Author: Leslie

By Ed McDevitt, Class of 2010 As a member of the Tour Committee, I recently went on a demo of the new Chinatown tour given by Kathleen Carpenter, the Tour…

Squish. Splat. Gurgle. These words are not normally associated with our tours, but the month of May, masquerading as April, certainly provided more than the usual challenges. A heartfelt Thank…

By Ara McEwen, VEV Barbara Lanctot and Maurice Champagne will lead classes as part of the Newberry’s Adult Education Seminars Program, beginning May 23. Barbara’s class is titled: G is…

Thank goodness for the several preservation and landmark organizations in our fair city. Without them we’d have no historical record of the built environment. As Chicago grew over the years,…

By Jeff Mercer, Class of 1992 Graceland Cemetery is the final resting place of Chicago’s merchant princes, architects, and pioneers. It’s interesting to contemplate the shared histories of those interred:…

By Pris Mims, Class of 2000 As we give our tours this year, 2018, let’s take the opportunity to recognize the noteworthy anniversaries of the 1893 Fair and these important…

By Bill Coffin, Class of 2004 Tour Director, Art Deco Skyscrapers The Carbide and Carbon Building was designed to be the color of a champagne bottle, and the proof is in…

The past month in Chicago truly bore out T.S. Eliot’s contention that “April is the cruelest month.” The one ray of sunshine was the smashing success of Volunteer Appreciation Night…

By Brent Hoffmann, Class of 2005 “Chicago architecture is like fishing,” observed Bill Cordier. “Up in northern Michigan, near my family’s cabin, everybody talks about fishing. Walk into a bar…

By Leslie Clark Lewis, Class of 2009 The historic Chicago Hilton and Towers, which has hosted not only Queen Elizabeth but every US president since Calvin Coolidge, was the setting…