Results tagged “chicagohistory”

Last night we were messing around with Google Books, in search of something new to read. We were delighted to find more than 15,000 Chicago-oriented titles available for download - ranging from treatises on the history of the Chicago police force (through 1887) to articles pushing tax increment financing as an economic solution.

[Hogsette] knew little and cared even less about its history. But its walls were sturdy, and there were enough bedrooms for the single mother to raise her son and still have rooms to rent out. The exterior of the six-bedroom, split-level remains virtually identical to the place Capone called home. Much of the interior is original, too, with detailed green and white tile in the front entrance, dark hardwood floors and narrow hallways.

Continue reading "For Sale: Al Capone's House"

Back over Christmas, stuck at our parents' house, we plowed through Sin In The Second City, Karen Abbott's tome about Chicago's legendary brothel owners, the Everleigh sisters, and the religious battle against the houses of ill-repute. It came highly recommended as a great source to fill us in on Chicago's colorful and adventurous past. Abbott's writing breathes life into both the turn-of-the-20th-century Chicago and its inhabitants: Minna and Ada Everleigh, Vic Shaw, Bathhouse John, Ike Bloom, Ernest Bell, and Clifford Roe. It's one of the best books on our city's wonderful history that we've read (yes, including that book) and we highly recommend you get to a local library or bookstore and pick it up.