They called me many things… “Monster,” “The Man Without A Soul,” “Hammer Man.” My name is Henry Spencer and this is the story of the Tango Teacher Murder. Paradise Square at the Nederlander Theatre in Chicago - November 2nd …
The Sears Tower (now WIllis Tower) was once the tallest building in the world and is easily the most recognizable building in Chicago, but that building was not the first Sears Tower. In this episode we're discussing the Ori…
Charlie Trotter was Chicago's culinary bad-boy, paving the way for the celebrity chefs like Anthony Bourdain and Gordon Ramsay. Today I'm talking with Rebecca Halpern, the director of the documentary about chef Charlie Trott…
On this Great Chicago Fire-themed episode we discuss one home not destroyed by the fire – the Ogden mansion – and learn little more about the person who once owned it, what happened to that area immediately after the fire, a…
A two-in-one episode! First I talk with local author Kate Hannigan about her book The Great Chicago Fire: Rising From the Ashes , and then I share some stories from the Great Chicago Fire you may not have heard before. Kate …
For many coming into the city from the west, the drive on the Eisenhower Expressway under that massive building at Van Buren is truly a sight to behold, but few seem to know much about its history. Today we’re talking about …
When it was built, it was called the “largest, safest, and modern hotel west of New York City,” but when a fire broke out there one early June morning, dozens of lives were senselessly lost. Today we’re talking about the LaS…
Thomas Edison called him “one of the greatest businessmen in the USA.” He was a self-made mogul who amassed enormous wealth while bringing electricity and more to the masses and helped get the Civic Opera House in Chicago bu…
Sixteen years before Al Capone came to Chicago and long before anyone could blame violence on video games, three boys just out of their teens became robbers and killers in Chicago with brazen acts of thievery and the taking …
Today we are circling back for another look at the renaming of Chicago! Want to help support the show? Buy me a coffee! https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chicagohistory Check out If The Walls Could Talk , a podcast about the down…
He was the son of one of the wealthiest men in Chicago, and on one fateful night he was shot under mysterious circumstances. Was Marshall Field Jr.'s death an accident or something much darker that was covered up by powerful…
Cicadas, the L, sirens, and a few pints - all part of the fun of recording guest John F. Lyons, author of the book Joy and Fear: The Beatles, Chicago and The 1960s out in the real world. Listen as I talk with John about The …
A German kid from Chicago's north side gets caught up in sabotage, submarines, explosives, treason, and more, but it wasn't a movie - it actually happened in 1942. Want to help support the show? Buy me a coffee! https://www.…
While many may think of the Ku Klux Klan as being primarily a Southern concern, in the first part of the 20th century larger cities to the north also had factions of the KKK, including Chicago, which grew to be one of the la…
No sport is more closely identified with Chicago than 16-inch softball. Enjoy the history of 16" softball along with some insights about the game from a few guys who know it best - the 16" Softball Hall of Fame co-founder Al…
They seemed like a suburban couple living a normal life but in reality they were responsible for a string of car thefts and bank robberies in the Chicago area in the early 1990s that left two people dead. This is the story o…
It has been called the Second Chicago Fire, The Little Chicago Fire, and simply... the Chicago Fire of 1874. How did this fire compare to the one three years earlier? Let's find out. Want to help support the show? Buy me a c…
During a time of tuberculosis and cholera taking a deadly toll on Chicago's children, "Fresh Air" sanitariums were built to help provide children and mothers relief from the heat, food, milk, and health services. One of thos…
Damen Avenue was once called Robey Street. Garfield Park used to be Central Park. Streets, ballparks, buildings, and more have been renamed throughout Chicago's history. Here are the stories behind some of those things. Want…
The podcast series If The Walls Could Talk, created by Todd M. Ganz and Stephani Young, does a deep dive into Chicago's Edgewater Hospital and details a history involving Medicare fraud, unnecessary surgeries, mentally ill …
He was "the common's man's mayor" who served five terms and was loved by many. Sadly, the bullet of a disturbed man changed history forever for Carter H. Harrison and the city of Chicago. Want to help support the show? Buy m…
In 1966, Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley announced that the first week of June would be known as “Puerto Rican Week.” One day after the celebrations ended, an incident near Division Street and Damen Avenue set off three days…
It was an industry that at one time employed 700,000 workers, including 200,00 here in the Chicago area. Italians, Poles, Mexicans, African Americans, and others willing to put in a long and sometimes dangerous day’s work fo…
In this episode I'm joined by Kelli Marshall, host of Chicago Movie Tours ( chicagomovietours.com ) and screenwriter Gregory Widen ( Backdraft, Highlander, The Prophecy ) to discuss the 30th anniversary of Backdraft (1991). …
