On Sunday, January 29, join the Guild of the Chicago History Museum at the Saddle & Cycle Club for brunch and a presentation by Professor Theodore Karamanski as he recounts the days when Chicago was the busiest seaport in the United States. Friends and guests are very welcome.

Chicago’s usual waterfront scene was vastly different in the 19th century, when Lake Michigan was not a source of recreation but was the reason Chicago was one of the four greatest ports in the world. In the 1870s and 1890s, a hundred tall ships a day would crowd into the river harbor. Professor Karamanski’s illustrated lecture will explore how Chicago rose to maritime prominence, the distinct ways it shaped the city, and how that status was eclipsed.

Questions? Call Nell McKeown at (312) 799-2112.

Theodore J. Karamanski, PhD, is professor of history and director of the Public History Program at Loyola University Chicago. He has served as a heritage consultant to the National Park Service, National Geographic, The History Channel, BBC, and the Travel Channel. He is author of ten books, most recently Mastering the Inland Seas: How Lighthouses, Navigational Aids, and Harbors Transformed the Great Lakes and America (University of Wisconsin Press, 2020).