Sweet Home Chicago....

I love history. Especially of places and buildings. If only buildings could talk!! I also love Chicago. So, so much. And so, here and there I have begun to accumulate pictures of Chicago and it's history. I can't seem to get enough. I just want to teleport back in time and visit these places and events and buildings. I'm sad for the buildings that are gone - why can't we, like our European friends, realize the importance and beauty of the old and quit knocking things down just to build the next best and greatest thing?
I guess you could say I'm a little obsessed with this beautiful city. I have over 1000 pictures and that doesn't even include the specialty folders. I love the old stores, old restaurants and the old amusements. The Colombian Exposition, Riverview, the old theaters. What I will ever do with these pictures, I don't know. But it's a joy just to look at them. The neighborhoods are fascinating, the stories of the immigrants amazing. Good, bad, ugly and everything in between. The story behind each building, yes, even the projects, brings more understanding and clarity to why things evolved as they did. The disasters - fires, floods and tragedy on the lake - all point towards how those events influenced laws and codes for the better. I am grateful to Burnham and Ward for their foresight in planning and insisting on an open lakefront, green space and logical street patterns. Did I mention how much I love Chicago?

Here are a few pictures from the past:

1929 Grant Park and Buckingham Fountain

1941 Southside - Long Gone

Ever wonder what Wrigley Field was before it was a ball park? This is a shot looking west from what is now Sheffield Ave.

Famous Chicago Bungalows

Field Museum 1907

Animal Court at the Jane Adam's Homes

Animal Court at the Jane Adam's Homes

Animal Court at the Jane Adam's Homes, then and....

Animal Court now

Late 40's and Early 50's post war housing

1893 Colombian Exposition

1905 Lake Shore Drive at Lincoln Park

1928 Construction of Wacker Drive

1947 Stockyards

Skyline 1960. Taken from the Prudential Building

Lincoln Park Zoo 1901

Lincoln Park Zoo

Pullman Rowhouses 1969

Sheridan Road, Devon and Broadway 1938

Oak Street Beach July 4, 1936

Ride the "L" 1937