Johanna's Blog

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 […]

Happy 25th, Harold Washington Library Center!

The first couple weeks of October boast a number of important anniversaries in Chicago and Chicago Public Library history. Following the Great Chicago Fire on October 8, 1871, the Chicago Public Library was founded. It bounced around among different locations for many years until October 11, 1897, when the Central Library (now the Chicago Cultural Center) […]

Historical Chicago Directories: More Exciting Than Reading the Phone Book

We're in the dog days of summer, and there are only a few more hot weeks left before school starts. I have just the thing to cure your sweaty boredom! Check out CPL's collection of historical city directories. But wait, you say, I have more exciting things to do than to read the phone book. Well, you'll be […]

From The Jungle to Jungle Gyms

I recently found myself across the street from one of the only remaining parts of Chicago's infamous Union Stockyards: the large stone entry gate. It was jarring to see this imposing, attractive feature on a sunny day with no trace of the stench and filth that accompany the grounds in my imagination. Like many people, when I […]

What’s Pulaski Day All About?

For over 80 years, Chicagoans have been honoring Casimir Pulaski for his role in American history. And yet, it was just over thirty years ago that the City of Chicago declared it an official holiday. On February 26, 1986, Mayor Harold Washington introduced a resolution to designate the first Monday in March Casimir Pulaski Day, and the […]

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Johanna