-authored Freakonomics with U of C economist Stephen Levitt, examines a bit of Chicago sports history in the Freakonomics Blog: did the 1919 White Sox get their nickname, the "Black Sox," due to their throwing of the World Series or for their notoriously dirty uniforms?
Two Tons of Fun
Dick "Two Ton" Baker was a local legend from the early days of broadcasting, but is largely forgotten by anyone younger than 40. This site catalogs a vast amount of information about Two Ton, including several mp3s of his humorous songs for kids and adults alike. [via MetaFilter]
The city's history, available online
An online version of the Encyclopedia of Chicago (published in book form last fall) goes live today. Over 1,400 entries, from the Chicago Fire to Millennium Park, plenty of maps, illustrations, glossaries and timelines of Chicago history. If your knowledge of city history is lacking, this is the place to go.
Photos from the Inside
Here's an interesting collection of photographs taken by prisoners at Joliet Prison between 1890 and 1930. (For a bit of background, here's a curatorial statement from a 1996 exhbition that included the collection.) You might also be interested in this site from SuburbanChicagoNews.com about the prisons in Joliet.
Legend of New Repute
"There was a house in New Orleans/they call the Rising Sun" and nobody knows where it was. Local scholar Shannon Dawdy, an assistant professor in the anthropology department at the University of Chicago, and several of her students have completed an excavation of a parking garage which just may have been the site of the famous brothel from 1808 to 1822, when it burned down. Hopefully her findings help her with that book she's writing on French colonial New Orleans.
Pulaski Day
Oh yeah, the Sun-times reminds us it's Pulaski Day. Amazing how quickly you forget the holiday when you're out of grade school...
Chicago Historical Rehab
The Chicago Historical Society is going to be closed for most of next year so they can expand and revitalize the center. They expect twice as much space to be alloted so the center can have more 3-D displays about Chicago history. They're not planning to whitewash Chicago's history, though. An audio display will permit visitors to hear a history of how their neighborhood has changed. President Lonnie Bunch said, "On the one hand, neighborhoods are places of celebration, but they're also places that keep people out."
February 8, 2000
Today in Chicago History: It seems like only yesterday to long-time fans, but today marks the fifth anniversary of the untimely and tragic death of popular WGN-AM radio personality, Bob Collins. He died when the small plane he piloted collided with another plane near the Waukegan Regional Airport. Over a million listeners tuned into his morning show every day.
Renewed interest in Jack Johnson
After last week's PBS documentary "Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson," there have been several calls to Graceland Cemetery, where Johnson is buried, from visitors who want to see Johnson's grave. If you go, don't pay your respects at the big headstone labelled "Johnson;" although it was his intended headstone, Jack Johnson is actually buried in an unmarked grave next to that of his first wife Etta. And if you missed the documentary when it aired last week, it'll be rebroadcast on WTTW's digital cable station, starting today. See here for a schedule.
More Theories About the 'Windy City'
I grew up believing Chicago had been dubbed "The Windy City" because of our long-winded politicians. Later I learned that historians claimed Charles A. Dana of the New York Sun gave Chicago its famous nickname during the competition to hold the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. But a New York parking ticket judge says that story is untrue. And Chicago really received its nickname from -- Cincinnati?
62 years of going nuclear
The Chicago blog farkleberries reminds us that today is a solemn day in Chicago history: on December 2, 1942, at the University of Chicago, physicist Enrico Fermi and scientists from his laboratory achieved the first controlled nuclear fission chain reaction, which led to the creation of the atomic bomb and nuclear power plants. At the Library of Congress' Today In History page, they've got some related scanned documents and photographs, as well as a bunch of links guaranteed to help you kill the last hour of work.
The Oldest Bulletin Board
Did you know Chicago has the home of the world's first BBS? In 1978, a couple of computer programmers developed CBBS in about two weeks. It took off, and the rest is history. The whole story and more is at Chinet.com.
November 24, 1884
On this day in Chicago history a judge directed the county clerk to produce the tally sheets, poll books and ballots of the Second Precinct, Eighteenth Ward, of the city in connection with allegations of tampering in the Leman (Republican) and Brand (Democrat) senatorial race. In March 1885, three men were convicted of falsifying returns to give Brand the edge over Leman. The race was closely scrutinized because the outcome determined which political party would have a majority in the state legislature.
A Christmas (Tree Ship) Story
The Weather Channel will feature Chicago in a holiday edition of its Storm Stories premiering this weekend. It's the story of the wreck of the Rouse Simmons, the "Christmas Tree ship" that brought trees across Lake Michigan to Chicago and was lost in a storm in 1912. (Incidentally, Storm Stories is produced in Chicago.) "The Christmas Tree Ship: A Holiday Storm Story" premieres Sunday at 8:00pm (CT).
Columbian Expo Eye Candy
The World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 inspired the building of some amazing structures, some of which were captured in this beautiful portfolio of lithographs. You may also be interested in IIT's Digital History Collection, one of the most comprehensive online resources on the fair.
November 16, 1944
Today in Chicago history 750 non-operating employees of the Chicago, North Shore & Milwaukee and the Chicago, Aurora & Elgin Electric Railroads were laid off following a week of strikes by 500 operating employees of the railroads. The workers went on strike to demand a wage increase of nine cents an hour -- four cents more than they were initially offered. Outraged commuters sent telegrams to the White House, pleading for President Roosevelt to intervene and end the strike.
Preserve Maxwell Street
Preserve Maxwell Street is a site chock full of content with the goal of bringing back the now mostly-condoized Maxwell Street. There's updated news, too, but I loved this series of photographs the most.
Down Under The Loop
Here's a nifty site about the tunnels and rail operation that existed under the Loop until the 50s, and what a lot of the tunnels looked like in the 1980s. "Construction on Chicago's unique freight tunnel network began in 1899 in the basement of a tavern in the heart of the Loop near LaSalle and Madison Streets..."
Kiddie Kingdom
One of my earliest memories was a visit to Dispensa's Kiddie Kingdom out in Oak Brook. I remembered very little, but this simple fan page jogged my memory. The scariest thing is that the site now holds the state's tallest building outside of Chicago - Oakbrook Terrace Tower.
Attempted Nazi March Digitization Project
In 1978 the National Socialist Party of America (Nazis) attempted to hold a march in the Village of Skokie. The suburb at that time was home to a large Jewish community, including many Holocaust survivors. The event received national attention and was even turned into a made-for-TV movie, Skokie, in 1981. Now, the Skokie Public Library brings us the Attempted Nazi March Collection Digitization Project, a comprehensive archive of materials relating to the incident. Download and read the original newspaper articles relating to the march, listen to real audio recordings from the 1977 and 1978 Village of Skokie Board of Trustees meetings, and watch a documentary film about the proposed march. Highly recommended.
23 Skidoo!
Gothamist mentions an obscure slang term associated with the Flatiron Building (New York's, not the Wicker Park knock-off): "23 Skidoo," supposedly said by NYPD dispersing men hoping for a little upskirt action thanks to the breezes by that building. Turns out it may have originated in Chicago instead.
Second City . . . Again
According to the North American Vexillological Association (vexillology = the study of flags - who knew?) Chicago's city flag is the second most attractive city flag in the nation. Right behind Washington DC and their ugly clone of Chicago's clean blue lines and red stars. What were those vexillologists thinking?
The Encyclopedia of Chicago
After years of research, the University of Chicago Press has published the authoritative history of Chicago with the monumental Encyclopedia of Chicago. The website has a wealth of information including some gorgeous sample pages. To celebrate, the Encyclopedia will be publicly unveiled at a pro-am city-wide trivia contest on Wednesday at the Harold Washington Library (see more in slowdown). So here's the plan: Buy the book, memorize, win!!! What could be simpler?
Famous Court Cases
The Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court has a little-known section of its site devoted to Famous Cases. Browse through documents relating to the trial of John Wayne Gacy (note the Detour feature over there), Louis Armstrong's divorce and the Black Sox scandal of 1919, among others.
Women Come to the Front
Helen Kirkpatrick, Jane Meyer, Virginia Prewett and Sigrid Shultz are among the accredited female correspondants that worked for Chicago newspapers during World War II. Their stories and the profiles of eight other women are part of Women Come to the Front: Journalists, Photographers and Broadcasters During World War II, an online exhibition from the Library of Congress.
Lincoln/Net
The Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project, hosted by Northern Illinois University, "presents historical materials from Abraham Lincoln's Illinois years (1830-1861)." These materials include Lincoln's own writings and other primary texts, images, videos and interpretive materials. Lincoln/Net is a rich archive of literature concerning Abraham Lincoln and the early statehood of Illinois.
What do you wanna be when you grow up?
Everybody loves firefighters. Little girls and boys turn a cardboard box and a stuffed toy into a firetruck. Some big girls and boys have different steamy thoughts when they pass a firehouse. And because of the history of large-scale fires in Chicago they deserve our reverence. But they also deserve a monument. A group made up of mostly firefighters is set to break ground for the monument before the end of the month and they could use a little support. They're only $49,000 short and all donations are tax-deductible.
Southeast Side Tour
A neat little site about the history of the industrial Southeast of Chicago. Did you know the Ford Taurus was made here in our town?
Slave Records Online
No, not a new label. Illinois now requires insurance companies to disclose the records on any insurance policies they or predecessor companies issued to cover slaves. The records are being compiled online at this online registry, which went live yesterday. The Tribune has a report on the site's immediate effects.
John Dillinger died for you
Today's the 70th anniversary of John Dillinger being shot in front of Chicago's Biograph theater, and if you feel like celebrating the death of 1934's Public Enemy #1, then you'll want to head on over to the Red Lion Pub at 2446 N. Lincoln (across the street from the Biograph), for tonight's celebration of Dillinger Day. They'll be screening movies and newsreels on Dillinger at 8:00, Michael Flores of the Psychotronic Film Society will give a talk on Dillinger, and then at 10:00 a procession of bagpipes will retrace Dillinger's final steps from the Biograph to the nearby alley where he died.
Chicago has a Galway Hooker
...and she's hanging out by the docks at Montrose Harbor. But Saint Barbara's namesake isn't what you'd expect—she's a replica of a wooden fishing sailboat native to the west coast of Ireland, and the first-ever Galway Hooker to be built in the United States. Until she makes her historic journey to Eire next summer, you can see this gorgeous hand-crafted boat at Montrose Harbor (docked on the north wall) and at the Milwaukee Irish Fest, August 19-22.
Disco Destruction
It wasn't exactly the proudest moment in Chicago's history, but it sure got plenty of attention focused on Chicago DJ Steve Dahl. On July 12, 1979, in the middle of a White Sox-Tigers double header, Dahl held his infamous Disco Demolition, in which a number of disco records were blown up in the outfield of Comiskey Park. The event triggered a riot in the park, and caused the Sox to forfeit the second game. Considered the worst on-field event in baseball history, Disco Demolition is remembered with a mixture of fondness and horror by Chicago residents. Tonight at 8pm, Channel 11 will present a one-hour special commmemorating the event, with never-before-seen footage of the evening. WCKG is also hosting an anniversary celebration at Harry Caray's, 33 W. Kinzie, from 8pm to 10pm, where you can meet the disco demolition man himself!
Homicide In Chicago 1870-1930
The Chicago Historical Homicide Project began with the discovery a handwritten log of more than 11,000 homicides "maintained consistently and without interruption by the Chicago Police Department over the course of 60 years, from 1870 to 1930." Now these handwritten documents have been transformed into a searchable database providing a unique view into the history of Chicago during this period. The website also hightlights some of the most well-known crimes of the period including the trial of Leopold and Leob, the race riots of 1919, and the Haymarket Affair. This is really an incredible resource so go check it out.
Remnants of the White City
The Chicago Tribune has a story today that leads you on a guided tour of some of the remains of the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 that took place right here in Chicago. Visit Jackson Park, see the replica of the Statue of the Republic, and find the location of the infamous hotel built by serial killer H.H. Holmes.
Harlem Ave = Subcontinental Drainage Divide
So I was surfing the pages to find out how to report a problem with water in the city. Answer: Call the (no-joke) Leak Desk (312-744-7038). While visiting, I found some neat facts about sewage, including this really neat presentation about the history of sewage in Chicago. Not as boring as it sounds.
Story of the Oriental Institute
Tune in tonight to WTTW Channel 11 to see "Breaking Ground: The Story of the Oriental Institute." The hour-long program airs at 9pm and provides an in-depth look at the history of this unique Chicago institution. Then, tomorrow night, the Chicago Stories program on PBS presents "Pioneer to the Past: The Life and Times of James Henry Breasted," the founder of the Oriental Institute. For more information on both of these programs, see the official press release.
The Crash of Flight 191
Every time we drive down Touhy, my mother points out the grassy field near O'Hare Airport that marks the site of the crash of American Airlines Flight 191. Today marks the 25th anniversary of the tragedy that killed all 273 people aboard -- still the deadliest accident in U.S. aviation history.
The Perfect Crime...Almost
Eighty years ago, Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb murdered 14-year-old Bobby Franks just to see if they could get away with it. They thought it would be a perfect crime, but instead were quickly arrested and tried. Their defense attorney was none other than Clarence Darrow, of Scopes Monkey Trial fame. Today the Chicago Historical Society opens an exhibit on the murder and trial; the show runs through September.
Find A Famous Dead Person Now!
After you've read everything you want to know about Mike Brady in Ask the Librarian, go visit his grave in Skokie. You can search for other famous Chicago celebs like Al Capone or John Belushi at findagrave.com. Did you know that someone actually tried to steal John's remains, or that Clarence Darrow's grave is behind the Museum of Science and Industry?
Tour Bohemian National
Bohemian National is not a golf or tennis tournament. It's a huge graveyard at Foster and Pulaski and is worth a visit to check out some of Chicago's roots in Eastern Europe. A historian on the graveyard will be leading walking tours for $10 at 10am and 1:30pm. Plus, at 12:15, there will be a concert by the "Moravian Societies Singers" in folk constume. While Bohemian National doesn't have the celebrities that other graveyards do, it's still got some fascinating headstones, including pictures etched into metal of the people buried there.
Teen Chicago
A new exhibit opens tomorrow at the Chicago Historical Society tomorrow: Teen Chicago, a look at the influence of teenagers in Chicago's history. ABC 7 reports that the exhibit will include information from all though the 20th century (from child labor in the early 1900s to teens being drafted for Vietnam), as well as oral histories recorded by 15 teenagers.
Chinatown museum finds home
The Chinatown Museum Foundation, created in 2002, has found a home, the Sun-Times reports. The foundation, created to showcase the richness of the culture in Chinatown, acquired a building on West 23rd Street, and hopes to have its grand opening by the end of the year. Its first exhibition, scheduled to open in the summer of 2005, will compare and contrast the role of Chinese culture in the world expositions of 1893 and 1933, both held in Chicago.
This Old(est) House
The Clarke House, the city's oldest house, dating back to 1836, is getting a rehab. The home will be restored to approximate the look it had in the 1850s, including era-appropriate roofline, trim and color. Work is expected to be completed this spring. Tours of the house, located at 1827 S. Indiana, are offered every Wednesday afternoon by the Glessner House Museum.
My Chicago
The Chicago Historical Society has launched a new website aimed at kids aged 6-12 that "uses the symbols and design of the Chicago flag to explore the city’s rich and diverse history." Although the site is designed for children, the rest of us can have fun here staving off boredom for a few minutes, too. My Chicago features several games including an interactive Chicago flag that lets you create your own flag and a Chicago Fire game in which you "match photographs of objects that were found after the fire and try to guess what the objects were before they were melted." You can also create your own poem about Chicago in the Chicago Refrigerator Poetry game. Yes!
Historical chalkboards
Recently workers at the Board of Trade building made a very interesting discovery: dozens of old chalkboards which were used to display the changing stock prices to traders on the floor. Some of the boards date back to 1930, and still have chalk streaks on them. Obviously, they're of great historical interest, and the building's vice president, Kevin Lennon, says that some of them will end up over at the Chicago Historical Society.
Chicago Fire: Comet-induced?
Discovery.com re-states a claim made first in 1883 that the Chicago Fire may not have been started by Mrs. O'Leary's cow. The Great Chicago Fire claimed 300 lives and destroyed most of the downtown area in 1871. But does this cow deserve the blame? The Discovery Channel says no. Instead, Robert Wood, a retired physicist, claims it was a fragment from Biela's Comet which also induced blazes north of Chicago that burned millions of acres of farm and prairie lands. Wood speculates the main body of the comet crashed into Lake Michigan, with peripheral fragments causing the fires in Chicago, Wisconsin and Michigan.
167 years young!
Today is the 167th anniversary of Chicago being incorporated as a city. If you're not quite up on your city history, you can check out this timeline of events put together by the Chicago Public Library, as well as this Chicago-themed reading list put together for the WBEZ program "Eight Forty-Eight". For a more lively history lesson, try going over to Maxim's: the Nancy Goldberg International Center tonight at 6:00 for a discussion of Chicago and several of its more lively citizens, including Ann Landers and the Popeil family (yes, that Popeil family).
Tall, thin and full of history
Riddle me this: what's five stories tall and 20 feet wide? The forthcoming Michigan Avenue Bridgehouse Museum, which is soon to open in a river bridgehouse near the corner of Michigan and Wacker. The Sun-Times reports on the museum, which will contain historical information about the Chicago River and its value to the area.
The Till Murder
Black History Month has reached it's halfway point, and US Congressman Bobby Rush wants one defining moment of black history--the senseless murder of Chicagoan Emmett Till in Mississippi for allegdly whistling at a white woman--finally resolved by the US Justice Department. Congressman Rush wants the acquittals of the men who committed the murder--and later confessed to it--to be fully investigated. Till's murder is believed to be one of the sparks for the civil rights movement and it was certainly a mobilizing force for Chicago's South Side black community.
The gift that keeps on ... freaking me out
Still looking for a Valentine's Day gift for your sweetie? You could get him/her a brick from the garage that was the site of the Valentine's Day Massacre from 1929 (it's the 75th anniversary!). A mere $800 will get you a brick and a certificate of authenticity, stating that the brick is from the original garage building at 2122 N. Clark (the garage was torn down in 1967, and the bricks were bought by a forward-thinking fellow from Vancouver).
Old Cook County Hospital
Cook County Hospital is one of the busiest healthcare centers in the country. The old building, vacant since the completion of John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital, is in danger of destruction. Preservationists want to keep this beautiful Beaux Arts building intact, but it's an uphill battle; the building came close to being razed, and isn't in the clear yet. Read about the building and the reuse plan (PDF) offered by the Landmarks Preservation Council.
Chicago Charlie
The Salt Lake Tribune tells the colorful story of Chicago Charlie, a Greek immigrant known for tall tales, eccentric stunts and prolific correspondence with soldiers during World War II. Hundreds of his letters were recently found in a buried time capsule in Copperton, Utah.
Making History
The History Makers is a South Loop-based nonprofit "undertaking the largest African-American oral history project since WPA anthropologists collected narratives of former slaves in the 1930s." The Chicago Journal has an article on the project that includes a brief profile of Regina Baiocchi, an African-American opera composer whose work has been performed by the CSO.
Digital History
Digital History is a collaborative effort between the University of Houston, the Chicago Historical Society and other institutions to support the teaching of American history in at the elementary, high school and college levels. This beautiful and well-designed site includes an online textbook, encyclopedia, an interactive timeline, online exhibitions, and much more. The site also features a searchable database of over 1,500 annotated links to additional American history resources, audio archives (Real audio), and an image archive. Really fantastic stuff.
Iroquois Theatre fire anniversary
Today the city dedicates a new plaque commemorating the Iroquois Theatre fire, which happened 100 years ago today. One of the worst disasters in city history, the fire claimed the lives of 600 men, women and children -- twice the number that died in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The plaque will be located in the Loop's Oriental Theatre, a block from the Cook County Administration Building where six people died in a fire last October. [Trib. login: gapers/gapers]
Great Lakes Shipwrecks
Divers flock to the Great Lakes to explore shipwrecks, calling the Great Lakes one of the best places in the world to see them because the freshwater preserves wrecks better than saltwater. According to the story, "the Great Lakes hold an estimated 6,000 to 10,000 sunken ships. About 1,000 Great Lakes shipwrecks have been identified, and about 10 new ships are discovered annually."
Chicago Leads New Excavations in Egypt
A team of archaeologists from the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute recently discovered three new buildings in Abydos, "a rich and important archaeological site near Egypt’s last royal pyramid." Now a team being led by Egyptologist Stephen Harvey is returning to the area to begin excavation. Read more about the project in the U. of C. Chronicle.
Historic Cook County, Etc.
The National Register of Historic Places has a listing of all the protected buildings, districts and other special places in Cook, DuPage, Lake, Kane, McHenry and Will counties. Plan your own tour!
That Big Pink Building
You know that big pink building up at Bryn Mawr and Sheridan? It's called the Edgewater Beach Apartments. It looks like it's been there forever (and it has, sort of -- built in 1926) but it's actually a replica of one of two buildings that made up the 1,000 room Edgewater Beach Hotel. The hotel was extremely popular in the '20s, '30s and '40s, but began to fail after the construction of Lake Shore Drive. The original building was closed in 1967. Read the recollections of people connected to the Edgewater back in its hey-day.
Bronzeville: Black Chicago
A photography exhibit chronicling life in the African-American community of Bronzeville in the early 1940s opened yesterday at the DuSable Museum of African American History. The exhibit features more than 120 photographs of from one of the most vibrant eras of the neighborhood. Can't make it to the museum? Buy the book.
City and Suburban Expansion
The National Museum of American History's "America on the Move" exhibit includes a chapter on the expansion of Chicago and its suburbs, including a hefty bit about Park Forest, one of the first planned communities. Very interesting read.
Lincoln never said that!
Apparently, quoting Abraham Lincoln is a popular pastime. So popular, in fact, that the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency put together a page of quotations attributed to Lincoln, letting you know whether he actually said such things as "To sin by silence, when they should protest, makes cowards of men" (he didn't). Also available: examples of facsimiles of Lincoln documents, so you can compare them to the copy of the Gettysbug Address that you've got lying in your junk drawer, to see if it's real or not.
Baby Face Nelson
Lester M. Gillis, aka "Baby Face Nelson," was one of Chicago's most famous gangsters. Few people realize, however, that he was killed not in the city but actually just outside Barrington, at what is now the intersection of Routes 14 and 22 in Fox River Grove.
City Timeline
Did you know Chicago's history goes back to 1673? The Chicago Public Library offers a Timeline that takes you from the "discovery" of the area by French missionaries all the way up to 1998's asian longhorn beetle invasion, with plenty of stops in between.
Black Chicago Memories
Timuel Black's upcoming book, "Bridges of Memory: Chicago's First Wave of Great Migration," narrates the history of African-Americans in the city from the 1920s to present. The Sun-Times has an interview and review of Black and the book.
The thing with feathers
Studs Terkel has a new volume of oral history, "Hope Dies Last." Here's a fantastic Onion interview: "Hope is very personal. What's the alternative to hope? Despair. Well, if you despair, then put your head in the oven. What's the point? Am I sanguine about the future? Hell, no, I'm worried stiff. But I think the American people basically are decent. This I know."
Old Chicago Funpark
Lots of people know about Riverview, but much less talked about is Old Chicago was the "world's first completely enclosed amusement park and shopping center." Opened in 1975 in Bolingbrook, it survived a scant five years before shutting down.
Jane Adams
I've been intrigued with Jane Adams since I was a wee lass. I'm impressed that one woman could create such great change in a city full of people who needed her. The Hull-House Museum helped sponsor the creation of Urban Experience in Chicago, a great website that has a reference book's worth of information in its pages. And, it has teacher's resources that seem well done.
Palatine Police
Village Confidential: Palatine Police chronicles "a tale of deception, conspiracies, murder, bombings, low-level blackmail, organized crime operations, and behind-the-scenes politicking in Palatine, Illinois and surrounding areas." Painstakingly research, the sit takes you from 1954 all the way up to the capture of the Brown's Chicken Massacre suspects in 2002.
Nuclear Missiles on South Side
From 1955 to 1971 several Chicago parks hosted radar towers and nuclear missiles so powerful the Chicago Tribune called Chicago “the best defended city in the Middle West against enemy air-to-ground attacks." This website has pictures and a wealth of information about the little-known history of Jackson Park and Promontory Point.
The Ragtime Ephemeralist
For those of you with a soft spot for ragtime music, The Ragtime Ephemeralist may be of keen interest. The publication digs deep into the history of the genre, and the site offers additional resources, including some sample recordings. First rate!
Amistad!
A replica of the schooner Amistad, the slave ship taken over by its captives and made famous by the movie of the same name, will arrive at Navy Pier this Saturday for a two-and-a-half-week stint. Explore the ship and learn about the history of the slave trade and the rebellion on Amistad's decks. Sponsored by the DuSable Museum of African-American History.
Rosehill Cemetary
Did you know that Rosehill Cemetery, at 5800 N. Ravenswood Avenue, was named Roe's Hill in 1859 when it opened? It was named after tavernkeeper Hiram Roe. A mapmaker erred and changed the name, and then a signmaker used that spelling, and the name stuck.
Did you also know that the Rosehill Cemetery is home to the largest secular collection of Tiffany art glass windows anywhere in the world? John G. Shedd (yes, that Shedd) commissioned Tiffany to design a skylight for his memorial chapel and made Louis Tiffany sign a waiver saying the design would never be duplicated. It takes about an hour and a half to tour all the windows. But, if you'd rather take an organized tour, the Chicago Architecture Foundation has one to offer.
Neil Armstrong
Did you know that Neil Armstrong, of "One small step for man . . ." fame, graduated from Chicago's own Lane Tech High School?
DuSable Park
Jean Baptiste Point DuSable is credited as the founder of Chicago, being the first non-native settler to the area. As such, the city is planning a park in his honor, not far from where his cabin once stood. Beyond that, not much is clear, the New York Times reports.
Lost Indiana
Lost Indiana is a thoughtful, well-researched and documented website that pays tribute to some of the abandoned industries and history of our midwestern neighbor. Created and maintained by a local historian, the stories and photographs have a personal touch. Highlights include photo documentation of the abandoned Gary Union Station and the Crown Hill Cemetery, the third largest public cemetery in the United States and final resting place of two presidents and John "Johnny Appleseed" Chapman. Worth checking out.
Chicago's Tunnel System
"This website tells the story about a 60-mile, two-foot gauge electric railroad that operated 149 locomotives and over 3000 freight cars in small tunnels forty feet below the streets of downtown Chicago." And it's not the CTA. Amazing photos, backstory and more about these tiny tunnels beneath us. Makes me want to go down there...
Gold Dust Twins Revealed
There was a time when advertisements were less PC-clean than they are today. Gold Dust washing powder is as defunct as the twin black children that graced its packaging, but a recent tear-down on Irving Park has revealed some old advertising for the brand. The Church of the Bad News has photos.
Native American Burial Sites
Workers digging for a new garage foundation in Dundee Township discovered a Native American burial ground that could be 1,000 years old, the Daily Herald reports. Archeologists from the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency are investigating. The IHPA now offers HAARGIS, an interactive map of historic places (buildings, gravesites, etc.) around the state.
Outlaws Motorcycle Club
In 1935, the Outlaws Motorcycle Club was formed in McCook, Illinois. It's now one of the oldest motorcycle clubs in the country, with chapters all over the world. Learn about the club's history and see a progression of its logo design here.
Denny Hastert, Historian
Illinois' favorite Speaker of the House, Denny Hastert holding forth on the importance of the restoration of the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site in Washington: "The values and principles that Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln worked so hard for in the 1880's are the same values and principles that we are fighting for as a Republican Party today."
The quote is corrected on his official news item, but if you listened to his remarks on NPR today, you too know that Lincoln lingered on at least sixteen years after his dramatic night at Ford's Theatre.
Baha'i Temple
The Baha'i Temple, that intricate white building on Sheridan Road in Wilmette, is 50 years old this year. An afternoon exploring the beautiful temple and its well-tended grounds is time well spent.
Casey's Locomotive @ ILM
The Illinois Railway Museum in Union, IL recently acquired Illinois Central No, 201 - the last surviving locomotive operated by legendary railroad engineer John Luther "Casey" Jones. Jones drove the Illinois Central trains during the summer of 1893, shuttling passengers to Chicago's World's Columbian Exposition. The Illinois Railway Museum, with a collection of almost 400 pieces, is the largest railroad museum in the country and is operated entirely by volunteers without government or corporate funding.
Chicago's 100 year old ban
Chicago's 100 year old ban on public swearing has been dropped. As of April 2003, Police officers will no longer uphold the the ordinance which is now seen as a violation of the First Amendment. Go out and celebrate by pretending to be a sailor on shore leave!
Lost Treasures of Iraq
University of Chicago's Lost Treasures of Iraq website is live. It's pretty much the only way to see just how devastating the looting of the Iraq Museum really is.
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