Digital Collections

C.D. Arnold Photographic Digital Collection

Charles Dudley Arnold documented the World’s Columbian Exposition from its construction to its closing and aftermath, from 1891-1894.

HWLC Design/Build Competition Digital Collection

This digital collection includes photos of the five finalist models in the 1987 competition to design and build a new central library.

Old Pops Sheet Music Digital Collection

View single song sheet music published from 1809 to 2004.

Chicago Department of Urban Renewal Digital Collection

View nearly 16,000 photographic negatives that illustrate urban renewal in Chicago in its positive, negative and mundane lights.

Timuel D. Black Jr. Digital Collection

Tim Black's knowledge of history, Black life and politics in Chicago is represented in this collection of his speeches, 1960s-1990s.
Man at podium

Harold Washington: Selected Speeches Digital Collection

The gifted orator spoke at many public and private events, especially during his mayoral administration, 1983-1987.

George Cleveland Hall Branch Digital Collection

Materials document the opening and operations of Hall Branch, the meeting place for many writers of the Chicago Black Renaissance.
Men and women pose with documents

Illinois Writers Project: "Negro in Illinois" Collection

Many of the Chicago Black Renaissance writers worked on this book project exploring the African American experience in Illinois.

Chicago Park District Records: Photographs

Photographs from the Chicago Park District document how the city’s parks have grown, changed and been enjoyed for more than a century.

Chicago Theater Digital Collection

Playbills and programs for drama, opera, vaudeville, dance and music at early Chicago theaters, 1848-1922.
2 people on bench at intersection

Ravenswood-Lake View Community Collection

Explore Lake View Township and its evolution from an independent municipality into current Northside communities, 1860s-1990s.

Remembering Harold Washington Digital Collection

Chicago’s first African American mayor served from 1983 to 1987, and his legacy endures.

Philip David Sang Digital Collection

Unpublished and published works and ephemera focused on Africans and African Americans from the Middle Passage to the civil rights movement.

Civil War: Wayne Whalen Digital Archive

Camp equipment, weaponry and uniforms used on the homefront and the battlefield.

Chicago Renaissance Digital Collection

African American community leaders, performers, artists, writers and activists on Chicago’s South Side, 1930-1950.
Click to view an A-Z list of all CPL Digital Collections.

A-Z Digital Collections

Chicago Public Library's digital collections document life in Chicago through archival images, documents and artifacts.

Digital Collections by CPL Location

About the Digital Collections

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