The Clarke House Museum tells a remarkable story.
Fortitude and Grit: the Story of Chicago’s Oldest HouseRead More
Explore Chicago’s Past at Chicago History Museum
The Chicago History Museum showcases the city’s complicated history and is itself a piece of history. Chicago has a lively past, with tragedy, innovation, and a cast of characters that could fill (and have) several novels. The museum began when Chicago didn’t have much history itself. It was founded in 1856 as the Chicago Historical …
The Chicago Theatre: Chicago’s Comeback Kid
If there’s one theater that says Chicago, it is, quite literally, The Chicago Theatre.
Buckingham Fountain: A Sister’s Love & A City’s Front Door
Buckingham Fountain, the centerpiece of Grant Park, is one of the most spectacular landmarks in Chicago and one of the largest fountains in the world.
Buckingham Fountain: A Sister’s Love & A City’s Front DoorRead More
Butch McGuire’s: Rush & Division’s Standby for 50 Years
Butch McGuire’s bar in Chicago’s Gold Coast is a piece of Chicago history and is filled with tales of Windy City lore.
Butch McGuire’s: Rush & Division’s Standby for 50 YearsRead More
John Kinzie: Traitor, Spy, Murderer, and Founding Father
A tale of corruption and intrigue, treason, multiple marriages, betrayal, and murder.
John Kinzie: Traitor, Spy, Murderer, and Founding FatherRead More
Milking A Tall Tale: Mrs. O'Leary's Cow and the Great Chicago Fire
I feel sorry for Mrs. O’Leary’s much-maligned cow. For 136 years, she’s been blamed for the Great Chicago Fire, despite Alderman Burke’s 1997 resolution to clear the Irish lass and her bovine of any wrongdoing. She certainly wasn’t responsible for the extent of the damage. The fire actually did start in the poor woman’s barn on this day in 1871. But there are many, many reasons it just wasn’t her, or her cow’s, fault. In fact, Michael Ahern of the Chicago Republican admitted (over a decade later) that he just made it up.
Milking A Tall Tale: Mrs. O'Leary's Cow and the Great Chicago FireRead More
Can't Keep A Good Church Down
Old St. Patrick’s is the oldest public building in Chicago, but it hasn’t been easy to get that title. Three times in its extended history it’s narrowly escaped destruction.