The 2018 Winter Olympics begin February 9 in PyeongChang, South Korea. Looking to get into the Olympic spirit? Check out our recommendations for remembering 1980's Miracle on Ice, exploring different sports and events with the kids in your life, memoirs of famous athletes and winter sports movies. But maybe you want even more? Well, look…
Making a List: Historical Holiday Shopping
Long before Cyber Monday, folks who didn't live close enough to a city to visit shopping districts downtown would order their holiday gifts through the mail using paper catalogs. If they were ordering those presents between around 1870 and 1920, it's likely they were ordering from a Chicago company. In 1872, just after the Great Chicago Fire, A. Montgomery Ward's…
Harold Washington: Gone But Not Forgotten
This November marks the 30th anniversary of the death of Harold Washington, Chicago's first African American mayor. Mayor Washington attended a ribbon cutting in the Kenwood Oakland neighborhood the morning of November 25, 1987, and returned to City Hall, where he suffered a fatal heart attack. Chicagoans from every walk of life mourned this charismatic…
How to Make a Grotesque Head
Can't decide what to dress up as for Halloween? Do you feel that a simple mask doesn't show enough dedication? Do you need a better costume idea? Look no further than the Chicago Park District Records: Drawings and Photographs. These collections, along with Grotesque Heads and Masks & Costumes, published by the Park District and the South…
Happy 50th to the Chicago Picasso!
In the early 1960s, the architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill was working on designs for Daley Plaza. Architect William Hartmann helped convince Spanish artist Pablo Picasso to design a sculpture for the space. Picasso would not accept payment, making this artwork a gift to the people of Chicago. Constructed from the same Cor-Ten steel used in…
Strike a Patriotic Pose for July Fourth
How do you plan to celebrate the Fourth of July? A backyard barbecue? Watching fireworks? What about gathering 10,000 or more of your closest friends to form a large patriotic symbol and then photographing it? If you chose the last one, you'll be following the tradition of Chicago-area photographers Arthur Mole and John Thomas. Mole and…
Chicago’s Long Love Affair with Bikes
As the weather finally warms up, many Chicagoans are tuning up their bikes for the season. While there's much talk of biking in the Windy City in recent years, Chicago has always been a biking city. The cycling craze of the late 1800s saw a rapid evolution from heavy bikes that were difficult to ride…
Mayor Harold Washington: Irish for a Day
Chicago's first modern downtown St. Patrick's Day parade was in 1956, when Richard J. Daley was mayor. The Chicago River was first dyed green in 1962. Since then, each year, the downtown parade and river dyeing have become important milestones in Chicago's late winter, with many people celebrating a communal party in the Loop. 1987 was no different. Mayor Harold…
Chicago’s Farming History
This year's One Book, One Chicago, Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, encourages readers to think about their relationships with the food they eat. Kingsolver and her family complete a yearlong challenge to grow, produce or buy locally all of their food. The book also criticizes the international food industry for compromising health in favor of efficient production, and for its environmental impact. While…
The Ghost of Christmas Past, Shopping Edition
Christmas will be here in just a few days. Have you finished your shopping? These days, last-minute Christmas shopping usually involves a click on a screen and waiting for the items to arrive at your house. Not so long ago, though, Chicagoans got all dressed up and traveled downtown to do their holiday shopping. Take a break from your…
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