A new exhibit, Shopping Off State: Chicago’s Neighborhood Commercial Districts, opened on the third floor of Harold Washington Library Center on October 24, 2025. Through the archival holdings of the Chicago Public Library Archives and Special Collections Division, Shopping Off State explores the birth of neighborhood retail centers, their mid-century triumphs and eventual declines.
Business districts in neighborhoods allowed Chicagoans to shop for all their needs without traveling to the Loop. Local stores catered to the specific needs of their communities. These business districts operated like a city within a city, serving ethnic enclaves and using neighbors’ shared languages. The archival materials presented in Shopping Off State exemplify the history of the City of Chicago. Changes to demographics, technology and culture are all part of our story. Where we shop is one way to say how we live.
We invite you to remember the shopping of yesteryear and learn more about how the tastes and habits of Chicago’s shoppers shaped the city we share.
The expanded version of Shopping Off State: Chicago’s Neighborhood Commercial Districts will be in the 3rd-floor gallery of Harold Washington Library Center from October 24, 2025, to January 30, 2026. A branch version of the exhibit will run concurrently at the West Englewood, Scottsdale, and West Town branches from December 1 to January 30.