The Illinois Railway Musuem in Union has all kinds of vintage treasures, including dozens of old rail cars and street cars, some of which sport amazing vintage ads. Photo by Strannick45, used with permission Tell me more about this "happiness swing".........

These photos of the abandoned Michael Reese Hospital are haunting, occasionally creepy ("vintage gynecology"), and all imbued with an intense sense of loss. Beyond the pictures of the building itself, though, we were drawn to these before and after photos of the pool. Photos by Comtesse DeSpair, used with permission. Click to embiggen.......

Happy is the morning when there's an e-mail with the subject line "you guys like vintage Chicago stuff, right?" sitting in our inbox. Old El signs? Or as the CTA would call them today, signage? Yes, please. Thanks, Marah! [eBay]......

These vintage Stereoviews from the 1933 World's Fair are mesmerizing. How come there isn't alligator wrestling in Chicago anymore? Bo-ring. More here.......

Local photographer Paul Octavious bought The Literature of the United States, published in 1947, for 50 cents at the Lincoln Park library.......

Forget cars vs. bikes. I want a Scootacar. Like this one. Here it is in action.......

Dolls, like clowns, can be extremely freaky and weird, and this bad boy a prime example of the see-you-in-my-nightmares vibe vintage dolls sometimes give off. This is a doll of Harold "Red" Grange, and he's sporting his Chicago Bears uniform. Sure, $1,150 for a doll sounds like a lot, but think of the lifetime of fear he'll bring to you and yours. [eBay] But if terrifying vintage dolls aren't your bag, maybe you'll enjoy......

Local filmmaker Dean Peterson discovered this old photograph tucked into a book at a second-hand store in Wicker Park. I can’t really figure out what’s going on in the picture, to the best of my abilities it seems like somebody is falling while water skiing. I love it, it’s such an awesome, abstract photo but somebody evidently didn’t think enough of it to do anything with it other than mark their place in a book......

Photo by Chloeloe. I know I used a beach picture yesterday, too. The beach rules. We love weird old Chicago stuff: the "frightful effects of dope addiction," a 70s White Sox radio, Marina City charm. United Airlines is cutting over 1,000 jobs, getting rid of its lower-cost service Ted, and grounding at least 70 of its planes. [Bloomberg] St. Sabina parishioners want Pfleger back. [S-T] A Waukegan man was charged with disorderly conduct for......

"Climb aboard Chicago's only restaurant in an airplane." Oh, that we still could.... Postcard uploaded by bayswater97 The Sky-Hi once soared at Cicero and Monroe, serving "complete dinners" and a variety of sandwiches all prepared by "flameless electric cooking equipment."......

The Shore Drive Motel used to be on 56th and South Shore in Hyde Park, apparently one of a few motels on that stretch back in the day. We're all over this postcard like a bum on a baloney sandwich. Scan via jericl cat......

Our obsession with vintage Chicago posters continues... with two more pieces from the same designer, John Rieben (via another PosterPlus and Worship Worthy). You can droll over more of his work here. See also: the Chicago Design Archive's 1960s entries. Our eyeballs are so happy right now.......

What a great vintage poster. [via]......