John R. Schmidt

University of Illinois' 'Circle Campus' opens

by John R. Schmidt | Feb. 22, 2012

On this day in 1965, Chicago got its first, full-fledged public university. The University of Illinois' Chicago Circle campus was dedicated.

The university had been founded at Urbana in 1867. The first Chicago branch opened in 1946 at Navy Pier--"Harvard on the Rocks," the students called it. But the pier had limited room. All undergrads were forced to complete their last two years at the main campus, 130 miles away.

In 1951 State Senator Richard J. Daley sponsored a bill calling for the university to build a four-year facility in Chicago. The trustees investigated a number of sites. For a while it seemed likely the new school would be located in Garfield Park.

Daley became Mayor of Chicago in 1955. He wanted a more central site. Putting the campus at Harrison and Halsted would stabilize the Loop and renew a blighted area.

Except that the people living there didn't think the neighborhood was blighted. This was the historic heart of the city's Italian community. There...

...Read Full Entry

Lost on the Dan Ryan

by John R. Schmidt | Feb. 21, 2012

(14)

Listen to John Schmidt talk about street signs on Eight Forty-Eight

120221 John schmidt.mp3

We've been having some fun recently with the technicalities of Chicago street names. Yet sometimes it's important to be precise. Take the matter of our busiest expressway.

Driving north on the Dan Ryan from the Skyway junction, you encounter a series of overhead signs directing you to the express lanes. The signs warn that if you enter the express lanes, your next exit is 22nd Street.

Chicago doesn't have a 22nd Street.

The city had a 22nd street until 1933. Then Mayor Anton Cermak was killed, and the name was changed to Cermak Road. In some of the...

...Read Full Entry

There in Chicago (#3)

by John R. Schmidt | Feb. 17, 2012

(7)

How well did you find your way around 1949 Chicago?

The one obvious clue is the streetcar signed for Route 72, which is the number still used by the CTA for North Avenue. The double-wires overhead is another clue. Trolley busses were soon to replace streetcars here, and North Avenue was one of the few streets near downtown that had trolley busses.

The red herring clue is the narrow street. This stretch of North Avenue wasn't widened until 1972, when all the buildings along the north side of the street were knocked down. But purely by coincidence, there's still a drugstore on the northeast corner of North and Wells.

Thanks for your answers. Next time we'll move...

...Read Full Entry

Where in Chicago? (#3)

by John R. Schmidt | Feb. 16, 2012

(24)

Could you find your way around the Chicago of the past?

The location of this 1949 photo is within a three-mile radius of State and Madison. There are a few clues to help you identify the spot, but be careful--there is also a red herring that could trick you.

Send in your guesses to the "Comments" section. I'll post a contemporary photo tomorrow.

...Read Full Entry

A different St. Valentine's Day story

by John R. Schmidt | Feb. 14, 2012

(5)

If you're from Chicago, you probably know about the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. On February 14, 1929, seven men were gunned down at the SMC Cartage garage at 2122 N. Clark Street. Most of the dead men were members of the Bugs Moran bootlegging gang. The killings were thought to be ordered by rival gang lord, Al Capone.

Listen to John Schmidt discuss this post on Eight Forty-Eight

848 120214 John Schmidt.mp3

After 83 years, there's not much new to be said about the massacre itself. So I'm going to be talking about a neglected postscript.

The original Scarface...

...Read Full Entry

Death comes for the archbishop

by John R. Schmidt | Feb. 10, 2012

(2)

February 10th might have been Chicago's day of infamy--the date remembered for the greatest mass murder in our history.

The year was 1916. George Mundelein had just arrived in Chicago to take charge of the Catholic archdiocese. At 43 he was young for an archbishop. Now the leaders of the city and state were giving him a welcoming banquet at the University Club.

About 300 people were present. Mundelein sat at the head table next to Illinois Gov. Edward Dunne. During the first course one of the guests felt faint. He got up from his chair, then collapsed.

The man was helped from the room. Waiters opened windows, thinking tobacco smoke had knocked him out. Soon other people complained of upset stomachs. They were led away. A few doctors followed to help.

The trouble was traced to the soup. The doctors thought the...

...Read Full Entry

A guide to Chicago street rules

by John R. Schmidt | Feb. 07, 2012

(57)

Listen to John Schmidt talk about street names on Eight Forty-Eight

John Schmidt - commercial jingles street names.mp3

Every so often, you'll hear a visitor to our city ask for directions to Madison Avenue. This will make a true Chicagoan's blood boil. The dumb tourist doesn't even know it's supposed to be Madison Street.

Actually, there is no special rule on what is called a Street, and what is called an Avenue. It's merely traditional usage.

But the other suffixes! Here we get into some technicalities. At one time there was a whole protocol on how a...

...Read Full Entry

Emile Coue: Chicago's miracle man

by John R. Schmidt | Feb. 06, 2012

(5)

The announcement appeared on the entertainment page of the Tribune, just below the ad for the Four Marx Brothers. Emile Coue would be presenting a lecture at Orchestra Hall on February 6, 1923. The Miracle Man was coming to Chicago!

Coue was a 65-year-old French pharmacist. In the course of his business, he had made a startling discovery--patients responded better when he praised their medicine. He concluded that their imagination was the reason. It all had to do with thinking positive thoughts.

Coue claimed any person could develop this power. He called his method "autosuggestion," and it was easy. Just keep repeating a simple phrase--"Day by day, in every way, I am getting better and better." The unconscious would do the rest. You could transform your health, your life, everything!

Now Coue was touring the United States. He was...

...Read Full Entry

John R. Schmidt

John R. Schmidt is a veteran of the CPS system, teaching in Chicago schools for over 30 years. John earned his PhD from the University of Chicago and has taught at Roosevelt University. He continues to serve as a historical consultant to Chicago area publishers. John authored the popular blog "Unknown Chicago" before coming to WBEZ.