MetaFilter posts tagged with chicago and history

Vivian Maier's Photography.

chunking express — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 08:46:51 -0800

Vivian Maier's Photography. "This [site] was created in dedication to the photographer Vivian Maier, a street photographer from the 1950s - 1970s. Vivian's work was discovered at an auction here in Chicago." There is more information about this on the Hardcore Street Photography Flickr group, where I found this site. LPV discusses the find as well, with links to some more discussion about the find and the photographer.

An American Art Form

netbros — Thu, 21 May 2009 17:06:00 -0800

NEA Jazz in the Schools takes a step-by-step journey through the history of jazz, integrating that story with the sweep of American social, economic, and political developments. This multi-media curriculum is designed to be as useful to high school history and social studies teachers as it is to music teachers. Start with the introductory video to get a feel for the place. The education outline contains five lessons. If you just want to listen, all the music samples are on one page. Perhaps you're more interested in individual artist biographies, or a jazz history timeline. These lessons are designed as units; five units serve as a week-long curriculum. NEW ORLEANS: MELTING POT OF SOUND — Jazz grew out of the African-American community at the turn of the 20th century, a time when blacks were being denied their most basic rights. The music has since become a part of every American’s birthright, a timeless symbol of American individualism and ingenuity, American democracy and inclusiveness. The birthplace of jazz is New Orleans, the most cosmopolitan city in the South. THE JAZZ AGE AND CHICAGO — In the 1920s, jazz spread rapidly all across America. The rise of jazz was part of a new, post–World War I optimism, a prevailing sense that something new was happening, that America was finally breaking from European culture and coming into its own. Novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald called the new era the Jazz Age. FROM SWING TO BOP — With the decline in popularity of swing bands and the rise of singers as pop stars, many jazz musicians in the mid-1940s retreated to smaller groups of five or six instruments that were easier to organize, were cheaper to book in clubs, and provided more freedom for individual musicians to express themselves. NEW FRONTIER — The 1960s are virtually synonymous with social and political upheaval in America, and with a popular culture nourished by intrepid experimentation and a rejection of traditional symbols of authority. Of course, in the world of jazz, musicians had already been responding to—and carrying out—upheavals in American society for some time. AN AMERICAN STORY — Jazz is the purest expression of the American spirit—innovative, independent, and, ultimately, revolutionary. The history of jazz is inextricably linked with the political, geographic, and cultural history of America, and to understand the evolution of this music is to grasp the passion and genuine humanity at the heart of American democracy.

1966 federal ban on racial discrimination in housing

russilwvong — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 11:46:36 -0800

The Meaning of Box 722. Letters to Senator Paul Douglas of Illinois in reaction to the 1966 civil rights bill, particularly the federal ban on racial discrimination in the sale and rental of housing. At the time, Chicago was the most segregated city in the north, with boundaries enforced by mob violence. By Rick Perlstein, author of Nixonland. When I started researching NIXONLAND I knew the congressional elections of 1966 would form a crucial part of the narrative. They'd never really been examined in-depth before, but by my reckoning they were the crucial hinge that formed the ideological alignment we live in now. Via Brad DeLong.

All the street's a stage.

flapjax at midnite — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 05:43:19 -0800

Chicago's Maxwell Street Market wasn't just a market: it was a stage that played host to many an exuberantly ragged, hard grinding blues performance. It was lively, eccentric, ecstatic. You could get there on The Happy Bus. And of course, one of the greatest musicals in the history of American cinema paid homage to the street, as the setting for a fabulous performance by John Lee Hooker of his iconic "Boom Boom". (Note: See mouseovers for link descriptions.) There have been several documentaries made on the subject of Maxwell Street. Here's a little info on one called Maxwell Street Blues. There's a bit of interesting information here and there at this site, And This Is Maxwell Street, though it's mostly designed to advertise the CD of the same name. This CD, by the way, features the music from the 1964 Maxwell Street film documentary, called And This Is Free. The Robert Nighthawk clip in this FPP (linked to under hard grinding) is from this film, which, unfortunately, doesn't seem to have been rereleased on DVD. This page has some info on the film and capsule bios on the musicians seen in the film and/or heard on the CD. Here's an extended trailer for the documentary "Cheat You Fair: The Story of Maxwell Street". Maxwell Street: Still Hanging On. Maxwell Street Wikipedia page. And just for good measure, here's another version of John Lee Hooker's Boom Boom. And what the hell, for extra good measure, here's his powerfully understated, riveting Hobo Blues, from 1965, which is probably my all-time favorite JLH performance on film. And thanks to my buddy Ken Kawashima, who sent me the Carrie Robinson YouTube link that got me started on tracking all this Maxwell Street stuff down.

Old Lady Leary Left Her Lantern in the Shed

Miko — Wed, 16 May 2007 08:53:24 -0800

The Chicago Fire and the Web of Memory compiles a fascinating array of primary sources about the 1871 fire that destroyed 4 square miles of the city of Chicago, killing hundreds and leaving nearly one out of five residents homeless. Explore 3D images, music [embedded], children's drawings, and personal recollections. See also a pictorial survey of the damage, including fused marbles and metal hardware, related documents and images at the Library of Congress, and an exoneration of Mrs. O'Leary and her bovine companion, along with a suggestion by John Lienhart that police corruption and class struggle were more to blame than a cow [embedded audio].

Encyclopedia of Chicago

me3dia — Thu, 12 May 2005 09:58:18 -0800

The Encyclopedia of Chicago is now online and free, less than a year after being released in book form.

Urban Experience in Chicago: Hull-House and Its Neighbourhoods 1889-1963

plep — Sat, 19 Feb 2005 09:26:43 -0800

Urban Experience in Chicago: Hull-House and Its Neighbourhoods 1889-1963. Scholarly urban history project.

Hallelujah

miss lynnster — Thu, 27 Jan 2005 17:22:45 -0800

"Precious Lord" sung by Mahalia Jackson (mp3)
No artist brought more acclaim to gospel music than Mahalia Jackson (October 26, 1911 – January 27, 1972). Beginning in 1950, her divine (.wav) talents were featured weekly on Studs Turkel's radio program, and through her music and gentle personality she became so beloved worldwide that her funeral rivaled that of royalty. Mahalia sang "Precious Lord" at Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.'s funeral -- at Mahalia's funeral, Aretha Franklin did the honors. Mahalia was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame posthumously in 1997. Word has it she also made a mean okra gumbo.

Teen Chicago

plep — Sun, 14 Nov 2004 10:19:01 -0800

Teen Chicago. History and recollections of.

Crimes of the century

tcp — Fri, 02 Jul 2004 02:58:59 -0800

Homicide in Chicago: 1870-1930
July 25, 1899 Murphy, James, 28 years old, shot dead, saloon 1210 Wabash Av., by Lorezo Sodini, proprietor. Murphy refused to pay for drinks and ran out of saloon and threw stone through window. Sodini ran out and fired at him, killing him instantly. Harrison St. Station. Held by Coroner's Jury, July 29. Acquitted Dec. 9, 1899, by jury in Judge Baker's court. Case number: 1498

yippies, peace protests, police & Pigasus the pig

madamjujujive — Sun, 17 Aug 2003 00:20:10 -0800

Chicago 1968 - This month marks 35 years since the infamous 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago. Hope was at a low ebb in the wake of a turbulent year that saw the assassinations of MLK and RFK. Peace activists and yippies took to the streets to protest the Viet Nam war and to nominate a pig for president. Police responded with shocking brutality. The ensuing Chicago Seven Trial was theatre of the absurd, with a colorful and prominent cast of characters. So what's changed in 35 years? Can next year's conventions be expected to generate outrage or apathy? - more -

MiguelCardoso — Tue, 25 Jun 2002 12:05:12 -0800

"America As It Was: A Tour Of The USA In Vintage Postcards" is a vast, amazing collection, quaintly presented by my new heroine: an Atlanta real estate agent and church volunteer called Pat Sabin who dreams of one day visiting Chicago and whose(some would say surprising) love for all things webby is an example to us all. Please don't be put off by the homey graphics and folksy language - it really is a rich, rich resource! [My favourite postcard turns out to be from James Lilek's New York collection. Go figure. All I can say is God bless the meetings of unlikely minds!)]