In 1893, Chicago played host to the World's Columbian Exposition, a seminal event in American cultural history. With that spirit in mind (and in an attempt to get people to forget the darkest days of the Great Depression), the "City of Big Shoulders" played host to the 1933-1934 Century of Progress World's Fair. The event was held on the shores of Lake Michigan, and stretched from 12th Street (now...

Many universities have extensive archives that document their institutions' growth, development and evolution, and the University of Chicago is no exception. Their current archival photo files digitization project began in February 2002, and the first stage was recently completed and made available for the general public on this website. This first set of images to be made available comes from the...

Police, Protestors Prepare for NATO Summit http://www.voanews.com/content/nato_chicago_summit_protests_voa/666389.html NATO, Protests Getting Attention in Chicago-Area Classrooms http://www.teachhub.com/nato-protests-getting-attention-chicago-area-classrooms Preparing for Battle in a War of Ideas at Protest...

From the artistic statements of Louis Sullivan to the brutally Modern statements of Walter Netsch, architecture in Chicago is nothing if not eclectic. Given the important legacy of those architects practicing in and around Chicago, it is refreshing to note that the Art Institute of Chicago has been collecting the oral histories of these men and women since 1983. With substantial financial support...

The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) is committed to providing a high-quality comprehensive plan for future growth and development in the Chicagoland region. It's a tall order, and this website provides great information about their long-term development plan, which is called GO 20 2040. In the About area, visitors can learn more about CMAP, its staff members, budget, and their...

The mission of the Chicago Public Art Group is to "unite artists and communities in partnership to produce quality public art and to extend and transform the tradition of collaborative, community involved, public artwork." What kind of public art do they produce? There are two ways site visitors can find out: the first is via the Public Art Map and the second is via the Community Public Art Guide....

Like most large American cities, Chicago has been the focus of many visual documentary projects, including such films as "Hoop Dreams" and the various WPA photojournalism efforts of the 1930s and 1940s. In the year 2000, more than 200 photographers "recorded the people of Chicago in every feature of their public and social lives as well as the buildings and landscape they occupied." With the help...

As a study in contrasts, Chicago is an example of the great achievements and shortcomings of the United States, and to be sure the city has seen a great deal of violence over its one-hundred and fifty years of existence. The city has been poured over by scholars, drawing on some of its truly fascinating archives, including such sources as the Chicago Police Department Homicide Record. This...

Based at the Universities of Nottingham and Birmingham, the 3Cities Project is "an inter- and multi-disciplinary study of the iconography, spatial forms and literary and visual cultures of New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles in the period 1870s to 1930s." At present, the site hosts a collection of essays on the three cities, information on the project as a whole, and links and information for...