By popular demand, we're back with more questions about Chicago's streets. Can you impress your friends with your knowledge of Chicago geography? Take our quiz to find out. (When you're done here, check out our earlier quiz, Do You Know Chicago's Streets?…
Winneconna Parkway: Venice in Chicago
No need to move to Italy or California to live on a Venetian canal. You can live on Chicago’s own Winneconna Parkway. The houses surrounding Auburn Park overlook the lagoon and its beautiful stone bridges. The name Winneconna is ...possibly derived from Ween-kan-ing, Algonquin for "place where marrow is obtained,” according to one authority, in…
Not Lost? Thank Edward Brennan
We owe our cohesive street naming and numbering system to Edward P. Brennan. Brennan was the chairman of the City Club of Chicago's Committee on Street Names. His vision included three changes: The house and building numbering system should tell you where you are relative to the Loop. Streets should be named the same throughout…
From Chaos: Chicago’s Street System
In this age of GPS, having a sense of direction is often a vestigial skill. In some parts of the world, wayfinding is often practiced with regard to mountains – landmarks that you can see and tell if you are going toward, away from or alongside of. Chicago has sometimes been said to be the…
Make No Little Plans: The 1909 Plan of Chicago
Chicago has long been at the center of city planning, municipal science, and engineering. In 1909, these converged in the lavishly illustrated Plan of Chicago. The Plan changed Chicago so much I would argue that it deserves to be the fifth star on the Chicago flag. Burnham and Bennett, authors of the Plan of Chicago, looked…
Whodunit? The Mystery of Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow
Humans love to explore ancient mysteries and assign blame. After all, people are still searching for Jack the Ripper, Amelia Earhart and Judge Crater. Therefore, librarians are sometimes asked the name of Mrs. O’Leary’s cow that started the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Thereupon lies the mystery. Everyone knows the words to the song: “A hot…
Chicago’s Early Metalsmiths
If you know Chicago trivia, you may already know that the oldest business in continuous operation is C.D. Peacock Jewelers. Founded in 1837, the same year Chicago was incorporated as a city, Peacock's was actually one of five jewelry stores in the infant city. These days when you think of jewelry stores what comes to mind…
Happy Birthday, Chicago!
177 years ago Chicago was officially incorporated as a city. Chicago’s newspapers are a wonderful primary source for descriptions of the city’s birthday, no matter which date Chicago chose to celebrate. For example, the March 4 charter was printed by the Chicago Democrat newspaper. In September 1903 Chicago marked the centennial of the 1803 establishment of…
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