For a company that was supposedly “The Largest Tubular Ice Skate Plant in the World,” there is surprisingly little history available about the Alfred Johnson Skate Company. Chicago was once home to three major skate manufacturers, Johnson being one of them. Competitive speed skating was very popular beginning in the
The simplest definition of a four plus one is a five story apartment building where the first floor consists of the lobby and a parking lot. It is often cited as a building type that is unique to Chicago, a fact which is dependent on how the building is defined.
In true Chicago fashion, a plan has been announced and set in stone before anyone has had a chance to comment on it. Michael Reese Hospital’s large multi-building campus has been chosen as the site for the Olympic Village. Originally, it was to be located above the truck yards
Harms Park was a privately-owned picnic grove formerly located at the northeast corner of Western and Berteau Avenues. It became a park in 1893, lasting until 1946, when the land was re-developed for private housing. Henry Harms, the founder of Niles Center (now Skokie), originally bought the property in the
In terms of using images to study the built environment, postcards are probably the farthest one can get from “proper” documentary efforts, such as the Historic American Buildings Survey. Postcards are purely commercial; a form of mobile advertising which often present idealized depictions of places. They are a direct descendant