3 Little-Known Chicago Museums You Should See
– By Tom Schaffner
Everyone is familiar with Chicago’s prominent museums — Field Museum of Natural History, Museum of Science and Industry, Art Institute, Chicago History Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art, Adler Planetarium — but the majority of visitors to Chicago aren’t aware of the many smaller, special interest museums located throughout the City that offer great educational, cultural and entertainment value to anyone willing to invest a little time and effort into finding them.
Museum of Broadcast Communications
Because it has changed locations several times in the past 25 years, the Museum of Broadcast Communications has been a difficult museum to locate much less visit since coming into existence in the late 1980s (for eight and a half of those years, it didn’t even have a home). Now located in a self-built structure at 360 N. State Street, the Museum’s itinerant days appear to be behind it for good. And for visitors, that’s a really good thing.
Thanks to geography, Chicago in the 1920s was one of the nation’s early broadcasting centers. Its central Midwest location not only allowed its early radio stations to be widely heard — from the eastern seaboard to the Rocky Mountains — the geography also allowed Chicago to become a logical switching point for transcontinental network lines, enabling local production facilities to easily and efficiently re-feed programming to various time zones nationwide. The City’s early role as a broadcasting center is one of the primary reasons the Museum is located in Chicago.
The mission of the Museum of Broadcast Communication is to collect, preserve and present historic and contemporary radio and television content and artifacts and make it available to the public for educational, informational and entertainment purposes. The Museum has an extensive archive of clips and episodes from radio and television programs over the years and serves as the headquarters of the National Radio Hall of Fame. Additionally, it has curated and collected artifacts from locally produced programs like the “Oprah Winfrey Show,” “Garfield Goose and Friends,” and the “Bozo Show” and a current exhibit at the Museum, “Saturday Night Live: The Experience,” was recently extended through March 31, 2019.
American Writers Museum
The reason this museum is not well known is because it is new — the American Writers Museum opened its doors in May 2017 — and because it is hidden on the second floor of a downtown office building (180 N. Michigan Ave.).
In its short life span, however, the museum has already racked up some pretty impressive awards. Shortly after it opened, the Museum was listed first by Fodor’s Travel as one of “World’s 10 Best New Museums.” Six weeks later, the Writers Museum was named “Best Illinois Attraction” in a survey by USA Today/Reader’s Choice.
The first museum of its kind in the United States, the American Writers Museum celebrates American writers and explores their influence on our history, our identity and our daily lives. The Museum features a wide array of interactive exhibits that focus on various aspects of writing, great authors and their works, Chicago writers and their contributions to literature, and much more. The Museum also hosts a number of special events and programs — “Bob Dylan Electric” is an exhibit running through April 30, 2019 that explores the cultural influences and writing talents of the winner of the 2016 Nobel Prize for Literature; “Frederick Douglass: Agitator,” which runs through May 31, 2019, explores the powerful words used by Douglass in his fights against slavery and racism.
McCormick Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum
There just aren’t many museums in the U.S. — or in the world, for that matter — that are housed in a bridge-tender’s tower located astride an iconic urban river. Such an unlikely location for a museum, as well as its small size, are why this particular venue is not heavily trafficked, it doesn’t look at all like a museum.
It’s an interesting place to visit, however. When the Michigan Avenue museum is open (May 1 –Oct. 31) and the bridge needs to be raised for boat traffic, visitors can walk down its stairs to the river’s edge and watch the huge mechanical gears turn as counterweights drop and, with teeter-totter-like precision, lift both sides of the trunnion-bascule bridge so that the roadway sections are pointing straight to the sky, perpendicular to the water. This happens about 100 times between April and November, and typically occurs on Wednesdays or Saturdays.
The museum also tells the stories of the Michigan Avenue Bridge and the Chicago River — how both the bridge and museum are now located on the site of historic Fort Dearborn, how the bridge was chiefly responsible for the growth of the City north of the Loop and the role of the River in the development of Chicago and how its direction was “reversed” in the early 1900s in order divert waste and sewage away from Lake Michigan.
Interested in exploring all that this city has to offer? Book one of our Chicago tours today!
Learn more about Chicago in the L Stop Blog
Holder of two journalism degrees, including a masters from Northwestern University, Tom Schaffner is a native of the Chicago area and has spent nearly 50 years as a writer, editor, publisher and professional communications consultant. He was also the founder, editor, and publisher of the Chicago File, a newsletter for former Chicagoans. Tom is also the co-owner of L Stop Tours.
– By Tom Schaffner
When Chicago’s Lakefront Wasn’t So Green
Only on rare occasions is a first-time visitor not impressed by Chicago’s 22 miles of shoreline. In addition to the beauty and grandeur of the sparkling blue water, virtually the entire stretch is free and clear of commercial construction. It consists of nothing but open space — parks and beaches — and is always open and accessible to the general public.
It wasn’t always that way, however. During the past century, Chicago’s lakefront served as the home for facilities and installations that emphasized weaponry — something that is difficult to imagine in today’s sensitive and politically-correct times.
Nike Missile Sites
From the early 1950’s until 1974, Chicago’s lakefront hosted Nike Missile installations (missiles, missile launchers and radar facilities) at three locations — Belmont/Montrose harbor, Burnham Park and Jackson Park/Promontory point. The sites were built by the U.S. government as part of a Cold War defense system and a deterrent to possible aggression from the Soviet Union. Though not usually visible to the general public, the missiles were occasionally unveiled so that citizens could see for themselves that the U.S. was prepared to defend the homeland and also as a propaganda tool to show the Soviets that the U.S. was “armed to the teeth” in case they were considering an attack. By the early 1960s, the sites became obsolete when intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) became the new offensive/defensive missiles-of-choice by both the Soviet Union and U.S. governments. As a result, the sites were dismantled.
Lincoln Park Gun Club
From 1912 until 1991, members of a private gun club founded by such prominent Chicagoans as Oscar F. Mayer, W.C. Peacock and P.K. Wrigley, were allowed to shoot traps and skeet that were launched over Lake Michigan by hurling devices operated by the Club, which was located near Diversey Avenue and the lakefront. In addition to the ubiquitous “pop-pop-pop” of gunfire echoing across the lakefront, lead shot from spent shotgun shells continuously emptied into the Lake and, over time, became a significant environmental hazard and pollutant. The Club, which leased its facilities from the Chicago Park District, decided to shut down in 1991 when then-Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris sued it for allegedly polluting Lake Michigan. When the Club’s countersuit against the Park District was dismissed, the club’s buildings were demolished by the Park District.
Today, the former Nike Missile sites and the land once occupied by the Lincoln Park Gun Club have been reclaimed as green space by the Chicago Park District and are open and accessible to all. The lake bottom at and around Diversey Harbor has been dredged many times in ongoing efforts to removed lead from the water.
Learn more about Chicago in the L Stop Blog
Holder of two journalism degrees, including a masters from Northwestern University, Tom Schaffner is a native of the Chicago area and has spent nearly 50 years as a writer, editor, publisher and professional communications consultant. He was also the founder, editor, and publisher of the Chicago File, a newsletter for former Chicagoans. Tom is also the co-owner of L Stop Tours.
– By Tom Schaffner
The holidays are all about tradition. And if Chicago is your home, there are more holiday “traditions” here than just about anywhere else. We’ve compiled a list of iconic Chicago holiday “traditions” that have helped keep spirits bright throughout the metropolitan area for more than 25 years:
CTA Holiday Train — This beloved tradition began in 1992 when an employee placed a “Season’s Greetings” sign on a Blue Line train that delivered meals to local charities. Today it is a six-car train that is festooned with multi-colored holiday lights, red bows, garland, red and green overhead lights and hand poles that are decorated to look like candy canes. Christmas music wafts from the PA system and a real, live Santa Claus rides on an open-air flatcar and waves to boarding passengers from his sleigh. The train, which runs at various times on all six lines throughout the holiday season, continues to deliver food baskets to charitable organizations and continues to delight passengers in this, its 26th year of operation.
City of Chicago Christmas Tree — Chicago’s first municipal Christmas tree, a 35-foot Douglas Spruce, was lit in Grant Park in 1913 on Christmas Eve by Mayor Carter H. Harrison. The tree was a gift from an associate of Captain Herman Scheunemann, captain of the “Christmas Tree Ship” that annually delivered Christmas trees to Chicago from Michigan. The tree was lit in memory of the Captain who had gone down with his ship during a Lake Michigan storm the year before. Since then, Chicago’s municipal Christmas tree spent close to 50 years in Grant Park, 50 years at the Civic Center Plaza (now Daley Center Plaza) and, since 2015 has been located in Millennium Park. This year’s tree, a 60-foot Norway Spruce, was donated by Deborah Orth and her family from Elmhurst.
Do-It Yourself-Messiah — A Chicago holiday tradition since 1976, the Do-It-Yourself Messiah is a performance of Handel’s Messiah with a world-class conductor, professional musicians and over 1,000 amateur participants — the audience — who are invited to participate in the production by singing all the chorus portions of Messiah. This year’s performances, which will take place at the Harris Theatre for Music and Dance, are again expected to be sold out.
Christmas Around the World — Now in its 76th year, Christmas Around the world at the Museum of Science and Industry is a beloved annual exhibit that has been enjoyed by millions of visitors over the years. The centerpiece of the exhibit is the Grand Tree, a towering 45-foot giant that is decorated with more than 30,00 sparkling lights and hundreds of beautiful ornaments. Surrounding the Grand Tree are 50 Christmas trees decorated by local community groups to reflect the cultures and ethnic traditions of various countries around the world.
Butch McGuire’s — Many businesses throughout Chicagoland decorate their places of business for the holidays — but few can match the over-the-top spectacle of sheer holiday “madness” that covers every square inch of space throughout Butch McGuire’s during the holiday season. The Division Street bar has been decking its halls with Christmas gizmos and gadgets since 1961 and the display now includes four double-decker trains that traverse the ceiling above the bar, unique Christmas mobiles, cartoons and Claymation specials and more than 35,000 miniature lights that illuminate the entire tavern.
Hardrock, Coco and Joe — Originally released in 1951 by Centaur Productions, Hardrock, Coco and Joe is a 3-minute animated short subject that tells the story of three helpers who ride on Santa’s sleigh each Christmas. It has become a cult classic among Chicago Baby Boomers who grew up watching it annually on various WGN-TV programs such as Bozo, Garfield Goose and Ray Rayner and Friends and still must watch it every holiday season. If you cannot find Hardrock, Coco and Joe on local programming during the holidays, it is easily downloaded on Youtube.com.
A Christmas Carol at the Goodman — For 37 consecutive years, the Goodman Theatre has presented Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol to theatergoers during the holiday season. In its nearly four decade run at the theatre, the production has hired 31 Tiny Tims, generated more than 20,000 “Bah, Humbugs!” and has been seen by more than 1.2 million theatergoers.
The Great Tree in the Walnut Room — Generations of Chicagoans continue to flock to Macy’s on State Street to have lunch underneath the Great Tree, a beautifully decorated 40-foot masterpiece that stands in the center of the Walnut Room on the seventh floor of the massive downtown department store. The tradition was started by Marshall Field and Company in 1906 and was continued by Macy’s management when they purchased the Field stores in 2006. After lunch in the Walnut Room, a secondary tradition is to view the State Street-facing display windows that have been decorated to celebrate the holidays.
Book one of our Chicago Tours and see what this great city has to offer in every season!
Learn more about Chicago in the L Stop Blog
Holder of two journalism degrees, including a masters from Northwestern University, Tom Schaffner is a native of the Chicago area and has spent nearly 50 years as a writer, editor, publisher and professional communications consultant. He was also the founder, editor, and publisher of the Chicago File, a newsletter for former Chicagoans. Tom is also the co-owner of L Stop Tours.