Chicago History Today
3 FOLLOWERS
...BECAUSE THERE'S MORE TO IT THAN JUST A FIRE
Chicago History Today
2d ago
1955–18th Street @ Morgan Street, view west 2024–the same location The 1950s on West 18th Street. Solid brick buildings, muscle cars. A still largely-Czech neighborhood called Pilsen. The 2020s, same block. A few buildings gone, more bikes, more trees. Now a largely-Mexican neighborhood. –30 ..read more
Chicago History Today
4d ago
The Tribune ran the story on the front page. Two travelers—one from New York, the other from Ohio—had a chance meeting at the Blackstone Hotel. But these were no ordinary travelers. Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft had each been President of the United States. And they’d been feuding for years. Taft had been Roosevelt’s ..read more
Chicago History Today
1w ago
1904–79th Street @ Cheltenham Place, view west 2024–the same location Our 1904 location on 79th Street is just east of the Illinois Central’s South Chicago commuter line on Exchange Avenue. Cheltenham Place is the little street angling off to the right in the photo. A few vacant lots are visible, but that real estate office ..read more
Chicago History Today
1w ago
1936–Wellington Avenue @ Sheridan Road, view east 2024–the same location Just west of the lake and Lincoln Park, this area has long been a prime locale for upscale apartment buildings. But recovery from the Great Depression was slow in 1936, so the property on the intersection’s southeast corner was undeveloped. The apartment buildings here are ..read more
Chicago History Today
2w ago
Today would have been Mayor Richard J. Daley’s 122nd birthday. In his honor, I’m posting an artifact from his last campaign, in 1975. Here we have a recipe from the mayor’s wife, Eleanor “Sis” Daley. The recipe is in a pocket-size 32-page booklet titled Shopping Tips—Compliments of Mayor Richard J. Daley. It’s actually a pretty ..read more
Chicago History Today
3w ago
1958–Clark Street @ 17th Street, view north 2024–the same location This area was a tangle of railroad tracks funneling into four downtown rail terminals in 1958—Union, La Salle Street, Dearborn Street, and Grand Central. Visible in the distance are some tall buildings, the tallest being the Board of Trade. Terminal consolidation and track abandonment opened ..read more
Chicago History Today
3w ago
1911–Irving Park Boulevard @ Natchez Avenue, view east 2024–the same location The 1911 photo features a streetcar climbing the glacial ridge just west of Narragansett Avenue. The usual commercial strip is already in place here. On the far right, next to the real estate business, an American flag flies on the Dunning post office. In ..read more
Chicago History Today
1M ago
Sydney J. Harris (1917-1986) was one of my favorite newspaper columnists. He began writing his column in the Chicago Daily News in 1944. By 1978, when the Daily News folded and he moved over to the Sun-Times, Harris was syndicated nationwide in hundreds of papers. He continued writing until his death. I sometimes found myself at ..read more
Chicago History Today
1M ago
A 1912 scene in the Wicker Park neighborhood, just off North Avenue. Some sort of vehicle in the distance, but no cars in evidence. On the corner, a Mom and her two older daughters wait for the third daughter, before crossing the street. The 2024 scene features many of the same buildings and lots of ..read more
Chicago History Today
1M ago
1937–104th Street @ Avenue L Boulevard, view west 2024–the same location The 1937 photo captures the Chicago Park District’s conversion of Avenue L into a boulevard. Reflecting the boulevard’s enhanced status, two stop signs for cross traffic are already in place. Today Avenue L is nothing more than an exceptionally-wide local side street. Reflecting that ..read more