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Chicago Stories

House Music: A Cultural Revolution

Chicago’s secret is very much out in the open now: house music DJs headline clubs and festivals from London to Cape Town. But this electronic dance music was born behind closed doors at underground venues.
Al Capone’s Bloody Business

During Prohibition in Chicago, infamous mobster Al Capone built his empire. His gang became sprawling criminal empire, often embattled in bloody conflicts that would cement Capone as one of America’s most notorious gangsters.
When the West Side Burned

In the days after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, columns of smoke rose above Chicago’s West Side. The murder of a man who preached nonviolence in the face of struggle ignited grief and rage as uprisings spread in cities across the United States with violence, looting, and fires.
The Making of Playboy

Playboy, a brand now synonymous with sex, was launched by Hugh Hefner in the 1950s in Chicago. Hefner bought the iconic Playboy mansion in Chicago’s Gold Coast where his raucous parties became the stuff of legend. He also opened the first of 30 Playboy clubs in Chicago, outfitting cocktail waitresses in heels and bunny tails.
The Young Lords of Lincoln Park

There was a time, from the late 1940s through the 1960s, when the now-upscale Lincoln Park neighborhood served as the beating heart of Chicago’s huge Puerto Rican community, and the base of operations for a band of Puerto Rican revolutionaries known as the Young Lords.
Amusement Parks

Dive into the history of Chicago’s amusement parks and the role the city played in shaping the amusement industry. Explore Riverview Park, Ravinia, Santa’s Village, Kiddieland, and more.
The Black Sox Scandal

It’s the most notorious scandal in the history of professional baseball. Eight Chicago White Sox players were charged with throwing the World Series in 1919. It was an event that ruined the reputations and careers of some of the greatest players of all time and broke the heart of a nation.
Deadly Alliance: Leopold and Loeb

In 1924, after several months of meticulous planning, Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb kidnapped and murdered 14-year-old Bobby Franks for the thrill of committing a "perfect crime."
The Rise and Fall of the Mail Order Giants

The catalogs of Sears, Roebuck, and Co., and Montgomery Ward were beloved icons of Americana. The catalogs reflected the power of companies to shape how people shopped and what they bought. The rise and fall of these mail order giants is intertwined with the history of Chicago and the rest of America.
The Outrage of Danny Sotomayor

In 1988, Danny Sotomayor faced what amounted to a death sentence: AIDS diagnosis. No cure, costly meds, and quick fatalities. At 29, he was terrified but chose to combat the crisis in his unique way — through spectacle.
Candy Capital

Chicago, once "Candy Capital of the World," birthed iconic sweets like Cracker Jack, M&Ms, Snickers, and Lemon Heads. 100 local companies, including Wrigley, Mars, and Ferrara, made a third of US candy, employing 25,000. Immigrant contributions shaped this confectionary legacy.
Jane Addams: Together We Rise

Jane Addams was an activist ahead of her time. Within the walls of Hull House on the Near West Side, she led a social movement and amassed an army of women to demand change, pushing boundaries and breaking barriers along the way.
The Boss and the Bulldozer

Richard J. Daley, aka The Boss, transformed Chicago as mayor (1955-1976). Facing white flight, he spearheaded city planning, creating the 1958 Plan for the Central City. His vision revitalized downtown but displaced 168,000 people by 1963, causing racial tensions.
Pullman and the Railroad Rebellion

Railroad titan George Pullman’s name was once synonymous with luxury, but when his success didn’t trickle down to his workers, a rebellion ensued. A group of Black workers found success through organizing, paving the way for a Black middle class and a civil rights movement.
The Race to Reverse the River

From its earliest days, Chicago residents and businesses alike dumped their waste directly into the Chicago River, which flowed into Lake Michigan and contaminated the city’s drinking water. Chicago Stories explores the various methods tried to combat the problem, and one engineer’s bold solution.
Angels Too Soon: The School Fire of '58

In 1958, a tragic Catholic school fire at Our Lady of the Angels in the city’s Humboldt Park neighborhood took the lives of 92 children and 3 nuns. The fire at Our Lady of the Angels was an unimaginable tragedy that shook a parish and changed a community.
The Birth of Gospel

The episode follows “The Father of Gospel”, Thomas A. Dorsey, who wrote one of gospel’s early hits while coping with his grief over the death of his wife and child. It explores the roots of gospel from southern spirituals during slavery, through gospel’s early years.
Our Soldiers, Our Lady of Guadalupe

This is the story of pride and heartbreak in a close-knit South Side community. Our Lady of Guadalupe, Chicago’s first and oldest Mexican-American parish, lost 12 young men in the Vietnam War during a brutal five-year period.
The Union Stockyards

At the end of the 19th century, Chicago completely transformed the way Americans eat, and the Union Stockyards on the South Side were the center of that revolution. Experience the sights, sounds, and awful smells of the Union Stockyards and the complex of meat factories next to it, known as Packingtown.
The Real Mad Men of Chicago

You may not have heard of Albert Lasker, Eugene Kolkey, or Tom Burrell, but you most certainly know their creations. They’re Chicago’s Mad Men - the local executives who created iconic figures like the Marlboro Man, Charlie the Tuna, and the Pillsbury Dough Boy.
Downtown Disasters

Chicago Stories recalls two very different disasters that occurred in the heart of Chicago’s Loop 90 years apart: First, the deadliest building fire in U.S. history: the 1903 Iroquois Theatre Fire.
Jane Byrne

As a woman once again occupies the fifth floor of City Hall, Chicago Stories remembers the city’s first female mayor. After pulling off one of Chicago’s greatest political upsets, Jane Byrne found herself caught between the political machine that shaped her and the reformers who elected her.
Inventing Improv

Chicago’s greatest cultural export just might be improvised theater — an art form that was devised by a woman named Viola Spolin — who wasn’t out for laughs.
Ida B. Wells

There are few Chicago historical figures whose life and work speak to the current moment more than Ida B. Wells, the 19th century investigative journalist, civil rights leader, and passionate suffragist.
The Great Chicago Fire

On October 10, 1871, Chicago awoke to an unrecognizable landscape: where 48 hours earlier there had been a vibrant city, now there was nothing but rubble stretched for miles on end.

Downtown Disasters | Chicago Stories

Downtown Disasters

In the heart of Chicago’s Loop, 90 years apart, two very different disasters took place. First, the deadliest building fire in U.S. history: the 1903 Iroquois Theater Fire. Caused by hasty construction, missing and faulty safety features, and a botched evacuation, the tragedy shocked the nation and gave rise to many safeguards still in place today. Then, the Great Loop Flood of 1992: a $2 billion disaster with zero casualties. As downtown buildings mysteriously flooded with water – and fish – from the Chicago River, the city searched for answers in a long-forgotten tunnel system.

The Story of Downtown Disasters

Vintage photo of Iroquois Theater in Chicago

The Tragedy of the Iroquois Theater Fire

Flooded street in Chicago Loop

A Comedy of Errors: How a Small Leak Became the Great Loop Flood of 1992

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Digital ExclusiveDig In to Chicago’s Curious Freight Tunnels

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From the ShowThe Aftermath of the Iroquois Theater Fire

John Kenny with hard hat on

From the ShowThe Flood Stud

Lead support for Chicago Stories is provided by The Negaunee Foundation and the Jim and Kay Mabie Family.

The Negaunee Foundation

Jim and Kay Mabie Family

Additional support is provided by an anonymous donor and TAWANI Property Management.