Category: Chicago history
Historical information about Chicago, its neighborhoods and its housing.
Quote of the day — who can tell it's a landmark?
"How is anyone - a real estate agent, a seller, a property owner - supposed to know they're even near a landmark district?"
Jonathan Fine, quoted in [...]
Historic West Town State Bank Building to get first tenants in decades
A recent comment from a reader inspired us to check out the mysteriously empty eight-story mid-rise at the northwest corner of Madison and Western, [...]
Chicago preservationists discuss reasons for seeking landmark status
The winter edition of Preservation Chicago's quarterly journal, The Voice (not yet online), features essays from four preservationists about why they [...]
A feast for Wright Robie geeks
I started out to say that it isn't every day that you get to spend an hour in one of America's most important homes.
Not so. Technology, which fasc [...]
Tweens talk Wright at the Robie House
The Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust was kind enough to allow us to shoot some video of this afternoon's sold-out Geek's Guide to Wright's Robie [...]
Visit the Bryn Mawr Historic District
Details, details — from the Bryn Mawr Ave Historic District. See many more details about this area in the National Register nomination f [...]
Edgewater trivia quiz
Where in Edgewater will you find this version of the British royal family's coat of arms, containing the motto ("Honi soit qui mal y pense) of The M [...]
You want greystones, you got greystones
Some of our commenters have been waxing nostalgic about the Chicago greystone.
There's a passel of them in Wrigleyville, near Yo's offices, so we [...]
A bit of Winnetka in Lakeview East
Most of the 500 block of Hawthorne Place (530 to 593) is a Chicago landmark district.
It's an oasis of large, century-old homes on large lots, runn [...]
City to support demolition of landmark building
The Department of Planning and Development is throwing its support behind Prism Development Company's plans to transplant the facade of the landmark [...]
Another half-baked landmark district
The Henry Rohkam house, 1048 W. Oakdale (above), is on the National Register of Historic Places. It's also one of four (yup, four) properties in the [...]
Pigeon on Pilsen landmark
Everywhere we go in Pilsen, the pigeons are with us. This fella is posing alongside the terra cotta on the landmark Schoenhofen Brewing building, W [...]
Every house has its ups and downs
If your home sits on the Canal Street Railroad Bridge, it has more than others.
This vertical lift bridge, dating from 1915, has a deck that can be [...]
Settling for taxidermy and a Potemkin village
That's what proposed changes to the Farwell Building would amount to, according to architecture critic Lynn Becker, who contends that landmarks preser [...]
Time to highlight the history of Record Row on South Michigan Avenue
Yo's truly paid a visit to Willie Dixon's Blues Heaven headquarters at the old Chess Records Office and Studio at 2120 S Michigan Ave at the weekend. [...]
Landmarks 2046
Let's pretend. It's January 1, 2047, and time to submit new nominations for the National Register of Historic Places.
What was built in Chicago in [...]
Yo '07: Prairie District Lofts goes condo
Seemingly undeterred by reports of a softening condo market, Frankel & Giles plans to unveil the 116-unit project Prairie District Lofts in early 2007 [...]
Chicago architecture through a kid's eyes
As we watched my 10-year-old nephew rip the paper off various and sundry electronic goods yesterday, his mother happened to mention that he is startin [...]
A vision of suburban openness
Take a walk with us through the northern half of the Austin Historic District and see some of the results of Henry Austin's 1865 vision.
Read the [...]
Yo's holiday gift guide: Check out these books
Yo! If you're still debating gift ideas for that architecture lover or Chicago history buff in your life, consider these picks from The University of [...]