What was Chicago like in the first decade or so of the twentieth century? More importantly, how was it mapped? This rather engaging map collection from the University of Chicago Library offers up almost two dozen maps documenting the railroads, parks, and rapid transit system of the Windy City as it existed during that frenetic time. Visitors can zoom in and out around these maps looking for...

The quest to document one's family tree is one that stretches back across the human experience, and it can be done through the use of government records, obituaries, and so on. Recently, the Newberry Library in Chicago created this site for persons looking to trace their roots within the Windy City. First-time visitors to the site can just go ahead and type in a street address or browse through...

The city of Chicago has many hundreds of wonderful architectural landmarks and this helpful website is a great resource for anyone with an interest in such matters. On the site, visitors can start by checking out the Landmarks Tours to get started. There over a dozen tours here, including Mansions Tour, Art Deco Tour, and Pre-Fire Chicago Tour. Moving on, visitors may also wish to look over the...

Published online by the 3Cities research project (see the December 8, 2000 Scout Report) hosted at the Universities of Birmingham and Nottingham in the UK, this electronic text offers excellent multimedia essays on American urbanism as represented by Chicago and New York from the 1870s to the 1930s. Music, photographs, illustrations, and text are used to explore the emergent urban life of these...

Chicago, what are you curious about? That might serve as the tagline for the WBEZ radio program "Curious City," as it's an inquisitive program that asks its listeners that exact question. The public submits queries about Chicago here on the show's site, visitors vote for the questions they like the best, and then the crack team at Curious City investigates and reports back, complete with help from...

Somewhere between Los Angeles and New York is a metropolis affectionately referred to by some as the "Second City". Also known as Chicago, this fair city has recently received its due with the publication of this outstanding reference volume. The online version offered on this site is even more authoritative than the print volume, as it contains a number of interactive maps and special features....

Starting in the 17th century, French explorers were wandering all over the Midwest looking for navigable rivers, lucrative trading resources, and native people to convert to Christianity. This exhibition from the Newberry Library in Chicago tells the story of French Canadians in the Midwest via maps, prints, and a range of other wonderful ephemera. The materials are divided into six primary...

The University of Chicago Map Library has worked diligently to digitize hundreds of their unique and rare maps in the past few years. Their holdings of maps that document the history of Chicago is quite strong, and this collection casts its gaze in that direction. These maps were generated by a number of government agencies, including the Chicago Zoning Commission, the Chicago Plan Commission, the...

From great culinary moments (the birth of the hot dog) to the rise of the skyscraper, Chicago has been privy to a number of important historical events. This award-winning website created by the Chicago History Museum allows visitors to explore the city's diverse past through historical fiction stories and artifacts from their collections. On the site, visitors can click on sections that include...

As a lecturer at Northwestern University, Pamela Bannos has found herself researching all sorts of topics over the years, and she recently found herself intrigued with the history of the former Chicago City Cemetery and Lincoln Park. Her basic interest in this project was to detail how this cemetery eventually became Lincoln Park over the course of the 19th century. Drawing on a range of...