History in the Chicago Loop

At the Chicago Hilton located here at 720 South Michigan Avenue on February 26, 1968, Cynthia Caster, who was born in Chicago in 1947 as Cynthia Albritton, famously made a plaster cast of Jimi Hendrix's penis.  Not exactly a momentous occasion in the history of rock and roll, but so bizarre that it's inclusion on the domu Chicago History Map seemed obvious.  Click at your own risk.

Edith Lees Ellis, a British women's rights activist and admitted lesbian, married sexologist Havelock Ellis in November 1891, in what must have been a bizarre marriage.  She had numerous affairs with other women, with her husband's knowledge.  In 1915, she delivered a lecture entitled "Sexuality And Eugenics," in which she advocated the acceptance of homosexuality before 1,500 people right here at Orchestra Hall, 220 South Michigan Avenue.

One of the biggest and most popular eateries in Chicago history, the Forum Cafeteria operated at 64 West Madison Street from 1939 to 1973.  The cafeteria was an immense, deco-inspired space with colorful tropical murals, sleek glasswork, and seating for hundreds, including a mezzanine level where diners could seat themselves at communal tables for twelve.  Lines would often stretch down the block in both directions and start forming as early as 6:00 a.m., when the cafeteria opened.  Inside, patrons passed through one of two separate serving lines and helped themselves to traditional cafeteria fare, including fruits, salads, jellos, sliced meats, hot dogs, burgers, vegetables, puddings, pies, and cakes.  Business was consistently steady throughout the day, and the lines were often still lengthy as late as the 9:00 p.m. or 10:00 p.m. closing times.  In one three-day stretch during a Shriners’ convention in 1948, the cafeteria reportedly served more than 36,000 meals.  In an age when the Loop was the primary shopping and entertainment destination in the city, the place was consistently packed, and young couples would frequently dine there before a night out on the town.

The original Forum Cafeteria was opened by Clarence M. Hayman in Kansas City in 1921, and other Forum Cafeterias appeared in such places as St. Louis, Minneapolis, Cleveland, Houston, and Los Angeles.  The Chicago location was destroyed by fire on January 6, 1973, in a blaze that claimed the lives of three firemen and injured 28 others when the roof of the building suddenly collapsed.  Three First National Plaza occupies the site today.

No, it wasn't at a photo shoot for his magazine.  Playboy founder Hugh Hefner actually saw a fully nude woman for the very first time as a 20 year-old student attending a drawing class at the Art Institute of Chicago at 111 South Michigan Avenue in 1946, according to Chicago Magazine.

Bureau agents tried to trap notorious bankrobber John Dillinger in a bar at 416 North State Street on April 9, 1934, but the infamous bandit managed to slip away unnoticed.  The agents captured his girlfriend, Evelyn "Billie" Frechette instead.

On April 21, 1855, Chicago's very first civil disturbance occurred because of--you guessed it--alcohol.  Newly elected Mayor Levi Boone increased the fee for liquor licenses and enforced an ordinance requiring taverns and saloons to be closed on Sundays.  When tavern owners were arrested for noncompliance, armed north side Germans attempted to rescue the prisoners from the courthouse.  Mayor Boone ordered the Clark Street drawbridge raised until he had more than 200 policeman ready to face yet more northsiders flocking toward the Loop.  The bridge was then lowered and shooting ensued.  One person was killed and 60 people were arrested.

Chicago capitalist and hotelier Potter Palmer wedded Bertha Honore in Bertha's parents' home at 157 South Michigan Avenue in July of 1870.  (A massive office building, once home to Peoples Gas Company, was erected on the site between 1908 and 1911.)  At the time of the wedding, Potter was 44 years old, and Bertha was 21.  Palmer started out in the dry goods business, was one of the original founders of Marshall Field's department store and also one of the city's first real estate magnates.  Although his properties were destroyed in the Great Fire, he borrowed millions of dollars and quickly rebuilt them, including his Palmer House hotel.  In 1882, Palmer began construction on his mansion at 1350 North Lake Shore Drive.

Don Cornelius was born on September 27, 1936, and raised in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago.  He graduated from Du Sable High School in 1954, joined the United States Marine Corps, and served 18 months in Korea before returning home and marrying his high school sweetheart, Delores Harrison.  He sold insurance, he sold tires, and he sold cars, but it was his work as a policeman that changed history.  He pulled over someone who complimented his voice and encouraged him to pursue a career in broadcasting.  With nothing but petty change in his bank account, he paid for classes and landed himself a job at WVON, where he worked largely in a pinch-hitting capacity.  His boss left for WCIU, Channel 26, a fledgling television station located at 141 West Jackson Boulevard in the Chicago Board of Trade, so Cornelius followed.  Not long thereafter, he pitched a show to be called "Soul Train" and scared up some financial backing from Sears, Roebuck & Company.  The first taping was held on August 17, 1970, at the WCIU studio and featured Chicago musicial legend Jerry "The Iceman" Butler of the Impressions.  With an array of dancers and some hip new threads, Don Cornelius ignited the longest-running syndicated television show in American history.  Within a year he found himself in Hollywood, California, producing weekly shows for stations all across the country.

The influence of Soul Train as a cultural institution cannot be overstated.  It featured entertainment by virtually every major African-American artist in the country, spawned all kinds of new fashion trends and dance moves, and became an indispensable element of modern black culture and pride.

Don Cornelius died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the early morning hours of Wednesday, February 1, 2012, at his home in Los Angeles, California.

Historic Route 66, America's most famous highway, starts right here in downtown Chicago.  It was established on November 11, 1926, at West Jackson Boulevard and North Michigan Avenue, and travelers could ride it all the way to Los Angeles, California.  Get your kicks on Route 66!

Dr. Ben Reitman was commonly referred to as "The Hobo Doctor" because, aside from having lived as both a "hobo" and an anarchist, having served time in jail, and having advocated (and practiced) "free love," he also treated prostitutes and tramps for syphilis and performed unlawful abortions in his office at 32 North State Street at the Reliance Building during the 1930's.  Dr. Reitman also helped the city establish the Chicago Society for the Prevention of Venereal Diseases.

The first telegraph received in Chicago was on December 7, 1848. The text read: "My boat is on Ottowa level will you have this break repaired so I can get through. --D.E. Oakley" according to the encyclopedia of chicago, "In early December 1848 it was urgent for boats to exit the canal so that it could be drained before freezing weather arrived."

This gym served as the setting for photos shot for Mars Magazine, a short-lived gay publication from 1963.