Discover the Traces of Military History in Chicago
For Veterans Day I want to highlight some of the traces of military history in Chicago. Both downtown and throughout the neighborhoods, buildings, place names, museums and memorials bear tribute to the brave women and men who fought for their country. So, in memory of the sacrifices made for the country by our veterans, here […]
Witness the 1919 Chicago Race Riot in Jun Fujita’s Photos
This week marks the 100th anniversary of the 1919 Chicago race riot. One mostly-forgotten man’s camera captured the city’s violence and tension with a firsthand view. The remarkable life of photographer Jun Fujita, and his experience as a Japanese American working in the midst of the race riots, shed a new light on this volatile […]
Chicago Gay Neighborhood History
I started thinking about how Chicago being the “City of Neighborhoods” has intersected with the city’s LGBT history. Chicago’s Boystown neighborhood made history in 1997 when Mayor Richard M. Daley designated it the city’s official gay neighborhood. It was the first such designation in American history. Chicago gay neighborhood history stretches back over a century […]
Visit Timuel Black’s “Sacred Ground” During Black History Month
Timuel Black, who recently celebrated his 100th birthday, is an icon in Chicago. He has been active in Black politics and activism, always pushing to make his city and country more free and just. Professor Black also crafted a monumental work of oral history, Bridges of Memory, which documents the Great Migration to Chicago. He […]
Top 10 Architectural Sites for Open House Chicago 2018
It’s the middle of October, which means its time for Open House Chicago! Even though the Chicago Architecture Center is technically our competition we can still unconditionally love this awesome annual architectural event. So here’s a list of some awesome neighborhood locations we recommend visiting during Open House Chicago 2018 to visit Chicago architecture. We […]
The Sweet Sounds and Sights of Chicago Gospel Music History and Architecture
Chicago Gospel music history is one of the city’s greatest and perhaps most unsung stories. People know of jazz and blues history in Chicago, but not as many know how gospel flourished here. The annual Chicago Gospel Music Festival is this weekend, so exploring this rich history seems apt. The personalities, buildings, and sounds of […]
A New Phase in Chicago Jazz History in Bronzeville
Chicago jazz history in Bronzeville, like any history, will continue to evolve. Meyers Hardware, in Bronzeville, has closed its doors after 95 years in business. For the past six years, I’ve had the pleasure of taking groups on our Jazz, Blues, and Beyond Tour inside his hardware store to see relics from its incredible past as a legendary […]
The South Side by Natalie Y. Moore: Book Review
“The South Side: A Portrait of Chicago and American Segregation” by local author and journalist Natalie Y. Moore tackles the thorny history and ramifications of institutional racism. Despite briefly living in Hyde Park, I knew there was a lot for me to learn. So, being the bookhound that I am, and enticed by a pull quote […]
The Incredible History and Cultural Legacy of the Bronzeville Neighborhood
The Bronzeville neighborhood has been the heart of Chicago’s African-American community for a century. The Great Migration started in 1916, exactly 100 years ago this year. Eventually millions of African-Americans left the agricultural South for the industrial north. If they came to Chicago at that time, then they almost certainly settled in Bronzeville. As part […]
The Musical Chicago Story of the Mecca Flats
The loss of historic architecture, such as Chicago’s Mecca Flats, is not unusual in an ever-changing city. Some the great architecture of Chicago stands on sites of buildings that we would be sad to know are now gone – if we had indeed ever been familiar with their architectural spaces. After guiding one of our Loop Interior Architecture […]