A mansion sits on the corner of North Sheridan Road and West Fargo Avenue. Built in 1912, the 6,600 sq. ft. home has six and a half baths, two sunrooms, an open eat-in kitchen with an island, a formal living room, and a basement decked out with an exercise room and a wet bar. Typically, a home like this would house a family, and in some ways, it did.
Edward Newell Ware (1892-1919): A Unique Life of Selfless Service By Gustavo Azevedo In 1930, the first Gold Star pilgrimage took place. Hundreds of American mothers and widows of fallen soldiers were offered the opportunity to visit the graves of their family members. The trip was meant to show appreciation and allow mothers and wives […]
Eddie O’Hare was known as a “front man” for Al Capone who kept a secret hideaway apartment in Rogers Park to hide from his enemies. After his murder in 1939, his son “Butch” O’Hare became a war hero whose name lives on in Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.
Our Cemetery Series Continues at Chicago’s Last Churchyard Burial Site St. Henry’s is the final resting place for many of the original Ridgeville settlers whose lives and accomplishments shaped our neighborhood. Our favorite cemetery historian, Glenna Eaves, will tell the stories of multiple generations of farmers, builders, merchants, entrepreneurs and artisans laid to rest in […]
Courtroom Artist John Michael Downs was a witness to some of the most significant legal cases in Chicago history the Chicago Daily News and Chicago Sun-Times.
The Notorious Joseph Aiello (1890-1930) By Hanna Houser and Dona Vitale You already know about Al Capone. You may recognize names like Dean O’Banion or Bugs Moran. But do you know anything about Capone’s fiercest rival, Joe Aiello, who made his home in the peaceful Rogers Park Manor development in West Ridge? Born in 1890 […]
The northern-most street on the border of Chicago and Evanston is a hidden-away corner of Rogers Park. Lined with mature trees and large backyard gardens, the long block of Juneway Terrace west of busy Sheridan Road offers a tranquil outdoor setting. Our 2024 HouseWalk features eight homes and an additional garden that highlight that street’s historic past and promising future. Homeowner guides will show their homes and share their efforts to make this street a beautiful refuge for life in the 21st Century.
In its early beginnings, the Rogers Park West Ridge Historical Society would host picnics some of which occurred at Saint Scholastica Monastery. In the spirit of those early days of the Society, join us for a Presentation and Potluck Picnic in the Garden, near the Gazebo at the Saint Scholastica Monastery. Sr. Virginia Jung, OSB, […]
Join Jerry DiMuzio as he reflects on over 50 years as a musician in the Chicago music scene and on the road touring, playing clarinet, sax, and flute. He has played with some of the best, including Frank Sinatra, Doc Severinsen, the Original Glenn Miller Orchestra and “subbed” with the Woody Herman and Ray Charles […]
Wilhelmina Naomi Pollard was the first Black woman to earn a degree from Northwestern University, beginning her life as a trailblazer. But as often has happened, Naomi Pollard’s story has been buried under the weight of the accomplishments of others of the time, including her far more well-known brother, Fritz Pollard.