News
Standing on history: Who built Chicago's WPA sidewalks?
2+ week, 5+ day ago (1014+ words) WPA sidewalk stamp in Chicago's Avondale neighborhood. On a warm spring day, there's plenty to take in: birds chirping, flowers budding and neighbors out for a stroll. But Chicago's more obscure details may go easily unnoticed. Look down and you…...
Anne Frank exhibit at the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry opens the door to her secret annex
3+ week, 3+ day ago (1147+ words) A young face radiating hope and possibility greets visitors to the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry's new "Anne Frank The Exhibition" presentation, which opens May 1. The exhibit also features as its centerpiece a full-scale reproduction of the hidden annex…...
Erie Canal, the ditch that made Chicago great, marks its 200th birthday
6+ mon, 4+ week ago (941+ words) What was the most significant event in the history of Chicago? Those don't count. Because Chicago was already a dynamic city when they occurred. What happened to create a major metropolis here in the first place? Time's up! The most…...
Foundation's role a mystery as Lincoln artifacts are poised to be auctioned off
1+ mon, 4+ week ago (805+ words) This image of Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth contains hair purportedly from his head after being fatally shot in a manhunt following Lincoln's murder. It was among a cache of items originally acquired for display at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential…...
Abraham Lincoln artifacts that were once in a museum are going up for auction
1+ year, 5+ day ago (1697+ words) This pair of blood-stained gloves was in Abraham Lincoln's possession when he was assassinated. Items on Abraham Lincoln's body the night he was assassinated, his earliest known handwriting and other extraordinary relics from his life are being auctioned this week…...
What's That Building? Future Emmett Till House Museum
8+ mon, 3+ day ago (646+ words) The Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley House is located at 6427 S. St. Lawrence Ave. The West Woodlawn home where Emmett Till lived with his mother and extended family before being brutally murdered 70 years ago is in the process of becoming not…...
The story of the Lady Elgin, the deadliest shipwreck in Great Lakes history
1+ mon, 2+ week ago (328+ words) About 300 people drowned in the Lady Elgin disaster. The shipwreck had a major influence on maritime safety in the Great Lakes. Artist Eric Edward Esper's depiction of The Lady Elgin as its struck by a small lumber schooner, The Augusta,…...
Historic Chicago pranks: From killer hawks to a TV takeover
1+ mon, 3+ week ago (85+ words) WBEZ Chicago Image courtesy Fuzzy Memories TV - The Museum of Classic Chicago Television Curious City has gotten a lot of questions about famous pranks, so in celebration of April Fools" Day we investigated three historical stunts pulled by (or on)…...
Lincoln items once destined for state museum sell as part of $1. 3 million auction
1+ mon, 4+ week ago (509+ words) This image from the archives of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is of a purported lock of hair taken from John Wilkes Booth's head after he was fatally shot during a manhunt. It was one of hundreds of…...
How early Black Chicagoans used photography to redefine their image
1+ mon, 4+ week ago (48+ words) WBEZ Chicago Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History Read this story for free. We won't share your information with outside organizations. Why am I seeing this? More From This Show...