Lake Forest College and the Chicago History Museum partner on a series of faculty talks about how Chicago’s past architectural stories are being shared through the media of today’s technologies. In September and October, faculty Chicago Fellows, sponsored by Lake Forest College’s Digital Chicago grant, share how 360°photography reveals Chicago’s sacred spaces, how family home design has changed since WWII, and what an urban archaeological dig can tell us about Chicago’s Gold Coast. All talks are part of the Public Program’s for the 2017 Chicago Architecture Biennial. 

All events take place at the Chicago History Museum, 1601 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL

6:00 p.m.: Reception with cash bar
6:30 p.m.: Lecture followed by Q+A

“Creating 360° Immersive Tours of Sacred Spaces”

Ben Zeller, Associate Professor of Religion

Tuesday, September 26, 6 p.m.

Zeller will speak about the virtual tours he has created about some of Chicago’s most historically important sacred spaces. These immersive digital experiences explore the history, architecture, spiritual background, and liturgical uses of the houses of worship. 

“Chicagoland Prize Homes” 

Siobhan Moroney, Associate Professor of Politics

Tuesday, October 3, 6 p.m.

In 1945, the Chicago Tribune held a design competition for modest family homes. Most of the nearly 1,000 submissions are lost, but a few designs were published, and a small number were built. Siobhan Moroney, associate professor of politics, will discuss what these designs revealed about Americans’ expectations for their postwar homes, while the changes in the built homes indicate how housing preferences have evolved since then.

“Excavating the Charnley-Persky House: Archaeology of Chicago’s Gold Coast, 1880–1920”

Rebecca Graff, Assistant Professor of Anthrpololgy
Pauline Saliga, Executive Director, Society of Architectural Historians

Thursday, October 26, 6 p.m.

Archaeological finds from the Charnley-Persky House, a Louis Sullivan/Frank Lloyd Wright structure, reveal the intricacies of life in Gilded Age Chicago. Rebecca Graff, assistant professor of anthropology at Lake Forest College, and Pauline Saliga, executive director of the Society of Architectural Historians, will address what the excavation at the house, located just a few blocks from the Chicago History Museum, tells us about this forgotten past.

A collaboration between Lake Forest College’s Digital Chicago: Unearthing History and Culture, and DePaul University’s Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development, “Windy City in Motion: Movies & Travel in Chicago” debuts at the Great Hall at Union Station August 17, 2016. Viewers can travel through classic and contemporary films set in the Windy City and its transportation hubs. Take in vintage photos of movie stars, clips and commentary on films, and little-known facts about Chicago’s movie and transportation history. 

The exhibit is free and open to the public, and will be on display at least through the early winter season. 

Opening Reception

Lake Forest College and DePaul University celebrate the opening of Windy City in Motion with a reception at Union Station. Light refreshments will be served and hard refreshments will be available (if of age) at the bar in Union Station.  Faculty and staff from both institutions will offer opening remarks at 5 pm and 5:45 pm. 

Time: Tuesday, Sept. 13, 4:45-6 pm,

Place: The Great Hall, Union Station, 225 S. Canal St., Chicago

For more information: See this page on Lake Forest College’s Events Calendar

Featured Faculty Contributors

The work of Ben Goluboff, associate professor of English, on Kenneth Sawyer Goodman’s one-act play “Back of the Yards” offers a jumping-off point on the panel “The Stockyards” through which to explore movies about Chicago’s historic Union Stock Yards. 

In “Chicago: A City for Theatrical Training,” Assistant Professor of Theater Chloe Johnston’s work on the history of ensemble-generated theater in Chicago suggests a closer look at actors and actresses who have emerged from Chicago’s world-class improv scene.

Professor of Music Don Meyer’s research into the music of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition anticipates this fall’s release of “The Devil in the White City.” The panel “Beyond the White City” looks back to a world’s fair before the advent of moving pictures

Desmond Odugu, Assistant Professor of Education, traces the history of housing discrimination in Chicago, and in “A City of Great Migrations,” shows how the changing character of Chicago’s neighborhoods is reflected in films old and new. 

Associate Professor of Religion Ben Zeller’s 360° immersive digital tours of Chicago sacred spaces asks that we look, also, at Chicago religious sites that have held starring roles in many films. 

Digital Chicago Credits

Davis Schneiderman, Curator, Windy City in Motion, and Project Director for Digital Chicago

Emily Mace, Curator and Producer, and Chicago Digital Humanities Coordinator for Digital Chicago

Jaime Harris ’18, Designer

Nick Nusbaumer ’17, Assistant Curator and Researcher

Dan Kolen ’07, Videographer