Wow - thanks for the great information! I'm sure that information will be useful to our friends at the Ryerson & Burnham Library!
Forum: General Discussion

The Ryerson & Burnham Library at the Art Institute of Chicago would appreciate any help in identifying a few dozen photos recently acquired and posted online from the Chicago Plan Commission from the early 1940s. These unidentified photos may be found here: http://digital-libraries.saic.edu/cdm/search/collection/mqc/searchterm/Reed%2C%20Earl%20H.%20%28for%20Chicago%20Plan%20Commission%29!C
Forum: Announcements

Joe Schwieterman of the Chaddick Institute talks about his new "Terminal Town" book in the Chicago Tribune on 9/01/14, available to Tribune digitalPLUS subscribers: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/jonhilkevitch/ct-met-terminal-town-getting-around-met-0901-20140831-column.html
Forum: General Discussion

Terminal Town, a new initiative of The Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development at DePaul University, is launching an in-depth traveling exhibit in the lobby of the Thompson Center from September 1-5. Covering Chicago’s role as a worldwide transit hub, this in-depth exhibit is a must-see for fans of Chicago transporation. More details here: http://terminaltown.org/?page_id=104 Be sur
Forum: Announcements

The Chicago Tribune archives are invaluable for FC tours, articles, events, and presentations. Thanks for posting this. Note that if you want to isolate what you are looking for, you can put quotations around it (") to only show results in that sequence. It's a good way to narrow down and address if you're searching for articles on your home, for example. You can also narrow results by
Forum: General Discussion

Don't forgot Hillary Rodham Clinton, whose first home in Edgewater was demolished decades ago, and the hospital where she was born has been abandoned since 2001. FC will be doing an all-new and exclusive presentation on Chicago's forgotten political landmarks on Wednesday, September 17; details here: http://forgottenchicago.com/events/2014-tour-schedule/
Forum: General Discussion

I recently saw an article on this church in the December 1954 issue of Architectural Record - it was designed by one of Chicago's best (and least-studied) firms, Schewikher & Elting. They would also design the 1958 Unitarian Church of Evanston on Ridge Road. Also, Schweikher on his own designed the 1936 Third Unitarian Church at 301 North Mayfield, which is well worth a visit - the staff i
Forum: General Discussion

Great photos - thanks for posting!
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings

Interesting - thanks for sharing. I did see a mention that Laemmle also opened a theater somewhere on Halsted, but information has been elusive on that location. It's possible that the White Front theater on Milwaukee could have been sold, changed its name, or closed by 1914 - Laemmle moved east in 1912, where Universal started with a studio in Fort Lee, NJ. The area around Milwaukee /
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings

FC did a presentation on Chicago's lesser-known movie theater history for nearly 200 people on July 15, and discussed a 1906 Nickelodeon in the 1200 block of North Milwaukee owned and operated by Carl Laemmle, who less than 10 years later would build Universal Studios in California. Several buildings on the block were purchased last year, and their future may be in doubt - there is also some di
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings

If you didn't see it on our events page, note that Forgotten Chicago is doing a one-night-only presentation on the history of Chicago movie theaters at the newly reopened Portage Theater, 4050 North Milwaukee on Tuesday, July 15: http://forgottenchicago.com/events/one-night-only-chicago-movie-theater-history-event-tuesday-july-15/ We hope to see you there!
Forum: General Discussion

Thanks for posting these great photos! It was a lot of fun to explore the many overlooked landmarks of Oak Park.
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings

Great photos - thanks for posting! Thanks to everyone who was able to join us on this tour.
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings

The building was built for Spiegel Furniture by architect B. Leo Steif and was featured in an article in the Chicago Tribune on October 3, 1926. If you have a Chicago Library card you can access this and thousands of articles by logging in here: https://chipublib.bibliocommons.com/user/login
Forum: General Discussion

Thanks for posting these photos, and to everyone who was able to join us for this presentation!
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings

The Newberry Library also has nearly every Chicago telephone directory printed after 1922; if your grandfather had a listed telephone number, it should show his address through the years. You need to visit the library in person to go through directories, and obtain a free research pass. The Newberry staff is extremely helpful and knowledgeable about their collection; Forgotten Chicago has used
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

Great photo - thanks for posting!
Forum: General Discussion

Although not Chicago-related, FC Forum readers may be interested in a new program on New York’s Penn Station this week, including this Tuesday the 18th at 9:00 pm on WTTW. From the WTTW web site: Rise and Fall of Penn Station: American Experience In 1910, the Pennsylvania Railroad accomplished the enormous engineering feat of building tunnels under New York City's Hudson and East Rivers,
Forum: Announcements

If you haven't done so, make sure you read Patrick McBriarty's excellent new article detailing the unbuilt 12th Street bridge, recently posted on the FC home page. Additionally, Patrick will be giving a fascinating (and free!) presentation on Chicago's long history of bridges on Tuesday, February 18 at 6:00 pm at the Harold Washington Library Center. From the library’s web site: Patrick Mc
Forum: Announcements

Lynn Becker at the great blog ArchitectureChicago has posted an extensive post on the possible threat to Bertrand Goldberg’s Walton Gardens at the northeast corner of Rush and Walton, mostly forgotten but still nearly completely intact since its opening 58 years ago. Read his post, and the other Gold Coast landmarks that may be threatened here: http://arcchicago.blogspot.com. Forgotten Chica
Forum: General Discussion

Clear-Ridge Historical Society presentations are quite interesting - worth a trip if you have a chance. Also, if you're in the area, it's always worth seeing the former Clearing State Bank at 5235 W 63rd Street. This 1959 bank is one of the least-known local works by Harry Weese, and has been vacant and deteriorating for about 5 years.
Forum: General Discussion

Bertrand Goldberg designed the 1960 Happy Medium theatre; FC did a tour of Goldberg's Rush Street and environs in 2012, and we hope to offer this again in 2014. There's an image of the theatre here: http://forgottenchicago.com/articles/five-years-of-forgotten-chicago-part-1-tours/ Good luck with your research - sounds interesting!
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

Our newest post has some rarely (never?) seen images of several long-forgotten Chicago restaurants, from cafeterias to the deluxe Henrici's at the Merchandise Mart: http://forgottenchicago.com/features/unexpected-glamour-the-forgotten-work-of-james-f-eppenstein-part-2/
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

Thanks to everyone who attended - we had a standing-room only crowd of 45!
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings

The first phase of the massive South Works redevelopment project, the new South Lake Shore Drive / U.S. 41 opened on October 27. Although not signed from 41, you can now also access the new park at the lakefront, the slip, and massive concrete walls on the site. I visited the site yesterday - just drive east on East 87th street and follow the dirt road to the walls. There were a lot of peop
Forum: General Discussion

Great photos - thanks for posting. The FC tours of the Clearing neighborhood have always been very illuminating.
Forum: General Discussion

Thanks for posting - I rode by there on my bike a few months back and it was well on its way to being demolished. Sad to see another Harry Weese building gone in his hometown.
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings

Thank you for posting these great photos and the link to the story today in the Chicago Tribune! CBS Chicago also posted a story about this tour: http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2013/11/10/tour-provides-glimpse-into-obamas-life-in-chicago/ Many thanks to those who joined us on November 10!
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings

Great photos - thanks for posting! Nice to see good weather this year (unlike in 2012). Another great Open House for fans of the built environment in Chicago, and an incredible amount of volunteer work.
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings

Our friends at the architecture firm Epstein just posted some never-published photos of the interior and exterior of the 1956 “casual and homey” Rothschild’s store, across the street from Old Orchard in Skokie. While this building is still extant in 2013, its usage today is very different, and the lollipop tree and ten-foot waterfall have since been removed. This building was one of 75 sit
Forum: Announcements