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Chicago

Chicago's Seminary Co-op

Even More of Chicago's Favorite Indie Bookstores

Daniel Hautzinger

Discover the stories behind more of Chicago's favorite indie bookstores on the South Side, including a legendary, long-lived one that counts Barack and Michelle Obama amongst its fans.
Pilsen Community Books in Chicago

More of Chicago's Beloved Independent Bookstores

Daniel Hautzinger

Independent bookstores remain an irreplaceable asset, with their staff recommendations and sense of community. We've already featured three Chicago stalwarts, but here are the stories of a few more of the city's beloved indie bookstores.
The Bahá’i House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois, north of Chicago. Photo: Courtesy of the US Bahá’í National Center

What the Bahá’i Temple Reveals About the Bahá’i Faith

Daniel Hautzinger

The Bahá’i House of Worship on the lakefront north of Chicago is sometimes called the "silent teacher" for the way that it illustrates principles of the faith, many of which are incorporated into the striking, innovative, ornate design, which took 50 years to realize.
A bookstore. Photo: Adolfo Felix on Unsplash

Chicago's Independent Bookstores

Daniel Hautzinger

If you love books, you probably also love bookstores, and independent bookstores remain irreplaceable gems, with their staff recommendations, unusual selections, and sense of community. Discover the stories behind a few of Chicago's beloved indie bookstores.

Chef Thia and Marcus Samuelsson prepare a meal for their Beach BBQ in Miami in "No Passport Required." Photo: Christine Carreira

Haitians in Chicago

Daniel Hautzinger

With chef Marcus Samuelsson visiting Miami's Little Haiti on No Passport Required, explore the history of Chicago’s Haitian community, which may stretch back to the founding of the city, touches the 1893 World’s Fair, and continues today in a time of uncertainty.

The 2014 Special Olympics. Photo: John Huet

"The World Will Never Be the Same After This": 50 Years of the Special Olympics

Daniel Hautzinger

The first Special Olympics were held 50 years ago in Chicago, thanks in part to the championing efforts of a Kennedy. A celebration of the Special Olympics will be held on their anniversary here in July.

The Chicago Gospel Music Festival. Photo: Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events

Chicago, The "Vatican and Mecca" of Gospel Music

Daniel Hautzinger

Gospel music's "Father," and "Mother," "Queen" and "King," all made their career or were born in Chicago, where the soul-stirring music was first developed and popularized. Discover the development of gospel and its main players in Chicago.
Women detainees at Angel Island. Photo: California Historical Society

The Chinese Exclusion Act and Chicago

Daniel Hautzinger

With the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which banned all Chinese immigration and naturalization, many Chinese immigrants began moving eastward to towns like Chicago, where they slowly cemented a presence despite the demographic restrictions of the Act. 
Chicago's Grant Park

How 13 Chicago Parks Got Their Names

Daniel Hautzinger

Who are some of the more prominent parks in the "City in a Garden" named after, and why? From Humboldt Park to Horner Park to Sherman Park, learn about the history of Chicago's 8,800 acres of parkland and the origins of some of the parks' names.
The Chicago "L." Photo: Jackson Hirsch on Unsplash

12 Iconic Works of Chicago Literature

Daniel Hautzinger

When the rest of the world thinks of Chicago, it's often in terms borrowed from literature: "Hog Butcher for the World," a city of slaughterhouses, a gritty, working-class town. What are some of the most iconic literary depictions of the city?
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at Robert Taylor Homes in Chicago. Photo: From WTTW's DuSable to Obama, courtesyGetty Images

Martin Luther King and Fair Housing in Chicago

Daniel Hautzinger

50 years ago, on April 11, 1968, Congress passed the Fair Housing Act. Martin Luther King, Jr. had come to Chicago in 1966 for his first campaign outside the South to advocate for fair housing, but it took the riots caused by his assassination for the bill to be passed.
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards performing Sticky Fingers at the Fonda Theatre in 2015. Photo: Kevin Mazur

How a Chicago Genre of Music Inspired One of The Biggest Bands in the World

Daniel Hautzinger

Without the Chicago blues of Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and Willie Dixon, promulgated through Chess Records, the Rolling Stones might not exist. 
The mural Keith Haring created in Chicago with students in 1989.

The Chicago Mural Created by a Famous Artist and Hundreds of Students

Daniel Hautzinger

In 1989, Keith Haring painted hundreds of his iconic figures on a 488-foot stretch of wall in Grant Park. Hundreds of students then filled them in however they liked. Watch a WTTW documentary about this unique project, now partially on display at the Cultural Center.

An engraving of the Haymarket Affair from Harper's Weekly

The Clash of Wealth and Labor in Chicago's Gilded Age

Daniel Hautzinger

Chicago epitomized the contradictions of late nineteenth century America, with its explosive growth and exorbitant wealth contrasting with abject squalor and a burgeoning labor movement. The two poles infamously came to a head several times in Chicago.

Nina Chanel Abney with one of her paintings. Photo: Courtesy Articulate

Spotlighting Artists with Chicago Connections

Daniel Hautzinger

Articulate with Jim Cotter offers a look inside the minds of some outstanding and innovative artists, musicians, dancers, and authors. Unsurprisingly, many of them have Chicago connections - discover them all here.
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