Feature: All in All, It’s Just Another Brick in Chicago with Brick Tours
Brick expert Will Quam shared his love and knowledge of the clay rectangles on lsat weekend as part of the spring 2026 Chicago Humanities Festival. The author of Fire and […]
Review: Lift Up Your Eyes and See the Bricks, Fire and Clay: How Bricks Reveal the Hidden History of Chicago, by Will Quam
Open Will Quam’s Fire and Clay and you’ll find your notion of Chicago (and its suburbs) transformed. You’ll suddenly notice all the brick buildings and walls and individual rectangles of […]
Review: A Bohemian Beauty—A Danger to the Minds of Young Girls, by Adam Morgan
In the back of my mind, I thought someone would surely write about the inestimable Margaret Anderson: editor, bohemian extraordinaire, and LGBTQ+ icon. Some day. And now someone has, Adam […]
Essay: In Chicago, Banks Street Isn’t Named for Ernie
I drove down Cuyler Avenue the other day, and, as usual, I was reminded of Kiki Cuyler who played outfield for the Cubs from 1928 through 1935 during a 19-year […]
Review: Radical Craft: Arts Education at Hull House 1889–1935 Describes the Role of the Arts at Chicago’s Pioneering Settlement House
Hull House and its founder Jane Addams have long been recognized as pioneers in citizenship development and education for low-income and immigrant communities. A new book expands on that history […]
Review: “Louis” and “Dan” to Each Other, Daniel Burnham and Louis Sullivan, by Trygve Thoreson
Louis Sullivan and Daniel Burnham lived parallel lives. Both were born in the East and came to Chicago in their youth. Both were poor students and relatively aimless until they […]
Review: A Poetic Resurrection, A Lucky Star Retrospective, edited by Henry Kranz
With the opening of Robert Weinberg’s poem—“On North Broadway/Middle aged women roll their pushcarts into Rexalls”—you know you’re not in Kansas any more. Instead, you’re back nearly 40 years to a […]
Commentary: The Hard Knocks School of Reporting, Sirens in the Loop, by Paul Zimbrakos and James Elsener
In the mid-1960s, Anne Keegan wore white gloves to apply for a job as a reporter at City News Bureau of Chicago. She recalled riding the elevator to the wire […]
Interview: Elizabeth Todd-Breland on Writing Karen Lewis’ (Auto-)Biography, I Didn’t Come Here to Lie
Karen Lewis was a teacher, labor leader, and president of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU)—among many other things. Reading through I Didn’t Come Here to Lie: My Life and Education […]
Review: Seeing Beauty in the Ordinary, Chicago Homes: A Portrait of the City’s Everyday Architecture
One of the many joys of reading Carla Bruni and Phil Thompson’s Chicago Homes: A Portrait of the City’s Everyday Architecture is the way the book dazzles the reader with […]
Review: Apocalyptic Fears and Apoplectic Rage, Walking Chicago’s Coast: A 63-Mile Journey to the Indiana Dunes, by Michael McColly
Based on its bright, attractive cover of the lakeshore skyline, Walking Chicago’s Coast looks like one of those ain’t-Chicago-great booster books written to promote the city as a world-class metropolis […]
Review: State of the Fine Arts: Chicago’s Fine Arts Building, by Keir Graff
How does an old Chicago building survive? Public outcry and organized protest have saved a few, yes, but it usually comes down to owners and occupants continuing to give a […]