Japanese Community on the Southside of Chicago

I'm presenting a talk about Japanese and Japanese-American presence in and around Hyde Park, so I wanted to gather the relevant links in one spot. Sources for more reading My History of the Japanese presence on the South Side, the Detention Center and the South Side Japan Town, and the Urban Renewal On my substack … Continue reading Japanese Community on the Southside of Chicago →

Binga Dismond, someone worth remembering

When I was researching Amos Alonzo Stagg and Stagg Field, I realized that, while Stagg is famous for football, but he was a huge presence for track and field too, especially promoting the Olympics movement. He also respected talent. Henry Binga Dismond (1891-1956) was one of his track stars in 1915-1917, a Black man competing … Continue reading Binga Dismond, someone worth remembering →

When History Gets It Wrong

Confederate Monument in Chicago Misinformation metastasizes through the information ecosystem in ways large and small. My pet peeve is the number of people who attended the 1893 Columbian Exposition—27million individuals did not attend the fair. That number is everywhere, but it’s a misunderstanding of another stat. There were 27 million daily entrance tickets sold but … Continue reading When History Gets It Wrong →

An Itinerary for CAC Open House in Hyde Park

Written for a friend who told me what was already in her plans, so I supplied her with links to background information on her way. 1. South Side Entertainment District along Cottage Grove.and 63rd Street It grew because of the Cable Cars, so you can see a couple photos and see why it was there … Continue reading An Itinerary for CAC Open House in Hyde Park →

The Elms: A Once Famous Hotel Lost to Urban Renewal

I bumped into this headline while searching for something else, and I decided I had to take a look at the Elms Hotel. It hadn’t hit my consciousness when I was researching Grand Hotels for my talk for the Historical Society https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkPBikpIv2I “Hotel Register Worth Weight in Gold, Carelessly Burnt” Hyde Park Herald It flourished … Continue reading The Elms: A Once Famous Hotel Lost to Urban Renewal →

Bob Dylan and Blues History

The University of Chicago Folk Festival Bob Dylan with acoustic guitar and harmonica (Bob Dylan Center) This post isn’t a history of the Folk Festival. This post is about how the hive mind of the internet helped me track down a legend about Bob Dylan playing (however briefly) in Hyde Park, which came around to … Continue reading Bob Dylan and Blues History →

Chicago’s Municipal Device

A scavenger hunt I like to play as I walk around the city is spotting examples of the Chicago Municipal Device. The “Y” represents the heart of Chicago--Wolf Point--where the south branch and the north branch join and flow into Lake Michigan. It’s surrounded by a circle to show that the city is united. Once … Continue reading Chicago’s Municipal Device →

Morgan Shoal and the Lakefront

Some Sidelights Earlier this year I wrote a Hyde Park Story about Morgan Shoal in the Hyde Park Herald The people who love the shoal are fighting to save it. Here are some sidelights that didn’t make it into the article. One of my favorite discoveries was the complex network of fossil coral reefs that … Continue reading Morgan Shoal and the Lakefront →

Buffalo Bill and Susan B. Anthony

This wander started with a great observation by Bruce Ervin, who read my Herald article about trolley cars and wanted to talk about exactly how the 61st Street Streetcar worked. I flagged the fact that I had a speculation about the arched passageway under the Illinois Central train tracks—if, as someone told me, it had been built … Continue reading Buffalo Bill and Susan B. Anthony →

White City Amusement Park

I gave a talk on the time when the Hyde Park area was an entertainment destination and found more images than I could use. Links to the talk on YouTube appear at the end of this post. The biggest amusement park to cash in on the fame of the 1893 Fair was at 63rd and … Continue reading White City Amusement Park →