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Geoffrey Johnson
Forgotten Fate of the Place Where Lincoln Won His Party's Nomination
By Geoffrey Johnson
This month marks the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln winning the Republican nomination for president here in Chicago. That momentous event occurred on May 18, 1860, inside a large, two-story, pine-plank convention hall at what is today the southeast corner of Lake Street and Wacker Drive. Like other political gathering places in its day, the hastily built hall was known as the Wigwam. Everybody knows what became of Lincoln (who wasn’t in Chicago for the convention), but what happened to the Wigwam?... Read more
Books We Like: 'The Living Fire' by the Poet Edward Hirsch
By Geoffrey Johnson
Born in Chicago's Michael Reese Hospital in 1950, Edward Hirsch turned 60 this year—which means he had finally run out of excuses for not putting together a collection of verse culled from his seven books of poetry. "I couldn't say I was too young anymore for a book of selected poems," says Hirsch... Read more
On the life and work of photographer Beatrice Tonnesen
By Geoffrey Johnson
Camera Obscura: As the Victorian age gave way to the 20th century, a beautiful young Chicago photographer named Beatrice Tonnesen made her mark with a brilliant idea: using live models in advertisements. But Tonnesen’s pioneering role, like her artfully composed images (which often were usurped by well-known illustrators), faded into history—that is, until an inquisitive collector rescued Tonnesen from obscurity Read more
Matisse Returns to the Art Institute—This Time to Cheers, Not Jeers
By Geoffrey Johnson
As winter gave way to spring, Matisse: Radical Invention, 1913-1917 settled in at the Art Institute of Chicago for a three-month stay. The city immediately embraced the exhibit: its gala grand opening on March 19th lured enough of the "beautiful people" to raise $500,000 for the museum. Chicago, however, did not always welcome Monsieur Matisse so cordially... Read more
City in Waiting
By Geoffrey Johnson
You wouldn’t expect Chicago to figure prominently in a book called Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789-1815. And indeed the book—the latest entry in the Oxford History of the United States—frequently looks eastward as Washington, Jefferson, et al. strive to form a cohesive nation under their new... Read more
Dead Reckoning
By Geoffrey Johnson
Part of O'Hare's expansion has stalled, blocked by the religious beliefs and constitutional claims of the 160-year-old St. Johannes Cemetery. With the court battle nearing its end, time may have run out for the old burial ground Read more