Fifty years ago, on Sept 24, 1969, the Chicago Conspiracy Trial opened to decide the fate of eight protesters arrested during the 1968 Democratic Convention. The trial was a political, legal and historical landmark that lasted for almost five months, becoming known as the Chicago Seven trial when one defendant, Bobby Seale, accused Judge Julius […]
Part of Andrew Clayman’s collection of vintage Chicago-made products has been on display at our office, but Andrew himself will be our Living History Speaker on October 17 at the Northtown Branch Library, 6801 N. Western Ave, when he will discuss the collection with a special emphasis on the sometimes-overlooked manufacturing legacy of the North […]
Around the turn of the 20th Century, the new residential development called Birchwood Beach attracted prosperous Chicago residents with its clean air, proximity to Lake Michigan and easy access to downtown Chicago via a train station near what is now the Red Line stop at Jarvis Square. On open lands once covered by a thick […]
Tom Nall reports on a new walking tour through West Ridge Bungalow Districts with ties to Chicago’s Prohibition Era history.
Artists of the Wall has been an important part of Rogers Park for a quarter of a century. Learn the story behind this enduring Loyola Park Advisory Council project that adds art to our lake shore and involves hundreds of local residents and artists from around the city. Mary Bao, long-time RPWRHS member and one of the founders of the event, will talk about how the festival began, how it has evolved over more than two decades, and plans for where it’s going in the future.
If you aren’t taking our Gangsters of West Ridge Tour on July 13, stop by the Edgewater Branch Library to hear the story of how immigrants from one of the smallest countries in Europe shaped the early history of Chicago’s Far North Side. Kevin Wester, retired Executive Director of the Luxembourger American Cultural Society will […]
Last time sold out quickly. Register now to reserve your ticket for the walking tour that takes you back to a fascinating look at a sometimes glamorized, sometime buried era of Chicago history, with links to our own community. Tony Soprano wasn’t the first mobster drawn to quiet suburban-style living. In the Roaring 20’s, the […]
Tony Soprano wasn’t the first mobster drawn to quiet suburban-style living. In the Roaring 20’s, the new bungalows of West Ridge provided an idyllic refuge on the northern edge of the city for organized crime figures involved in the gambling, rum-running, vice and gangland struggles for power that defined the Prohibition era in Chicago. Join […]
Tom Nall revisits Rosehill Cemetery on our May 18, 2219 tour and discovers new stories of the people who built our community.
Neighborhood Historian Glenna Eaves will once again lead her popular tour “The Spirits of Rogers Park and West Ridge at Rosehill Cemetery.” Join Glenna to honor the early leaders of Rogers Park and West Ridge by visiting the graves and monuments of men and women who helped build our neighborhood. Farmers, soldiers, business owners, artists […]
