Chicago History

Bruno's Lounge Robbery, 6562 Sheridan Road, Chicago, 1964

2011-02-28T00:21:00.000-08:00

Jesse Harris was bound and gagged as he was emptying trash in the back of Bruno's Lounge on Sheridan so that robbers could blow the safe July 23, 1964

Image available (at time of posting) from here: Bruno's Lounge

An exterior view of Bruno's, also available on eBay here: Bruno's Lounge Exterior

2400 Lakeview -- Before There Were Condos

2011-02-23T23:05:00.000-08:00

Before there were condos at 2400 Lakeview (at Fullerton) there were mansions. Photo currently available on eBay at time of posting: 2400-2416 Lakeview

The site today:

View Larger Map

Delivering the Chicago Mail -- 1950s Style

2011-02-21T21:00:00.000-08:00

A nice photo showing the nifty carts mail carriers used in the 1950s.

Original photo available for purchase (at time of posting) from here: Special Delivery

Esquire Theater, Chicago, 1951

2011-02-19T22:13:00.000-08:00

Original caption reads: Twelve year old Jackie Thornton buys a ticket to a movie from Poppy LaGodmos at the Esquire Theater on October 13, 1951.

Photograph available for purchase (at time of posting) from here: Esquire Theater, 1964

Plaza Theater, North Avenue, Old Town Chicago, 1964

2011-02-19T22:08:00.000-08:00

Plaza Theater just prior to demolition. Original image available for purchase (at time of posting) from here: Plaza Theater, 1964

Native American Gathering at Roosevelt Theater, Chicago, 1961

2011-02-19T22:05:00.000-08:00

Rain Dance at the Roosevelt Theater, Chicago, 1961.

Original photo available for purchase (at time of posting) from here: Roosevelt Theater, 1961

Stratford Theater, 713 W. 63rd, Chicago, 1961

2011-02-19T22:01:00.000-08:00

Original photo available for purchase (at time of posting) from here: Stratford Theater, 1961

Howard Street Theater, Rogers Park, Chicago, 1955

2011-02-19T21:53:00.000-08:00

I live just a few blocks away from this stretch of Howard. Sure would be great if the theater were still in operation.

Original image available for purchase (at time of posting) from here: Howard Street, 1955

Iconic Building to Host ... A Target

2011-02-15T15:55:00.000-08:00

Better to have a tenant than none at all, I guess, but a Target?

"An iconic building in the heart of downtown Chicago is soon to be occupied by a Target. The former Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company store on the corner of State and Madison was designed by legendary architect Louis Sullivan, a mentor to Frank Lloyd Wright and a master in his own right. The building is one of the premier examples of the Chicago School, and its cast-iron scrollwork and terra cotta facades are recognizable to anyone familiar with the Loop..."

Read the rest of the article here: HuffPost

What are your thoughts?

Uptown Theatre, Chicago, IL -- 1930

2011-02-12T23:07:00.001-08:00

Uptown Theatre, Chicago, IL -- 1930
Originally uploaded by Brad Smith

A stunning photo of the Uptown Theatre at night, reposted from Flickr using the "blog this" feature.

1943 Storefront Nursury / Daycare, Clark Street, Chicago

2011-02-09T16:40:00.000-08:00

Photo available at time of purchase from here: Nursury / Daycare

Vintage 1950s Photo of Clark Super Gas Station, Chicago

2011-02-09T16:35:00.001-08:00

Image available (at time of posting) from here: Clark Gas Station Chicago

Downtown Chicago Skyline with Train Yards, Soldier Field, Field Museum, 1958

2011-01-23T22:53:00.000-08:00

Original image available for purchase from here: Chicago Stockyards, 1958

Oriental Theatre By Night, Chicago, 1945

2011-01-21T21:42:00.001-08:00

Photo available at time of posting from here: Oriental Theater

Nineteenth-Century Chicago Home to Be Torn Down

2011-01-21T01:52:00.000-08:00

There's not much to ID this home. Based on the cars in the photo, it was torn down quite early in the twentieth century. It's probably been gone nearly a hundred years, but looking at this beautiful structure, I can't help being a little sad.

Original image available at time of posting from here: 330521878601

Bridgeport Neighborhood, Chicago, 1955

2011-01-19T20:59:00.000-08:00

Original image available at time of posting from here: Bridgeport Neighborhood, Chicago, 1955

From seller's description: Wiew of the Archer and Halsted intersection in the Bridgeport neighborhood of Chicago. The photo was taken from the roof of the Henry Stuckart Hardware Store on September 28, 1955.

Another view:

This one is available from here: Bridgeport

Meigs Field, Chicago, 1959

2011-01-19T15:53:00.000-08:00

A stunning image of Meigs Field from 1959. Original image available at time of posting from here: Chicago Meigs Field

Merrill C. Meigs Field Airport was a single strip airport that operated from December 1948 until March 2003. It was built on Northerly Island, the man-made peninsula that was also the site of the World's Fair, the 1933–1934 Century of Progress in Chicago.

The airport became the country's busiest single-strip airport by 1955. The latest air traffic tower was built in 1952 and the terminal was dedicated in 1961. The airfield was named for Merrill C. Meigs, publisher of the Chicago Herald and Examiner and an aviation fan.

Northerly Island, owned by the Chicago Park District, is the only lakefront structure to be built based on Daniel Burnham's 1909 Plan of Chicago. The island was to be populated by trees and grass for the public enjoyment by all. However, drafted less than six years after the Wright brothers' historic flight, the 1909 plan did not envision any airports for Chicago.

The airport was a familiar sight on the downtown lakefront. It was also well-known as the default takeoff field in many early versions of the popular Microsoft Flight Simulator software program. It is an airport that is featured in Microsoft's Midtown Madness computer game (1999) and Reflections' Driver 2 video game, which are based in Chicago. The airport area is also the central location of the short documentary film Powers of Ten by Charles and Ray Eames.

The Main Terminal Building was operated by the Chicago Department of Aviation and contained waiting areas as well as office and counter space. The runway at Meigs Field was nearly 3,900 by 150 ft (1,200 by 46 m). In addition, there were four public helicopter pads at the south end of the runway, near McCormick Place. The north end of the runway was near the Adler Planetarium.

Congress Expressway Opens, Chicago, 1960

2011-01-19T15:43:00.000-08:00

Congress Expressway Opening Day, 1960. Original image available at time of posting from here: Congress Expressway Opens

Pre-Fabricated Homes for WWII Veterans, University of Chicago, 1946

2011-01-18T18:06:00.000-08:00

Pre-fabricated homes for veterans returning from World War II. Image currently available from this seller: Pre-Fabricated Homes

During the depression and World War II, there was a decrease in the number of new homes being built. At the end of the war, with millions of returning veterans, the country faced its greatest housing shortage ever. The government at the time determined that three million new unit would have to be built between 46 and 47 to accommodate everyone. In the short term, many communities and institutions set up temporary housing.

26th and South Park, Chicago, 1960

2011-01-17T21:18:00.000-08:00

Land to be cleared for public housing, 1960.

Original image available (at time of posting) from here: 26th and South Park

Chicago and Clark, 1964

2011-01-13T16:47:00.000-08:00

Clark Street, looking south from Chicago.

Original photo available at time of posting from here: Chicago and Clark

Rooftop Party on the Merchandise Mart, Chicago, 1954

2011-01-12T19:37:00.000-08:00

What a fabulous view!

Image available, at time of posting, from here: Up on the Roof

Sears Roebuck Model Home at the Chicago World's Fair, 1934

2011-01-09T15:16:00.000-08:00

There was a time when you could order anything from the Sears catalog, including the house you lived in. Sears Modern Homes were ready-to-assemble houses sold through mail order catalog by Sears Roebuck and Company. Between 1908 and 1940, 70,000 of these homes were sold in North America. They were shipped via railroad and the kits included everything needed to build the house. Many of these houses were actually assembled by the new homeowner, along with friends, relatives, neighbors, and anyone else who was up for the task, in a fashion similar to the traditional barn-raisings of farming families. Can you even imagine that kind of thing happening today? I don't think most people even have the skills anymore to construct a home.

Original photo available for purchase (at time of writing) from here: Sears Roebuck Model Home

Lincoln Park Chicago, circa 1900

2011-01-09T15:03:00.000-08:00

A lovely day in the park. Original image can be purchased, at time of writing, from here: Lincoln Park circa 1900

Lincoln Park Chicago Pleasure Cruise, circa 1915

2011-01-09T15:00:00.000-08:00

Original postcard can be purchased, at time of writing, from here: Lincoln Park Boat Landing

Window Washers at the Wrigley Building, Chicago

2011-01-07T18:08:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure of the date on this one, but am impressed with the close-up detail. Original available for purchase (at time of posting) from here: Bird's Eye View of Wrigley Building

Jewel Grocery Store, Chicago, 1961

2011-01-05T16:12:00.000-08:00

Does anyone remember when the aisles at Jewel were this narrow and the carts this small?

Original image available, at time of posting, from here: Jewel Grocery Store

Jumbo the Clown at Angel Guardian Orphanage Picnic, Chicago, 1959

2010-12-29T22:25:00.000-08:00

Does anyone else find this picture a little creepy? Or maybe it's just that I always find clowns a little bit creepy.

Angel Guardian Orphanage, Orphans Picnic, Lincoln Park. Siesta at noon after long day for Jumbo the clown and 6-yr-old Billy. Aug 19, 1959.

Original image available, at time of writing, from here: Jumbo the Clown

Our Lady of Angels Fire, Chicago, 1958

2010-12-29T22:18:00.000-08:00

My mother was just a girl at the time, and remembers when this happened.

The Our Lady of the Angels School Fire broke out shortly before classes were to be dismissed on December 1, 1958, at the foot of a stairway in the Our Lady of the Angels School in Chicago, Illinois. The elementary school was operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago. A total of 92 pupils and 3 nuns lost their lives when smoke, heat, and fire cut off their normal means of escape through corridors and stairways. Many were killed when they jumped from second-floor windows (which were as high as a third floor would be on level ground). Another 100 were seriously injured.

The disaster was the lead headline story in American, Canadian, and European newspapers. The severity of the fire shocked the nation and surprised educational administrators of both public and private schools. The disaster led to major improvements in standards for school design and fire safety codes.

The fire has been chronicled in several books, including To Sleep with the Angels: The Story of a Fire, and an Emmy-winning television documentary, Angels Too Soon, produced by WTTW Channel 11 Chicago.

The photo is available for purchase, at time of writing, from here: Our Lady of Angels

The 20th Century Guide for Mixing Fancy Drinks by James C. Maloney

2010-12-27T23:08:00.000-08:00

I'd like to take a moment for some shameless self-promotion. Recently, I helped bring back into print an old Chicago cocktail book, originally published in 1900 by James C. Maloney of 210-212 E. Madison in Chicago. It's a facsimile edition, so all of the original advertisements are included. You'll find early versions of such classics as the Mint Julep and the Manhattan, as well as several absinthe cocktails. Now that absinthe is once again available in the United States, it's worth trying some of these drinks.

The Twentieth-Century Guide for Mixing Fancy Drinks: A Pre-Prohibition Cocktail Book is part of a series of vintage cocktail books I'm reissuing. You can see more of them on our Facebook page: Classic Cocktail Guides and Retro Bartender Books.

Halloween Parade on State Street, Chicago, 1960

2010-12-22T14:41:00.001-08:00

Seven-year-old Laura Larsen chatting with Jack the Jack-O-Lantern (Ray Van Royen) at a little Halloween Parade on State Street in Chicago, October 28, 1960. On the wagon are Maurice McDonald, David Combs, Mrs. Angela Combs (The Good Witch), and Jana Lee Combs, a pixie.

Original image available for purchase (at time of posting) from here: Chicago Halloween Parade

Marshall Field in a Parade, Chicago, 1943

2010-12-20T23:28:00.000-08:00

Original caption: "Marshall Field in a hansom cab during a parade in Chicago, October 16, 1943." The caption doesn't say, but I'm going to guess this is Marshall Field III (1893 – 1956).

Original image may be purchased here: Marshall Field

Admiral Byrd's "City of New York" Polar Expedition Ship in Chicago, 1930s

2010-12-19T17:27:00.000-08:00

Rear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd, Jr., USN (October 25, 1888 – March 11, 1957) was a naval officer who specialized in feats of exploration. He was a pioneering American aviator, polar explorer, and organizer of polar logistics.

According to the New York History blog, the City of New York was once known as the Samson, "a 170-foot steam barque, whose first duty was as a sealing ship operating in arctic waters. On the night of April 14, 1912, loaded with 3000 pounds of illegal frozen seal in her hold, Samson was in the waters off Newfoundland and Labrador." The crew spotted signal flares fired into the night sky by an unidentified ship. They thought it might be the Royal Navy, and because they feared being boarded, they doused the ship's lights and fled the area. It was later discovered that the flares were from the sinking Titanic. The crew kept their behavior secret for fifty years.

The original photo is available (at time of posting) from here: City of New York

Building Collapse at Milwaukee and Sawyer Near Logan Square, 1909

2010-12-18T23:01:00.000-08:00

Original image available for purchase (at time of writing) from here: Logan Square

Chicago Bicycling Club Tours Grand Blvd., Chicago, circa 1900

2010-12-18T16:46:00.000-08:00

Original image available for purchase (at time of posting) from here: Bicycle

All Aboard! Chicago Demonstrators Leave for Washington, 1963

2010-12-16T22:25:00.000-08:00

Original available for purchase (at time of posting) from here: March on Washington

Although the seller of this photograph doesn't say, I'm going to assume this was for The Great March on Washington.

The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (or "The Great March on Washington," as styled in a sound recording released after the event) was a large political rally in support of civil and economic rights for African-Americans that took place in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, August 28, 1963. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his historic "I Have a Dream" speech advocating racial harmony at the Lincoln Memorial during the march.

The march was organized by a group of civil rights, labor, and religious organizations, under the theme "jobs, and freedom." Estimates of the number of participants varied from 200,000 (police) to over 300,000 (leaders of the march). Observers estimated that 75–80% of the marchers were black and the rest were white and other minorities.

The march is widely credited with helping to pass the Civil Rights Act (1964) and the National Voting Rights Act (1965).

The First Ferris Wheel, Chicago World's Fair,1893

2010-12-15T21:42:00.000-08:00

The original Ferris Wheel

The original Ferris Wheel, sometimes also referred to as the Chicago Wheel, opened to the public on June 21, 1893, at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois. Intended to rival the 324-metre (1,060 ft) Eiffel Tower, the centerpiece of the 1889 Paris Exposition, it was the Columbian Exposition's largest attraction, with a height of 80.4 metres (264 ft).

It was designed and constructed by George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr., graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, bridge-builder. He began his career in the railroad industry and then pursued an interest in bridge building. Ferris understood the growing need for structural steel and founded G.W.G. Ferris & Co. in Pittsburgh, a firm that tested and inspected metals for railroads and bridge builders.

The wheel rotated on a 71-ton, 45.5-foot axle comprising what was at that time the world's largest hollow forging, manufactured in Pittsburgh by the Bethlehem Iron Company and weighing 89,320 pounds, together with two 16-foot-diameter (4.9 m) cast-iron spiders weighing 53,031 pounds.

There were 36 cars, each fitted with 40 revolving chairs and able to accommodate up to 60 people, giving a total capacity of 2,160. The wheel carried some 38,000 passengers daily and took 20 minutes to complete two revolutions, the first involving six stops to allow passengers to exit and enter and the second a nine-minute non-stop rotation, for which the ticket holder paid 50 cents.

The Exposition ended in October 1893, and the wheel closed in April 1894 and was dismantled and stored until the following year. It was then rebuilt on Chicago's North Side, near Lincoln Park, next to an exclusive neighborhood. This prompted William D. Boyce, then a local resident, to file a Circuit Court action against the owners of the wheel to have it removed, but without success. It operated there from October 1895 until 1903, when it was again dismantled, then transported by rail to St. Louis for the 1904 World's Fair and finally destroyed by controlled demolition using dynamite on May 11, 1906.

The current Ferris Wheel at Navy Pier is modeled after Ferris's original.

Image available at the Library of Congress

Old Town Art Fair, Chicago, 1960

2010-12-15T18:17:00.000-08:00

The Old Town Art Fair in Chicago is one of the country's oldest art fairs, having started in 1950. These images are from the 1960 fair.

Top one available from here: Old Town 1960, bottom one from here: Old Town 1960

Where Mrs. O'Leary and Her Cow Lived, Chicago, 1955

2010-12-14T13:28:00.000-08:00

This photo ran in the Sun-Times in 1955 with the following caption: "The original O'Leary house that survived the 1871 fire is set to be demolished. A new fire academy will be built on the location. Oct 1, 1955." However, after poking around on the Internet a bit, I found out that this house was built on the location a few years after the fire. The original frame cottage where the O'Leary family lived can be seen here: TheChicagoFire.com.

A Chicago Fire Academy was built on the O'Leary property. According to ChicagoFire.com, "On the first floor of this academy, down a hallway, a maltese cross is painted on the floor. It is said that this cross marks the actual location of the O'Leary barn."

The original negative and high resolution scans are available for purchase from this seller: Mrs. O'Leary's House

If you grew up in Chicago, you learned the story of how Mrs. O'Leary's cow caused the Great Chicago Fire. But it was all a lie! Here is what Wikipedia has for Catherine O'Leary and her cow:

Catherine O'Leary (ca. 1827 - July 3, 1895) was an Irish immigrant living in Chicago, Illinois in the 1870s. It was alleged that on the evening of October 8, 1871, a fire started in her barn at 137 DeKoven Street which went on to burn a large percentage of the city, an event known as the Great Chicago Fire. She was married to Patrick O'Leary. The couple's son, James Patrick O'Leary would grow up to run a Chicago gambling hall.

After the Great Chicago Fire, she was used as a scapegoat by Chicago Tribune reporter Michael Ahern, who admitted in 1893 that he had made up the story of a cow kicking over a lantern because he thought it would make colorful copy. This story took the population's imagination and many still believe that the fire began with the O'Learys' cow knocking over a lantern. Other theories posit that Daniel "Pegleg" Sullivan or Louis M. Cohn, who claimed to have been gambling in the barn with the O'Learys' son and several other boys, were involved in the start of the fire.

However, the story of Mrs. O'Leary's Cow has garnered the attention and imagination of generations as the cause of the fire. Popular culture, such as Gary Larson's cartoon The Far Side, Brian Wilson's song "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow" and Rita Hayworth's song "Put the Blame on Mame" from the movie Gilda have referred to the story with the expectation that the populace will understand the reference. Popular 1930s character actress Alice Brady won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance as Mrs. O'Leary in the film In Old Chicago.

Years later, people would sing a parody to the minstrel song There'll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight:

Late one night, when we were all in bed,
Old Mother Leary left a lantern in the shed;
And when the cow kicked it over, she winked her eye and said,
"There’ll be a hot time in the old town, tonight."

Catherine O'Leary died on July 3, 1895 of acute pneumonia at her home at 5133 Halsted Street and was buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery. In the PBS documentary, Chicago: City of the Century, a descendant of O'Leary stated that she spent the rest of her life in the public eye, in which she was constantly blamed for starting the fire. Overcome with much sadness and regret, she "died heartbroken."

Bagpiper and Highland Dancer Doing a Fling at the Conrad Hilton, Chicago, 1955

2010-12-14T13:10:00.000-08:00

Roderick MacDonald (dancer) performing a Highland Fling dance while Jean MacGregor plays the bagpipes during the Feast of Haggis celebration, November 26, 1955 at the Conrad Hilton Hotel in Chicago.

Do you like this photo? The original and a high-resolution scan of the image are available for purchase (at time of writing) from this seller on eBay here: Bagpiper and Dancer at the Conrad Hilton

W. E. Fitzgerald, aka Little Fitz, Chicago, 1954

2010-12-12T22:53:00.000-08:00

Original image available (at time of posting) here: W. E. Fitzgerald

From seller's description: W. E. Fitzgerald (aka "Little Fitz") waiting to go under the Dearborn St. bridge in Chicago which was malfunctioning due to electrical problems, August 2, 1954.

William and Julia Fitzgerald of Marine City, Michigan sired six sons. The sons were fascinated by the wooden sailing ships and early steamboats on the St. Clair River, and all six became captains of Great Lakes ships. The youngest of these was John Fitzgerald, who started a shipyard in Milwaukee. His son, William E. Fitzgerald, took over the business in the 1890s but died just a few years later. William's close friend, Captain Dennis Sullivan, built and christened the W.E. Fitzgerald in Wyandotte in his honor in 1906. In 1953, the W.E. Fitzgerald became known as the Little Fitz when the massive freighter named after William's son was launched. His name, of course, was Edmund Fitzgerald.

Ivanhoe Restaurant, 3000 N. Clark, Chicago, 1955

2010-12-12T19:52:00.000-08:00

Original image available at time of posting from here: Ivanhoe Restaurant

Bronzeville Hotel, 3908 S. Indiana, Chicago, 1958

2010-12-12T18:03:00.000-08:00

The Bronzeville Hotel, 3908 S. Indiana, Chicago, in 1958. The photo was taken on February 4, 1958. Inspectors deemed it a fire trap and it was slated for demolition.

Original image available for purchase (at time of posting) from here: Bronzeville Hotel

Row of Buildings to Be Razed at 33rd and Cottage Grove, Chicago, 1950

2010-12-12T17:53:00.000-08:00

Row of buildings to be raised for a housing project. What I find interesting about this photo are the stacks of salvaged material in front of the buildings that are being torn down. Most times when I see a rehab or condo conversion in the city, I see dumpsters in front instead. I've picked many a treasure out of such dumpsters.

Original image available for purchase (at time of posting) from here: 33rd and Cottage Grove Follow link to see enlarged views as well.

Air Raid Siren Manufacture, Chicago, 1944 -- Civil Defense

2010-12-12T17:46:00.000-08:00

Nells March with parts of an air raid siren at a siren manufacturing shop in Chicago, December 27, 1944.

Sirens began to replace bells for municipal warning in the early 1900s, but became commonplace following America's entry into WWII.

Original image available for purchase (at time of posting) from here: Air Raid Sirens

The Chicago Sun Horse and Wagon

2010-12-12T17:33:00.000-08:00

The Chicago Sun Horse and Wagon. Original image available (at time of posting) from here: The Chicago Sun

The modern Chicago Sun Times was born of a merger between The Chicago Sun and the Chicago Daily News. Here's the Wikipedia entry:

History

The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city. It began in 1844 as the Chicago Evening Journal (which was the first newspaper to publish the rumor, now believed false, that a cow owned by Catherine O'Leary was responsible for the Chicago fire). The Evening Journal, whose West Side building at 17-19 S. Canal was undamaged, gave the Chicago Tribune a temporary home until it could rebuild. In 1929, the newspaper was relaunched as the Chicago Daily Illustrated Times.

The modern paper grew out of the 1948 merger of the Chicago Sun, founded in 1941 by Marshall Field III, and the Chicago Daily Times. The newspaper was owned by Field Enterprises, controlled by the Marshall Field family, who also owned WFLD channel 32 since its inception in 1966, and the afternoon paper Chicago Daily News. When the Daily News ended its run in 1978, much of its staff, including Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Mike Royko, were moved to the Sun-Times. During the Field period, the newspaper had a populist, progressive character that leaned Democratic but was independent of the city's Democratic establishment. Although the graphic style was urban tabloid, the paper was well-regarded for journalistic quality and did not rely on sensational front-page stories. It typically ran articles from the Washington Post/Los Angeles Times wire service.

In 1984, Field sold the paper to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, and the paper's style changed abruptly toward that of its suitemate New York Post. Its front pages tended more to the sensational and its political stance shifted toward the conservative. This was in the era that the traditional Republican bulwark, the Chicago Tribune, was softening its positions, ending the city's clear division between the two newspapers' politics. This shift was made all but official when Mike Royko defected to the Tribune.

However, on July 10, 2007 new editorial page editor Cheryl Reed announced: "We [the Chicago Sun-Times editorial page] are returning to our liberal, working-class roots, a position that pits us squarely opposite the Chicago Tribune—that Republican, George Bush-touting paper over on moneyed Michigan Avenue."

Murdoch sold the paper in 1986 (to buy its former sister television station WFLD to launch the Fox network). In 1994, the Sun-Times was acquired by Hollinger International, controlled, indirectly, by Canadian-born businessman Conrad Black. After Black and his associate David Radler were indicted for skimming money from Hollinger International, through retaining noncompete payments from the sale of Hollinger newspapers, they were removed from the board, and Hollinger International was renamed the Sun-Times Media Group.

In 2004, the Sun-Times was censured by the Audit Bureau of Circulations for misrepresenting its circulation figures.

In 2002, with Kuczmarski & Associates, the Chicago Sun-Times co-founded the Chicago Innovation Awards.

On March 31, 2009, the newspaper filed for bankruptcy protection.

On October 9, 2009 the Sun Times unions agreed to concessions paving the way for Jim Tyree to buy the newspaper, and their 50 suburban newspapers. Of the $25 million purchase price, $5 million is in cash, with the other $20 million to help pay off past debts.

Polish Neighborhood, Chicago, 1955

2010-12-11T17:41:00.000-08:00

Milwaukee, Division, and Ogden, 1955. Original image available for purchase (at time of posting) from here: Polish Neighborhood

Correction: A reader just wrote in to let me know it's really Milwaukee, Chicago, and Ogden. Thanks!

Western Avenue Street Car and Drivers, Chicago, 1937

2010-12-11T13:50:00.000-08:00

Western Avenue Street Car and Drivers, 1937. Original photograph available for purchase (at time of posting) here: Western Avenue Street Car.

Louis Sullivan Home for Sale, 4575 Lake Park Avenue, 1940

2010-12-10T17:26:00.000-08:00

The Louis H. Sullivan Family home is placed for sale as the neighborhood begins to change at 4575 Lake Park Avenue. Aug 30, 1940.

Original available for purchase (at time of posting) from here: Louis Sullivan Home, 1940

Louis Henri Sullivan (September 3, 1856 – April 14, 1924) was an American architect, and has been called the "father of modernism." He is considered by many as the creator of the modern skyscraper, was an influential architect and critic of the Chicago School, was a mentor to Frank Lloyd Wright, and an inspiration to the Chicago group of architects who have come to be known as the Prairie School.

Balaban and Katz Covent Theater, 2653 N. Clark Street Chicago, 1948

2010-12-08T18:27:00.000-08:00

Purchase original image (available at time of posting) from here: Balaban and Katz Covent Theater

IBM 604 Calculator, Chicago, 1960

2010-12-08T18:15:00.000-08:00

IBM operator Hertha Jurgens holding one of the plug board panels for the 604 IBM Calculator, June 20, 1960 at the Bell Savings and Loan building, Chicago.

Original image available for purchase (at time of posting) here: IBM 604

From Wikipedia:

The IBM 604 was a control panel programmable Electronic Calculating Punch introduced in 1948, and was a machine on which considerable expectations for the future of IBM were pinned and in which a corresponding amount of planning talent was invested. It could be considered a hybrid between an accounting machine and a modern general purpose computer like the contemporary IBM 704.

Most of the circuitry was based on modifications of circuit designs used in the earlier 603 Electronic Multiplier and was packaged in small one-tube-replaceable pluggable units. The calculation unit contained 1,400 tubes.[citation needed] Clock speed was increased from the 603's rate of 35kHz to 50 kHz. The 604 performed fixed point addition, subtraction, multiplication and division using BCD arithmetic.

Initial versions supported 40 program steps, and this was soon expanded to 60. Processing was still locked to the reader/punch cycle time, thus program execution had to complete within the time between a punched card leaving the read station and entering the punch station.

The 604 and a modified version, the 605, were used as components of the Card Programmed Electronic Calculators (CPC and CPC II). The 604 was also a component of the Test Assembly, a precursor to IBM's early computers.

An all-transistor version of the 604 was built and demonstrated in October 1954. Although it used 2000 transistors as opposed to 1250 tubes in the original, it occupied only half the volume, and used only 5% as much power. This was only an experimental machine, but its technology was used to build the IBM 608, which shipped in December 1957, and was the first solid-state computing product to be commercialized

First Issue of Chicago Sun-Times Hits the Streets, 1941

2010-12-08T00:04:00.001-08:00

Original image available for purchase (at time of writing) from here:

Wrigley Building, Tribune Tower, and Site for "New" Sun-Times Building, Chicago, 1947

2010-12-07T23:58:00.000-08:00

Original image available for purchase (at time of writing) from here: Sun-Times Building

Chicago Meteorologist

2010-12-07T23:54:00.000-08:00

Original image available for purchase (at time of writing) from here: Meteorologist Predicting the Weather

Frank Lloyd Wright and His Wife, Sherman Hotel, Chicago, 1958

2010-12-07T23:52:00.000-08:00

Original image available for purchase (at time of writing) from here: Frank Lloyd Wright

Broadway (Old Evanston Avenue) and Diversey, Chicago

2010-12-04T15:11:00.000-08:00

Wow. I used to live near this intersection, where Broadway, Diversey, and Clark meet, and it looks nothing like it today. Vintage photograph available (at time of writing) from here: Broadway and Diversey Chicago

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Racine Street Car at Flournoy, Chicago, 1945

2010-12-04T15:01:00.000-08:00

Original photo available for purchase (at time of posting) from here: Racine Street Car at Flournoy

Congress Hotel Gun Convention, 1958

2010-12-03T10:22:00.000-08:00

See larger view or purchase original photo (available at time of posting) here: Gun Show

3212 N. Broadway, Chicago, IL in 1963

2010-12-02T21:42:00.000-08:00

At the time, it belonged to Hull House. Since then, the building has been seriously modified, as seen on Google maps.

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The image is available for purchase, at time of writing, here: Broadway

Opening Day at Riverview Park, 1957

2010-12-02T16:59:00.000-08:00

Get original image (available at time of purchase) here: Riverview Park

Jewell Tea Store, 2639 N. Clark, Chicago, 1950

2010-12-02T16:51:00.000-08:00

Before there were Big Box stores, stocking up on cheap goods was considered bad etiquette.

Chicago Sun-Times reporter Bob Zonka shopping in the Jewell Tea Store at 2639 N. Clark Street, August 5, 1950. He was doing a feature on hoarding and breaking a shopping rule by buying up huge quantities of specific items that were on sale. Fellow shoppers are mock-scolding him.

Original image available for purchase at time of posting from here: Jewell Tea Store

Ninety-Nines Pilots Meet at DuPage Airfield

2010-12-01T20:20:00.000-08:00

The Ninety-Nines: International Organization of Women Pilots, was founded on November 2, 1929 at Curtiss Field, Valley Stream, New York for the mutual support and advancement of women pilots. All 117 women pilots licensed at the time were invited and the group is named for the 99 of them who attended the meeting or expressed an interest in forming a group. Charter members include Amelia Earhart, Fay Gillis Wells, Ila Loetscher, Phyllis Fleet, Betty Gillies, Candis Hall, Louise Thaden, Ruth Nichols, Phoebe Omlie, and Mildred Stinaff. The first president elected in 1931 was Amelia Earhart. Other famous members include Jackie Cochran, Elsie MacGill, Bobbi Trout, Pancho Barnes, Patty Wagstaff, Jeana Yeager, Sheila Scott, Eileen Collins, Shirley Zillig, Bonnie Gann, Linda Godwin and Nancy Bird Walton.

Currently, the organization has 5,230 members in thirty countries. The mission of the Ninety-Nines, aka "99s", is to promote world fellowship through flight; to provide networking and scholarship opportunities for women and aviation education in the community; and to preserve the unique history of women in aviation.

Top image available at time of posting from here: Ninety-Nines Meet in DuPage Middle image available here: Ninety-Nines in CockpitBottom image available here: Ninety-Nines Meeting

Vertical Parking Lot, Chicago, circa 1930

2010-11-28T18:29:00.000-08:00

Image available at time of writing from here: Stacked Cars

Rexall Drug Store Convention, Chicago, 1938

2010-11-28T18:17:00.000-08:00

Image available, at time of posting, from here: Rexall Drug

To learn more about Rexall Drug, read The Rexall Story: A History Of Genius And Neglect

Real Dalmations Watch Walt Disney Cartoon 101 Dalmations at Chicago Theatre

2010-11-28T17:32:00.000-08:00

These Dalmations and their owners were treated to a special viewing of the newly released "101 Dalmations" Movie on the 7th floor screening room at the Chicago Theater Feb 7, 1961.

Original image available at time of posting here: Real Dalmations Watch Cartoon

National Food Store Opening, 3112 W. Armitage, 1958

2010-11-28T17:27:00.000-08:00

Original image available for purchase (at time of writing) from here: Grocery Store Opening

The newest national Food Store opens at 3112 W. Armitage, with patrons waiting to get inside for their picture to be taken. Jan 14,1958

Florence Hotel, Pullman Historic District, Chicago, 1955

2010-11-27T23:20:00.000-08:00

Original image for sale here: Florence Hotel

The Hotel Florence is a former hotel located in the Pullman Historic District on the far south side of Chicago, Illinois. It was built in 1881 to a design by architect Solon Spencer Beman. Since 1991, it has been owned by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.

Hotel History

The years following the American Civil War saw the growth of a new profession - that of drummer or traveling salesman. The traveling salesman was often assigned a "territory" or quota of sales calls to make that necessitated traveling day and night by train when in the field. In order to meet the needs of traveling salesmen and other nighttime travelers, Chicago inventor George Pullman helped to invent the sleeping car, a railroad passenger car whose seats could be converted into sleeping bunks.

The Pullman sleeping car was enormously successful. Many railroads preferred the Pullman design to other sleeping cars because of the efforts George Pullman and his employees put into standardizing their manufacture. A railroad could be confident that many Pullman cars were interchangeable with each other. This helped railroads borrow and lend sleeping cars to each other, and create sleeping-car trains that used the tracks of two or more railroads.

Starting in 1880, George Pullman led the design of a company town that was to be the climax of his career - Pullman, Illinois. The land by the Illinois Central Railroad tracks near Lake Calumet had not yet been annexed by Chicago, and Pullman could build and run it himself. And he did.

The Pullman factories soon themselves became the focus of attention by salesmen from all over the world. Suppliers of iron, steel, upholstery, and many other commodities needed for the manufacture of sleeping cars descended upon Pullman. The industrial magnate approved the design, by architect Solon Spencer Beman, and the construction of the new 50-room Hotel Florence to rent rooms to these supply representatives. The hotel cost $100,000 (in gold-standard dollars) to build. George Pullman named the hotel after his oldest daughter, Florence Pullman. The most luxurious suite in the hotel, the Pullman Suite, was designed for the personal use of George Pullman and his family. The hotel could also offer first-class accommodations to railroad CEOs who came to Pullman to do business with the firm. The hotel opened to guests on November 1, 1881.

The hotel was off limits to Pullman workers. George Pullman did not want his laborers to drink, and banned the sale of alcohol within town limits. An exception was made for guests of the Hotel Florence, however. A bar served whiskey and other beverages inside the hotel.

The hotel today

George Pullman's control over his company town began to come apart in 1889 when the city of Chicago annexed Pullman and its surroundings and began to extend its ordinances over the neighborhood. Another blow was the bitter strike in 1894 led by labor leader Eugene Debs. George Pullman died in 1897.

Under Pullman's successor, Robert T. Lincoln, the sleeping-car business continued to expand into the twentieth century, and the Hotel Florence built a major addition, the Annex, in the 1910s. This was, however, the decade that marked a peak for the American passenger railroad industry. With the growth of the automobile industry, travelers and salesmen began to drive themselves around. Almost all of the American railroads still offering night train services relinquished them to Amtrak in 1971. The sleeping-car business died.

The Historic Pullman Foundation purchased the hotel in 1975 to save it from demolition; the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency took title in 1991. The Hotel is open for tours to individuals and groups and is often open for special events. (Text from Wikipedia)

Eggs for the Children of Europe, WWII

2010-11-26T22:47:00.000-08:00

Miss Jeanette of Chicago radio poses with whole and powdered eggs that are to be sent to children in Europe for Easter, March 14, 1945.

Original image available at time of writing from here: Eggs for Europe

Waller High School (Lincoln Park High School), Chicago, 1945

2010-11-26T22:43:00.000-08:00

My grandparents graduated from Waller, a few years before this photo was taken (in 1940 and 1941).

Lincoln Park High School (LPHS) is a public secondary school whose main present building opened in 1900. The school is named for its location in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood. The school borders Oz Park. From 1875 to 1979, the school was known as first North Division and then Waller High School.

Original image available at time of writing from here:

Waller High School

Purple People Eater at Brookfield Zoo, Chicagoland

2010-11-26T22:32:00.000-08:00

Twelve-year-old Terry Gross pointing in mock shock at the empty cage of the Purple People Eater at the Children's Zoo inside Brookfield Zoo, July 14, 1958. Original image available at time of posting from here: Purple People Eater

"The Purple People Eater" is a novelty song, written and performed by Sheb Wooley, that reached number one in the Billboard pop charts in 1958.

"The Purple People Eater" tells how a strange monster (described as a "one-eyed, one-horned flying purple people eater") descends to Earth because it wants to be in a rock 'n' roll band. The premise of the song came from a joke told by the child of a friend of Wooley's; Wooley finished composing it within an hour.

The monster isn't necessarily purple but rather it is purple people that the monster eats, as shown in the following excerpt:

"I said Mr Purple People Eater, what's your line?
He said eating purple people, and it sure is fine
But that's not the reason that I came to land
I wanna get a job in a rock 'n roll band"

The ambiguity of the song was present when it was originally played on the radio. In responses to requests from radio DJs, listeners drew pictures that show a "people eater" colored purple.

The voice of the purple people eater is a sped up recording, giving it a voice similar to, but not quite as high-pitched or as fast, as Ross Bagdasarian's "Witch Doctor", another hit from earlier in 1958; and "The Chipmunk Song" which was released late in 1958. (The Chipmunks themselves eventually covered "Purple People Eater", 30 years later.) The sound of a toy saxophone was produced in a similar fashion as the saxophone was originally played at a reduced speed. (In the Chipmunks' cover version, there is a longer sax solo, and it was recorded and played at its normal speed.)

The enduring popularity of the song led to the nicknaming of the highly effective Minnesota Vikings defensive line of the 1970s, whose team colors include purple.

The character was used as the basis for a feature film in 1988, with an all-star cast ranging from Neil Patrick Harris, Ned Beatty, Shelley Winters, and (a very young) Thora Birch, to musicians like Little Richard, Chubby Checker, and Wooley himself.

The song invokes phrases from several other hit songs from that era: "Short Shorts", by The Royal Teens, and "Tequila", by The Champs, both from earlier in 1958; and "Tutti Frutti" from 1955.

(text from Wikipedia)

Young Man in a Zoot Suit / Zuit Suit, Chicago, 1943

2010-11-26T22:24:00.000-08:00

From Wikipedia: A zoot suit (occasionally spelled zuit suit) is a suit with high-waisted, wide-legged, tight-cuffed, pegged trousers, and a long coat with wide lapels and wide padded shoulders. This style of clothing was popularized by African Americans, Latino Americans, and Italian Americans during the late 1930s and 1940s. In England bright-colored zoot suits with velvet lapels that bore a slight resemblance to Edwardian clothing were worn by Teddy boys.

A zoot suit has high-waisted, wide-legged, tight-cuffed pegged trousers, and a long coat with wide lapels and wide padded shoulders. Often zoot suiters wear a felt hat with a long feather and pointy, French-style shoes . A young Malcolm X described the zoot suit as: "a killer-diller coat with a drape shape, reet pleats and shoulders padded like a lunatic's cell". Zoot suits usually featured a watch chain dangling from the belt to the knee or below, then back to a side pocket.

Zoot suits were for special occasions, such as a dance or a birthday party. The amount of material and tailoring required made them luxury items, so much so that the U.S. War Production Board said that they wasted materials that should be devoted to the World War II war effort.[5] This extravagance during wartime was a factor in the Zoot Suit Riots.[6] Wearing the oversized suit was a declaration of freedom and self-determination, even rebelliousness.

Image available at time of writing from here: Zoot Suit

Dominick's Food Stores, 1960, Chicago -- Raggedy Ann Canned Goods

2010-11-26T22:15:00.000-08:00

Dominick's Food Stores showing displays of Raggedy Ann Food Products, Oct 24 1960

Available at time of posting from here: Dominick's Grocery Store, 1960

The Annual Thanksgiving Dinner for Chicago Newsboys, 1942

2010-11-24T16:05:00.000-08:00

Mostly impoverished or homeless, the Thanksgiving dinner for the newsboys of Chicago was started by Philanthropist Isaac Wolf and continued by the news publications of the city. Nov 26, 1942

Original image available, at time of posting, from here: Thanksgiving Dinner Served for Chicago Newsboys, 1942

Sun-Times Serves Thanksgiving Dinner to Its Newsboys, 1945

2010-11-24T16:00:00.000-08:00

Executive chef John Ziegler and waitress Lorraine Kamrath with the free Thanksgiving Day turkey dinner for Chicago Sun-Times' newspaper boys at Northwestern Station, November 24, 1945

Original image available, at time of posting, from here: Thanksgiving Dinner Served for Chicago Newsboys

Richard Nickel's Collection of Louis Sullivan Ornaments

2010-11-23T17:40:00.000-08:00

Richard Nickel was an American photographer and historian best known for his efforts to preserve and document the buildings of architect Louis Sullivan.

During the urban regeneration of the 1960s and 1970s, many 19th century buildings in Chicago were demolished. Among these were the works of Louis Sullivan and members of the Prairie School. By this time many of the buildings were neglected and unloved, and there was little public interest in their retention. Richard Nickel was a rare individual who believed such buildings were an important part of the city's architectural and cultural heritage. Nickel encountered Sullivan's work while photographing the architect's buildings for a school project at the IIT Institute of Design in Chicago. Studying and photographing Sullivan's buildings quickly became an obsession for him. Ultimately, he devoted much of his life to photographing them, hoping to produce a comprehensive photographic compendium.

Realizing that the pace of renewal and development seriously threatened many of these historic buildings, Nickel campaigned and lobbied for their preservation. Sullivan buildings such as the Garrick Theater and Chicago Stock Exchange were torn down despite the best efforts of Nickel and others to preserve them. However, after Nickel's death, his crusade gained momentum and was responsible for many of Sullivan's buildings being spared. Of the ongoing threat to Chicago's buildings Nickel said "Great architecture has only two natural enemies: water and stupid men."

In the cases where he was unable to protect a building, Nickel extensively photographed both its interior and exterior to archive the craftsmanship and attempt to preserve the buildings' character in his images. He also stripped some of the doomed buildings of their distinctive ornamentation before their destruction. Dozens of such items were sold to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) and are on display.

Nickel was killed on April 13, 1972, while attempting to obtain more items for SIUE, when a stairwell in the Chicago Stock Exchange building collapsed on him. He is buried in Chicago's Graceland Cemetery, not very far from where Sullivan is buried. He died without completing his great collection of photographs of Sullivan's work, but Nickel's black and white photos have been displayed at the Art Institute of Chicago and elsewhere. The Richard Nickel Committee and Photographic Archive is a non-profit organization devoted preserving the photographer's work, and holds the copyrights for most of his pictures.

The 1994 book They All Fall Down by Richard Cahan is about Nickel's lifelong effort to preserve Chicago's architectural heritage along with friend and architect John Vinci. Cahan and Michael Williams co-edited Richard Nickel's Chicago: Photographs of a Lost City, a collection of Nickel's photography.

Original photo available here: Richard Nickel Collection

Habetler Bowl, Chicago, 1964

2010-11-22T13:07:00.000-08:00

Rudy Habetler, proprietor of Habetler Bowl, gets his sign ready for Beat the Champs contest, Dec 6 1964.

Habetler Bowl still serves the Jefferson Park community.

Original image may be purchased here: Habetler Bowl

Smelt Fishing, Chicago

2010-11-21T17:42:00.000-08:00

Mmmm, I do love batter fried smelt. My great-grandmother from Poland was the first in our family, that I know of, to serve smelt at dinner with a side of fried potatoes and maybe some mustard sauce. Delicious!

Fishing for rainbow smelt using a gill net is a popular activity along the city of Chicago's lakefront. The season is open during the month of April. Superstition dictates that the fisherman must bite the head off the first fish of the season to have a good catch.

I'm not sure what year this photo was taken, but it's quite a different skyline behind the fisherman. The light in the distance is on the Palmolive building, and is known as the "Lindbergh Beacon" for the aviator Charles Lindbergh. It was added to the building in 1930. It rotated a full 360 degrees and was intended to help guide airplanes safely to Midway Airport. The beacon ceased operation in 1981 following complaints from residents of nearby buildings. During the Palmolive Building's conversion to condominiums in the late 2000s, the beacon was modified to rotate back and forth, always pointing at the lake, so as to avoid shining light into other buildings. Subsequently, the beacon resumed operation.

The original photo is available for purchase (at time of writing) from here: Smelt Fishing in Lake Michigan, Chicago

Do you have any fond memories of smelt fishing to share? Please leave them in the comments below.

Edward Skubic, Founder of American Legion

2010-11-21T14:16:00.000-08:00

Edward P. Skubic, District Cmdr. and one of the founders of the American Legion talks things over with 8 year old Bobbie Brissman at Sherman Hotel, Aug 1954.

The American Legion is a congressionally chartered mutual-aid veterans organization of the United States armed forces founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by the United States Congress. The American Legion was founded in 1919 by veterans returning from Europe after World War I, and was later chartered under Title 36 of the United States Code. The organization is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana and also has offices in Washington D.C. The group has nearly 3 million members in over 14,000 Posts worldwide.

In addition to organizing commemorative events and volunteer veteran support activities, the American Legion is active in U.S. politics. While its primary political activity is lobbying on the behalf of the interests of veterans and service members, including support for veterans benefits such as pensions and the Veterans Affairs hospital system, it has also been involved in more general political issues.

At the state level, the American Legion is organized into "departments", which run annual civic training events for high school juniors called Boys State. Two members from each Boys State are selected for Boys Nation. The American Legion Auxiliary runs Girls State and Girls Nation. The American Legion also hosts many social events.

General Douglas MacArthur, Presidents Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush were all members of The American Legion.

Original photograph available for purchase (at time of posting) here: American Legion

Chicago Antique Store, 1954

2010-11-21T14:08:00.000-08:00

A collection of art photo's of Paris on display at Chicago's Art Institute inspired photographer Elliot Robinson to find similar scenes in the city of Chicago. Here an antiques dealer on Clark Street examines a piece of shining serverware in his shop almost exactly like the Elliot Doisneau pic. May 24, 1954. (I'm trying to find a link to the Doisneau image, but haven't yet; if anyone can point it out, please leave a note in the comments.)

Original photograph available, at time of posting, here: Antique Store

Skyscraper Fire at Maurice L. Rothschild Building, State and Jackson, Chicago, 1955

2010-11-21T14:04:00.000-08:00

Fire fighters had a tough time reaching the 14th story with their hoses as the flames leapt out of windows and filled the sky with black smoke. Aug 15, 1955. Original image available (at time of posting) here, along with larger views: Skyscraper Fire

Freight Being Loaded at Navy Pier, Chicago, 1961

2010-11-21T13:58:00.000-08:00

Freighters being loaded at Chicago's Navy Pier, May 1, 1961. The ship in the foreground is the Exanthia. Image available, at time of writing, from here: Navy Pier

Sisters, Sisters, There Were Never Such Devoted Sisters...

2010-11-21T13:54:00.000-08:00

Nuns at catholic Summer School at the Morrison Hotel in Chicago, 1948. Original photo available for purchase (at time of posting) here: Sisters in Different Habits

Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee Road Train, Evanston Car

2010-11-19T21:16:00.000-08:00

January 21, 1973. Motorman Dave Shore gets a highball from R.L. Taylor as the train pulls into the Union Railroad Museum.

Original wire photo, available at time of posting, from here: Train

Chicago Motor Coach Bus

2010-11-19T21:10:00.000-08:00

Original photograph available from here: Chicago Bus

Iowa and Northwestern Football Game, Soldier Field, Chicago, 1933

2010-11-19T21:06:00.000-08:00

Original press photograph available, at time of purchase, from here: Soldier Field

Make Love Not War, Grant Park, Chicago, 1968

2010-11-19T21:01:00.000-08:00

Original image available for sale here: Make Love Not War

1968 Pot Bust, Chicago

2010-11-19T20:57:00.000-08:00

Sitting handcuffed amidst a carpet of marijuana, Teddy Colon and Jose Flores are under arrest with possession of marijuana. Police said they were processing the marijuana, drying some of it in the oven and on the floor before bagging it, when narcotics detectives burst into their apartment. The weed, about 50 pounds of it, was probably grown in Indiana.

Original image available for purchase at time of writing from: Pot Bust

One of Chicago's First Mail Trucks

2010-11-19T20:50:00.000-08:00

Original photograph available at time of writing from here: Mail Truck

Chicago Mail Carrier and His Faithful Dog Companion, 1949

2010-11-19T20:47:00.000-08:00

A self-appointed supervisor of mail deliver is Fuski, a dog of various ancestry, who daily accompanies Carrier Joseph Kruczek on his delivery route here. Different than most dogs, usually considered one of the occupational hazards faced by mailmen, Fuski's best friend is Kruczek. Each morning the dog leaves the homes of his master, Matthias Newmus, and proceeds to the nearby pickup box to wait for his mailman. He trots beside Kruczek, climbing steps with him at each stop and doesn't consider himself finished until Kruczek boards a bus and waves "so long."

Original image for sale (at time of writing) from here: Special Delivery

Baha'i Temple, Wilmette, 1950

2010-11-19T20:40:00.000-08:00

Scenes of river work at Wilmette Harbor with Baha'i Temple watching over all. June 20, 1950.

Original negative and prints available (at time of posting) from here:
Temple

Great Migration from the South

2010-11-19T20:36:00.000-08:00

Reggie Moffit, Clifford Taylor and an unidentified woman arrive from New Orleans to find work in Chicago. May 1, 1962

The Great Migration was the movement of 2 million African Americans out of the Southern United States to the Midwest, Northeast and West from 1910 to 1930. Estimates of the number of migrants vary according to the time frame used. African Americans migrated to escape racism and seek employment opportunities in industrial cities. Some historians differentiate between the First Great Migration (1910–40), numbering about 1.6 million migrants, and the Second Great Migration, from 1940 to 1970.

In the Second Great Migration, 5 million or more people relocated, with the migrants moving to more new destinations. Many moved from Texas and Louisiana to California where there were jobs in the defense industry. From 1965–70, 14 states of the South, especially Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, contributed to a large net migration of blacks to the other three Census-designated regions of the United States. By the end of the Second Great Migration, African Americans had become an urbanized population. More than 80 percent lived in cities. Fifty-three percent remained in the Southern United States, while 40 percent lived in the Northeast and North Central states and 7 percent in the West.

Original image available for purchase (at time of writing) here: Great Migration

Chicago Bears at Wrigley Field

2010-11-19T15:53:00.000-08:00

The Chicago Bears club was founded in Decatur, Illinois, in 1919, and moved to Chicago in 1921. Along with the Arizona Cardinals (originally from Chicago), it is one of only two remaining franchises from the NFL's founding. The team played home games at Wrigley Field on Chicago's North Side through the 1970 season. With the exception of the 2002 season, they have played their home games at Chicago's Soldier Field every year since 1971.

Thanks to Bill B. for sending in these images; I'll try to find a source on where to purchase them and post the link.

Original Campaign Poster for Jane Byrne

2010-11-18T23:18:00.000-08:00

Jane Margaret Byrne (born May 24, 1934) was the first and to date only female Mayor of Chicago. She served from April 16, 1979, to April 29, 1983. Chicago is the largest city in the United States to have had a female mayor as of 2010.

At time of writing, this original campaign poster was available for sale here: Mayor Jane Byrne

Chicago Skyline, 1930

2010-11-18T17:01:00.001-08:00

Chicago, 1930

Get print of original photo here.

Inauguration of New York — Chicago Telephone Line

2010-11-18T16:58:00.000-08:00

Alexander Graham Bell Inaugurating the New York Chicago Telephone Line While Others Look On

Bell sits at the New York end of the first long-distance line to Chicago and inaugurates real long-distance telephone service in 1892. Like gas and electricity, the telephone began as a local service and kept spreading, until, by 1915, transcontinental service was a reality.

Purchase reproduction print here

Children Playing on the South Side

2010-11-18T16:52:00.001-08:00

African American Children Playing on the South Side

Purchase original print here

New Trier High School Student

2010-11-18T16:51:00.000-08:00

15 Year Old High School Student Rue Lawrence in Class at New Trier High School Outside Chicago

Purchase original print here

Dewey Defeats Truman

2010-11-18T16:49:00.000-08:00

Victorious President Harry Truman Displaying Chicago Daily Tribune Headline, Dewey Defeats Truman

"Dewey Defeats Truman" was a famously inaccurate banner headline on the front page of the Chicago Tribune on November 3, 1948, the day after incumbent United States President Harry S. Truman beat Republican challenger and Governor of New York Thomas E. Dewey in the 1948 presidential election in an upset victory.

Purchase poster print here

Chicago Cubs' Coaches

2010-11-18T16:45:00.001-08:00

Chicago Cubs' Eight Coaches

Purchase print here

Bill Veeck, Owner of White Sox, at Comiskey Park

2010-11-18T16:43:00.000-08:00

Owner of the Chicago White Sox, Bill Veeck

Purchase print of image here

William Louis Veeck, Jr. (February 9, 1914 – January 2, 1986), also known as "Sport Shirt Bill", was a native of Chicago, Illinois, and a franchise owner and promoter in Major League Baseball. He was best known for his publicity stunts to raise attendance. Veeck was at various times the owner of the Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Browns and Chicago White Sox. Veeck was the last owner to purchase a baseball franchise without an independent fortune, and is responsible for many innovations and contributions to baseball.

Finding it hard to financially compete, Veeck retired after the 1980 Chicago White Sox season. He died of cancer six years later as a result of years of smoking. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame five years later in 1991.