From the little-known architect to the over 375,000 terra cotta pieces on the facade, the pioneering radio stations and extraordinary designers that worked there, The Wrigley Building: The Making of an Icon tells the stories of one of Chicago's most famous buildings.
Playlist History
History
The Historic South Shore Cultural Center Gets a New Restaurant Full of Soul
Daniel HautzingerThe South Shore Cultural Center was once a country club that excluded Black people. Now it's home to a soul food restaurant owned by a Black entrepreneur.
Memories of Chicago-Area Grocery Stores, As Shared By Our Audience
Daniel HautzingerFrom cramped corner stores to big local chains, our audience shared memories of grocery stores in the Chicago area both extant and long-gone. The reminiscences track the changing landscape of grocery stores over the decades.
The Story of Chicago’s Grocery Stores – And How They’ve Changed How We Eat
Daniel HautzingerFrom open-air public markets to big national supermarkets, grocery stores have both tracked and influenced our diets and urban life. The Chicago area has had its share of homegrown companies, from Dominick's to Jewel and all the independents in between.
How the Miracle of Refrigeration Changed Our Food System – And Chicago's Role in Its Development
Daniel HautzingerRefrigeration has divorced us from the origins of the food we eat, thanks to entrepreneurs like the Chicago meatpacker Gustavus Swift, who helped the stockyards grow by developing the refrigerated train car.
The Illinois Governor Who Headed a Landmark Commission on America – and Had a Tragic Fall from Grace
Daniel HautzingerOtto Kerner gave his name to a report that called for enormous changes in American society to address racial disparities, but his reputation for integrity suffered when he became the first (not the last) Illinois governor convicted of a crime.
The Oldest Restaurant in Illinois – Where Even the Furniture Was Once for Sale
Lisa FuttermanLong Grove, Illinois is home to the state's oldest restaurant, The Village Tavern. What was once a watering hole 177 years ago is now a charming spot steeped in history.
A 'Call the Midwife' Cookbook Explores the Food—and History—of a "Totally Bonkers Period"
Daniel Hautzinger“It’s a totally bonkers period,” says Annie Gray, a food historian and the author of a new cookbook focusing on British food from 1956-1970, the era of Call the Midwife. But the food "tells us so much about social attitudes" and more, she says.
Nine Chicago Women Who Found Success in Food Before the Age of the Celebrity Chef
Daniel HautzingerEven today there is a huge disparity in the number of women head chefs, but achieving success in the food industry earlier on was even less common. Meet some of the women who influenced Chicago and America's attitudes towards food.
A Brief History of Marathons in Chicago
Meredith FrancisAhead of this weekend's Chicago Marathon, take a brief look at the history of long-distance running in Chicago, including the story of how a swing bridge interrupted the very first marathon in the city.
Revisiting the Great Chicago Fire 149 Years Later
Meredith FrancisThe Great Chicago Fire: A Chicago Stories Special reveals new details with recreations and animation that bring the fire to life. Executive producer Dan Protess and producer and writer Peter Marks talked about their approach to telling the old story in a new way.
The Chicago Magazine That Has Helped Define Poetry for the Past Century
Daniel HautzingerPoetry magazine has published most major poets of the last century and given many of them early breaks, from T.S. Eliot to Gwendolyn Brooks, Ocean Vuong, and Danez Smith. "Chicago," excerpts from Claudia Rankine's Citizen, and "anyone lived in a pretty how town" were first published in its pages.
"One of the Greatest Events in the History of Medicine": The Defeat of Polio
Daniel HautzingerDuPage county, outside Chicago, took part in Jonas Salk's polio vaccine trials in 1954, a successful nationwide experiment that led to the virtual end of a terrifying disease and was called "one of the greatest events in the history of medicine."
How Chicago’s Pride Parade Grew from a Small March to a Big Event
Meredith FrancisChicago's Pride Parade didn't start as a parade at all. It was originally a small march to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall uprising. But a protest against anti-gay activist Anita Bryant in 1977 helped the parade become what it is today.
The Chicagoan Who Founded the Earliest Gay Rights Group in America
Meredith FrancisThe Society for Human Rights, founded by Chicago postal worker Henry Gerber, didn’t last long, but its legacy inspired various groups in the decades to come. Gerber's Old Town home where he was arrested in 1925 was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2015.
