The Chicago Traveler

Call me morbid, but I find cemeteries absolutely fascinating. They’re like outdoor history museums, a direct look into the past and its people. And inside the Bohemian National Cemetery on Chicago’s north side lies the home of Helen Sclair, a.k.a. “the cemetery lady,” who’s even more intrigued by cemeteries than I am. After all, she lives in one!
This cemetery historian does keep a certain sense of humor about her situation though, keeping her home decorated as if for Halloween… all year round. Sclair now holds seminars and writes columns educating people about the importance of cemeteries. Her goal is to …read more

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We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.
That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem …read more

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Happy Flag Day folks! The city of Chicago actually has its own flag, made up of two horizontal blue stripes on a white background. Between the stripes are four six-pointed, red stars. The top blue stripe represents the North Branch of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan, while the bottom stripe symbolizes the River’s South Branch and the Illinois & Michigan Canal. Each of the four stars represents a significant event in Chicago history: the first, the Fort Dearborn Massacre of 1812; the second, the Great Chicago Fire in 1871; the third, the World’s Fair in 1893; and the fourth, …read more

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It occurred to me today that one of the things Chicago is most well-known for is its architecture. Whenever I’m downtown, it’s easy to identify the tourists. They’re usually the ones looking skyward, trying to get a good look at the skyscrapers around them. And who could blame them? Chicago has benefitted from some of history’s greatest architects, who were the primary figures in Chicago’s rebirth in the 19th century.
On October 8, 1871, a small fire started at what is now 558 W De Koven St (near Canal and Roosevelt, just off I-90/94). The traditional tale tells of a cow …read more

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