Chicagoist would have liked to have been a fly on the wall at this particular auction: In a heated bidding war that ended late Wednesday, Ripley's (of "Believe It or Not!" fame) sniped our own Chicago History Museum at the last second. The coveted item? A warped, weather-beaten 119-year-old gallows. Not just any gallows, however ... The five-noose set was built specifically for four of the convicts from the Haymarket Riot of 1886. After that... more ›

How would you like to have an authentic gallows to call your own? The current owner of the old Cook County gallows, Mike Donley of Donley's Wild West Town in northwest-suburban Union, is selling the platform, scaffolding, and hanging beams that helped execute 86 inmates between 1887 and 1927. Donley originally bought the gallows in 1977 when he owned a museum of Chicago artifacts, but lately he has been using them as a prop in... more ›