The Birdbrain Case for Stopping Lincoln Yards Development
The discovery of grassland-loving dickcissels on the site of Sterling Bay’s stalled megadevelopment suggests the value of preserving open land.
Ad Categories: City Life
What Was Chicago’s First Skyscraper?
Not only was the Home Insurance Building, located at the northeast corner of La Salle and Adams Streets, the first skyscraper in Chicago — it was the first skyscraper in the world. Designed by famed architect William Le Baron Jenney and completed in 1885, it rose 10 stories (and eventually 12, after an addition six years later), … Read more
How to Coexist With Coyotes
After his video and images of coyote pups in Graceland Cemetery went viral, the author offers insight on these longtime Chicago residents.
Meet the Bard of the Park District Bathrooms
By singing the praises of places to piss, Al Scorch has made himself the poet of the potty, the lyricist of the loo.
New Outfit, New You
At a Rogers Park thrift shop, Missy Thrasher-Lyon helps newly out trans Chicagoans find clothes that match their identities, styles, and bodies.
Requiem for the Montrose Beavers
The author was delighted when the wood-chomping rodents surfaced at the harbor. Then one turned up dead.
Can You Get More Progressive Than Pilsen?
Two of the neighborhood’s bookstores — one employee-owned and one pay-what-you-wish — encapsulate its spirit.
Love and the Literati
How a couple’s passion for books spurred not only a romance but a business embraced by local authors.
The Sketchy Future of Court Artists
Cliff Questel joins the limited ranks of visual reporters in the city’s courts — but the ship has long been sinking.
Shades of Boredom
Newly published images by photographer Mark Steinmetz highlight everyday life in a Chicago of 35 years ago.