Ghost Tracking: Paranormal Research at CHM
Ghost Trackers Newsletter cover, vol. 10, no. 1, February 1991 Very few Chicago History Museum (CHM) staff members haven’t encountered a variation of the question, “Is the Museum haunted?” … Learn More
Author: heidisamuelson
Dream Big: The Photographic Innovations of George R. Lawrence
For Photographer Appreciation Month, CHM Abakanowicz Research Center associate Annika Kohrt writes about our holdings on George R. Lawrence, a Chicago inventor and photographer with larger than life ambitions and … Learn More
The Floor is Theirs: A Case for Teens in Museums
Making space for teens in museums can sometimes be met with apprehension. Is our program engaging enough? Will they be interested? Can we handle their potential criticisms? These are all … Learn More
The “Mother Church of Chicago Methodism”: 100 years of the Chicago Temple Building
In 2024, the Chicago Temple Building marks the centenary of its physical building. CHM curator of religion and community history Rebekah Coffman, a panelist for a Chicago Temple architectural symposium, … Learn More
The 20th Anniversary of Angel Meléndez & the 911 Mambo Orchestra’s Historic Grammy Nomination
Guest author Omar Torres-Kortright, the executive director of the Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center, writes about the Chicago salsa scene and how Angel Meléndez & the 911 Mambo Orchestra made … Learn More
The Jackson Oral History Project with the Chicago Theological Seminary
In 2020, based on previous connections through the Museum’s exhibition, American Medina: Stories of Muslim Chicago, Chicago Theological Seminary (CTS) contacted CHM’s Studs Terkel Center for Oral History regarding collaboration … Learn More
Community and Solidarity: Organizing in Chicago’s Steel Mills
In 1980, a Chicago steel mill called Wisconsin Steel Works, large enough to take up most of South Deering, a community area on the city’s far South Side, closed its … Learn More
Ebony Magazine’s Special Issues
At a time when depictions of African Americans in the media were largely negative and used racist stereotypes, Chicago-based Ebony magazine was founded in 1945 by John H. Johnson at … Learn More
ADAPT: Protesting for Disability Rights
Today, ADAPT is a grassroots disability rights organization that organizes nonviolent direct action and acts of civil disobedience to fight for the civil and human rights of people with disabilities. … Learn More
Not Just Cat Ladies: The Beresford Cat Club of America
Mrs. John Barry standing, holding kittens at a cat show, Chicago, 1906. DN-0004489, Chicago Daily News collection, CHM International Cat Day was started on August 8, 2002, to raise awareness … Learn More