Episodes

Send us a text An area once called Dunkley’s Grove was considered for a new stadium for the Chicago White Sox, not in old-timey days – in 1986! Was Edison Park named for Thomas Edison? Dunton, Sagone, Hartford… and where was Cleaverville? Show your love of this podcast for the cost of a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chicagohistory Send me an email with whatever is on your mind: chicagohistorypod AT gmail.com Leave me a voice message - just click on the microphone in the lower right corne...

Send us a text Show your love of this podcast for the cost of a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chicagohistory Send me an email with whatever is on your mind: chicagohistorypod AT gmail.com Leave me a voice message - just click on the microphone in the lower right corner here: https://www.chicagohistorypod.com Up your cocktail or Sodastream game with Portland craft syrups! https://portlandsyrups.com/collections/all?sca_ref=1270971.MO4APpJH1k CHP Merch (Buy a T-Shirt, Help the Podcast): http...

Send us a text Their killings stand out as one of Chicago's most infamous unsolved crimes. Today we’re discussing the Grimes Sisters Murders. Show your love of this podcast for the cost of a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chicagohistory Send me an email with whatever is on your mind: chicagohistorypod AT gmail.com Leave me a voice message - just click on the microphone in the lower right corner here: https://www.chicagohistorypod.com Up your cocktail or Sodastream game with Portland craft...

Send us a text Have you ever been to Grossdale? Praha? Maybe Swedetown? How about Gregg's Milk Station? I’m sure you’ve been to Hardscrabble, right? Today we’re discussing Chicago’s Forgotten Towns, Neighborhoods, and Names. Show your love of this podcast for the cost of a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chicagohistory Send me an email with whatever is on your mind: chicagohistorypod AT gmail.com Leave me a voice message - just click on the microphone in the lower right corner here: https:...

Send us a text WTTW's Eddie Griffin is back to discuss one of Chicago's darkest sports stories - the Black Sox Scandal of 1919. The new season of Chicago Stories begins September 20th. https://interactive.wttw.com/chicago-stories Show your love of this podcast for the cost of a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chicagohistory Leave me a voice message - just click on the microphone in the lower right corner here: https://www.chicagohistorypod.com Up your cocktail or Sodastream game with Port...

Send us a text Anthony Bourdain tasted the wormwood-infused liquor Malört for his TV show “The Layover” and said, “its brash nature" created “a possibility that I could get all stabby and belligerent.” Today we're talking about Malört, the truly Chicago booze. Show your love of this podcast for the cost of a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chicagohistory Leave me a voice message - just click on the microphone in the lower right corner here: https://www.chicagohistorypod.com Up your cocktai...

Send us a text This episode's guest is Mitchell Bisschop, who wrote and stars in the play "Royko: The Toughest Man in Chicago," which runs Sept. 5-29, 2024, at the Chopin Theatre. Mitchell and I discuss celebrated newspaper columnist Mike Royko, Chicago newspapers, growing up in Barrington, IL as a theatre nerd, and how this one-man play came together. Don't worry if you don't know much about Mike Royko - I include a (somewhat) brief bio before the interview. Tickets to Royko: The Toughest Man ...

Send us a Text Message. He arrived in Chicago from Boston in the mid-1800s and set up an Eye and Ear Infirmary to help those in need. Hear the story of Dr. Edward Lorenzo Holmes and his efforts to help the less fortunate in Chicago. West Loop: Then and Now by Connie Fairbanks Buy it from the author: https://www.conniefairbanks.com/shop-1 Show your support of the show for the cost of a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chicagohistory Leave me a voice message - just click on the microphone in ...

Send us a Text Message. Chinese entrepreneurs in the 1970s as well as refugees from Vietnam and Cambodia transformed an area on the city’s north side by opening restaurants, bakeries, pharmacies, and social service agencies. Today we’re discussing Chicago’s Little Saigon with author Erica Allen-Kim. Building Little Saigon: Refugee Urbanism in American Cities and Suburbs by Erica Allen-Kim Buy it from the publisher: https://utpress.utexas.edu/9781477329719/ Show your support of the show for the...

Send us a Text Message. Long before NASCAR came to Chicago, this town had races, racers, and racetracks. Today we're talking about Chicago's Motor Speedways. Show your support of the show for the cost of a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chicagohistory Leave me a voice message - just click on the microphone in the lower right corner here: https://www.chicagohistorypod.com Up your cocktail or Sodastream game with Portland craft syrups! https://portlandsyrups.com/collections/all?sca_ref=1270...

Send us a Text Message. Danny Sotomayor, a fiery, openly gay AIDS activist, was a man on a mission. Today we discuss Sotomayor with Dan Andries, the writer and producer of the WTTW documentary "The Outrage of Danny Sotomayor." The Outrage of Danny Sotomayor (WTTW) https://interactive.wttw.com/chicago-stories/outrage-of-danny-sotomayor/video The Outrage of Danny Sotomayor (YouTube) https://youtu.be/UQUxHdWHeKs?si=lql4W2Eg9XAdb3lO Show your support of the show for the cost of a coffee: https://ww...

It is the largest train robbery in U.S. history, and it occurred just 32 miles north of Chicago. Hear how the Rondout Train Robbery unfolded 100 years ago in June 1924. Show your support of the show for the cost of a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chicagohistory Leave me a voice message - just click on the microphone in the lower right corner here: https://www.chicagohistorypod.com Up your cocktail or Sodastream game with Portland craft syrups! https://portlandsyrups.com/collections/all?s...

Captured World War II enemy combatants were often brought back to the United States to be housed in facilities across the country, including here in Illinois. Today we’re discussing Chicago’s World War II POW Camps. Show your support of the show for the cost of a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chicagohistory Leave me a voice message - just click on the microphone in the lower right corner here: https://www.chicagohistorypod.com Up your cocktail or Sodastream game with Portland craft syrup...

It is one of the oldest original ballparks in the country, and with that lengthy run is an interesting history as well. Show your support of the show for the cost of a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chicagohistory Leave me a voice message - just click on the microphone in the lower right corner here: https://www.chicagohistorypod.com Up your cocktail or Sodastream game with Portland craft syrups! https://portlandsyrups.com/collections/all?sca_ref=1270971.MO4APpJH1k Affiliate Links (anythi...

His funeral was the largest in Chicago since that of Abraham Lincoln. Who was Dr. Patrick Henry Cronin, and how did his connection to secret Irish organizations lead to his murder? Show your support of the show for the cost of a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chicagohistory Leave me a voice message - just click on the microphone in the lower right corner here: https://www.chicagohistorypod.com Up your cocktail or Sodastream game with Portland craft syrups! https://portlandsyrups.com/colle...

Friend of the podcast Geoffrey Baer is BACK with a new special on WTTW called "Chicago Mysteries." Listen as Geoffrey and I discuss a few of the stories from the program. https://www.wttw.com/mysteries Show your support of the show for the cost of a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chicagohistory Leave me a voice message - just click on the microphone in the lower right corner here: https://www.chicagohistorypod.com Up your cocktail or Sodastream game with Portland craft syrups! https://por...

Connie Fairbanks, author of "Chicago's West Loop: Then and Now," joins me on this episode as co-writer and co-host as we discuss five Chicago parks named for women. Purchase Connie Fairbanks' book "Chicago's West Loop: Then and Now" from the author: https://www.conniefairbanks.com/ Amazon link: https://amzn.to/3BzEPxt Show some love for the podcast for the cost of a cup of coffee and help offset production costs: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chicagohistory Anything purchased through the links ...

Local author Cynthia Pelayo's new book masterfully blends dark Chicago history and fairy-tale horrors. Listen as the author and I discuss her life growing up in Chicago and her exciting new book about two sisters and a killer dumping men into the Chicago River. cinapelayo.com YouTube version: https://youtu.be/r32m2jwrxHc Show some love for the podcast for the cost of a cup of coffee and help offset production costs: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chicagohistory Forgotten Sisters: A Novel by Cy...

Three! Three! Three episodes in one! Enjoy. Show your support of the show for the cost of a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chicagohistory Leave me a voice message - just click on the microphone in the lower right corner here: https://www.chicagohistorypod.com Up your cocktail or Sodastream game with Portland craft syrups! https://portlandsyrups.com/collections/all?sca_ref=1270971.MO4APpJH1k Affiliate Links (anything you buy - not just this stuff - through these links may help support the ...

Bartender, poet, musician, artist, and more. Sergio Mayora and the art of Weeds Tavern. In the Weeds: How Bartender, Poet, Musician and Artist Sergio Mayora Cultivated One of the Most Important Taverns in Chicago History by Dave Hoekstra (New City, November 2022) https://www.newcity.com/2022/11/01/in-the-weeds-how-bartender-poet-musician-and-artist-sergio-mayora-cultivated-one-of-the-most-important-taverns-in-chicago-history/ Trope Publishing: https://trope.com/ Show your support of the show fo...

A series of tragedies prompted one Chicago suburb to change the way trains travel through their city. This is the story of Connecting Winnetka to Chicago. Show your support of the show for the cost of a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chicagohistory Leave me a voice message - just click on the microphone in the lower right corner here: https://www.chicagohistorypod.com Up your cocktail or Sodastream game with Portland craft syrups! https://portlandsyrups.com/collections/all?sca_ref=1270971...

Just days before Christmas in 1910, a fire broke out in Chicago that resulted in the highest loss of life of firefighters due to a building collapse, a grim claim held for nearly 91 years before being surpassed on 9/11. Show your support of the show for the cost of a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chicagohistory Leave me a voice message - just click on the microphone in the lower right corner here: https://www.chicagohistorypod.com Up your cocktail or Sodastream game with Portland craft s...

In October 1960, Prince Akihito of Japan visited Chicago for 21 hours. Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley presented the prince with a diplomatic gift: 18 bluegill. What happened next would change the underwater world of Japan forever. Today's episode is from Points North, part of Northern Michigan's Interlochen Public Radio. https://www.interlochenpublicradio.org/podcast/points-north Need a healthful alternative to coffee? Check out noonbrew.co/TOMMYHENRY and save 15% off your first order. Show ...

Geoffrey Baer is back on the podcast to discuss his latest program for WTTW - The Most Beautiful Places in Chicago 2. https://interactive.wttw.com/most-beautiful-places-in-chicago Show your support of the show for the cost of a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chicagohistory Leave me a voice message - just click on the microphone in the lower right corner here: https://www.chicagohistorypod.com Up your cocktail or Sodastream game with Portland craft syrups! https://portlandsyrups.com/colle...