Chicago History Podcast

Send us Fan Mail A hitchhiking ghost, walking along a lonely stretch of road in a white dress on her way to a cemetery. To many Chicagoans, the mere mention of the name "Resurrection Mary" will give the listener chills. Was there a Mary? If so, who was she and how and when  did the lore of Resurrection Mary get started? What about the cemetery around which the tale revolves and the town...

Send us Fan Mail In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Lincoln Park had a “High Bridge” which rose 75 feet over the south lagoon's water. As welcoming to sightseers as the big beautiful bridge was, it also had a dark appeal, quickly earning it the dubious name “Suicide Bridge.” Viking Ship at Good Templar Park in Geneva, IL: https://vikingship.us/tours-of-viking/ Chicago History Podcast Clothing...

Send us Fan Mail On a cold day in 1932, a Chicago cop named William Lundy was gunned down at a speakeasy in the Back of the Yards neighborhood. Two men were sent to prison for the crime, but did prosecutors get the right men? 11 years later, a classified ad placed in the newspaper by the mother of one of the men blew this case wide open. The is the story of Joe Majczek, Tillie Majczek, and Ted Mar...

Send us Fan Mail The Ferris Wheel, a marvel of engineering, first appeared at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. This is the story of what happened to the wheel after the fair closed. #ChicagoHistory #WorldsFair1893 #ColumbianExposition #ChicagoArchitecture Love the podcast? Leave us a review! https://lovethepodcast.com/chicagohistorypod Chicago History Podcast Clothing, Mug...

Send us Fan Mail ttps://amzn.to/31PrFL6 Not long after The Beatles invaded America and kids everywhere picked up guitars and drumsticks and formed their own bands, enterprising individuals all over Chicago and the suburbs saw… opportunity. This is the story of Chicago's Teen Rock Clubs of the 60’s. Love the podcast? Leave us a review! https://lovethepodcast.com/chicagohistorypod Additional Re...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode we discuss a few things you may not know about Labor Day and Chicago’s role in how Labor Day as a holiday came to be. Love the podcast? Leave us a review! https://lovethepodcast.com/chicagohistorypod Additional Reading (your purchase using the links below helps support the podcast): Death in the Haymarket: A Story of Chicago, the First Labor Movement and the Bombin...

Send us Fan Mail Provident Hospital, the first owned-and-operated African American hospital not just in Chicago but in the country, Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, the African American surgeon who performed the first open-heart surgery, and Emma Reynolds, the first African American woman to be admitted to the Medical College of Chicago at Northwestern University are all discussed in episode 119. Enjoy!...

Send us Fan Mail In 1962, three of the country's top entertainers traveled to a venue at 2855 N. Milwaukee Ave. near Northbrook to perform for a who's who of Mafia notables. This is the story of Villa Venice. Additional Reading (your purchase through these links helps support the show): "Mafia Spies: The Inside Story of the CIA, Gangsters, JFK, and Castro” by Thomas Maier (https://a...

Send us Fan Mail There was a time you could sit in your car and watch a movie on a giant screen. Crazy, I know. Wait - what? Drive-ins still exist? In this episode we discuss drive-in movies and their history in the Chicagoland area. Additional Reading (your purchase using this link helps support the podcast): Drive-in Theaters: A History from Their Inception in 1933 by Kerry Seagrave ( https://am...

Send us Fan Mail Six years after the closing of the World's Fair of 1893, on 10 acres near the University of Chicago, a new outdoor entertainment venue opened called Sans Souci. Sans Souci and Midway Gardens, although all but forgotten, paved the way for outdoor entertainment for generations to come. Support the show for the cost of a cup of coffee. https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chicagohistory...

Send us Fan Mail It should have been a fun day of picnicking for workers at a local company but it quickly turned into chaos and death in the Chicago river in what is one of the worst accidents and loss of life on the Great Lakes. This is the story of the Eastland Disaster. Augmented Reality App: https://chicago00.org/ Suggested reading: Capsized! The Forgotten Story of the SS Eastland Disaster by...

Send us Fan Mail Jay's Foods - from humble beginnings to becoming a snack food empire, their Jay's Potato Chips have been a longtime favorite created here in Chicago. This is the story of founder Leonard Japp's rise to the top. Chicago History Podcast (chicagohistorypod@gmail.com): https://www.facebook.com/Chicago-History-Podcast-107482214277883 https://twitter.com/chicago_pod https...

Send us Fan Mail The building looks like a castle and includes a history of bombs (both literal and theatrical ones), fine dining, fires, award-winning plays, extortion, and many other ups and downs over an 80-year history. Listen to learn more about The Ivanhoe Restaurant and Theater. Chicago History Podcast (chicagohistorypod@gmail.com): https://www.facebook.com/Chicago-History-Podcast-107482214...

Send us Fan Mail Kelly Kniewel is a mapgeek, history enthusiast, architecture admirer, food fanatic, and a trained city tour guide in Chicago. She has called Chicago home for 25+ years and after working and teaching in the food and beverage industry for more than 10 years she feels pretty confident she knows how to get around to experience the best sights and bites the city has to offer. ChiCitiGi...

Send us Fan Mail Chicago is the city that claims to be first in regards to many things. This episode has a bit of that but also stories about the first time certain events happened in the windy city. The band Nirvana's first visit to Chicago, the first ski resort in Chicago city limits, the first film studio established by an African American, the first animal cartoon, and more! Chicago Histo...

Send us Fan Mail Jacob Slichter is a composer, singer, author, professor, NPR commentator, contributor to The New York Times, and a drummer in the band Semisonic ("Closing Time" "Secret Smile" "F.N.T."). I talked to Jacob recently about his experiences visiting Chicago from his hometown of Champaign, IL when he was still in high school to playing rock shows in the Win...

Send us Fan Mail It is a film that tops many Chicagoans’ lists of their favorite movies shot mainly here in the second city and most certainly is a huge part of Chicago history. Today, June 20th, 2020, marks the 40th Anniversary of the release of the much-loved film. In this episode we look at The Blues Brothers – not just the making of the movie, but the creation of the iconic characters known as...

Send us Fan Mail Chicago-based theater director Gary Griffin's bio is too long to fit in this space (wow, this guy has been busy), but a few notable mentions include working with Chicago's Victory Gardens Theatre, directing multiple Stephen Sondheim productions at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, directing The Color Purple on Broadway as well as other high profile musicals like Footloose...

Send us Fan Mail Was she a good girl gone bad, as some news reports would have you believe, or was Wanda Stopa a naïve, lovestruck woman taken advantage of by an older man? Either way, this is a story that rocked Chicago's news in April of 1924, when the youngest female attorney in Chicago's history got into a cab with murder on her mind. Chicago History Podcast (chicagohistorypod@gmail....

Send us Fan Mail Hannah Stanley has worked in radio and television for over 20 years. Her experience includes hosting live programs on multiple stations, including WGN, one of the most well-respected stations here in Chicago, and hosting a variety of podcasts. What I really wanted to hear about was Hannah's first time taking the stage to perform stand up comedy, 20+ years after first saying s...

Send us Fan Mail Sure, Chicago has the National Hockey League's much loved Chicago Blackhawks and also the American Hockey League's Chicago Wolves, but what about that OTHER Chicago hockey team? Today's we're discussing the Chicago Cougars, a short-lived team from the World Hockey Association in the 1970s! Chicago History Podcast (chicagohistorypod@gmail.com): https://www.faceb...

Send us Fan Mail Marvin Mason published his first novel Curse of Black Hawk's Treasure well into his 50's and in the first year after being published is on track to have 10 works in print. Hear more about Mason's pursuit of a literary life. Marvin Mason - https://gaylord112317.wixsite.com/authormarvinmason/blp-releases https://smile.amazon.com/Marvin-Mason/e/B084D4P9QB?ref=sr_ntt_sr...

Send us Fan Mail It was an innovative idea in its day - a 200 store indoor shopping center 35 miles outside of Chicago with a 31-ride amusement park in the middle. Unfortunately, once you throw in costly delays, waning attendance, lackluster store selection, competition, and a trapeze death, that's when trouble starts. This is the story of Old Chicago, billed at the time as the "world&ap...

Send us Fan Mail Ralph Covert has been a working musician in Chicago since the late 80's, and with his band The Bad Examples has had many memorable shows. I recently talked to Ralph and asked about his Chicago First story playing as a band. I got that and much more.   Ralph Covert: www.ralphcovert.com www.waterdogrecords.com Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music: Ralph Covert & The Bad E...

Send us Fan Mail You don't always have to be first, but when you are it certainly feels good. Chicago has had its share of firsts. The first skyscraper? Built in Chicago. The first female police officer? Chicago again. The first moving walkway? Chicago in 1893. Hear more details about these and other instances in which Chicago has led the way as well as a handful of other "first" st...