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When is it no longer ‘cooler by the lake’?
You’ve heard it in the Chicago weather forecast time and time again: “cooler by the lake.” But how close to Lake Michigan do you need to be to feel t…
8 months ago
‘It felt like a secret’: Remembering Chicago’s Berlin nightclub
Berlin nightclub in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood closed permanently in November 2023, after four decades in business. The closure happened amid st…
8 months, 1 week ago
What’s the story behind Berlin nightclub’s huge mural?
The large mural hung over the main bar at Berlin. Painted in the Art Deco style, the masculine and feminine figures in the painting watched over the …
8 months, 1 week ago
Krampus is coming: The Christmas demon’s Chicago connection
On the morning of St. Nicholas Day, good kids rush downstairs to see what kind of gifts might be in their shoes. The bad kids? Unfortunately they mig…
8 months, 4 weeks ago
“A Christmas Carol”: An amateur actor’s journey into a Chicago holiday tradition
The Christkindlmarket, the CTA holiday train and “A Christmas Carol” at the Goodman Theatre. Chicago is full of holiday traditions. In this episode, …
8 months, 4 weeks ago
The first Black-owned airport in the U.S. was in Robbins, Illinois
The Robbins Airport, just southwest of Chicago, was the first Black-owned and -operated airport in the country. Its founders were pivotal to Black av…
9 months ago
A museum, a mayor and a road: How Lake Shore Drive became a runway ... intentionally
Lake Shore Drive has served as a makeshift runway for emergency landings. But it’s also been an intentional runway for planned arrivals. We go back t…
9 months ago
How one organization is transforming Englewood’s vacant lots
The city of Chicago owns thousands of vacant lots, and more than 80 percent of those parcels are in communities where the population is at least 80 p…
9 months, 1 week ago
Want to buy the vacant lot next door? It might take awhile
Buying a city-owned lot seems like a simple process, but buying one might take longer than expected. The city puts a limited number of parcels up for…
9 months, 1 week ago
Does your iguana need x-rays? A local exotic animal hospital can help
Stop us if you’ve heard this one: A hedgehog, a river otter and an iguana walk into a local exotic animal hospital …Whether intentional or otherwise,…
9 months, 3 weeks ago