"If it's good, it's too good not to share."
-Shel Silverstein
Chicago for Chicagoans believes in the accessibility of information. If we research it, it's yours to use for non-profit purposes.
Please contact us if you'd like a copy of our tour notes, or some of our books--
educate yourself, your neighbors, and your community!
Please contact us if you'd like a copy of our tour notes, or some of our books--
educate yourself, your neighbors, and your community!
Zines, Pamphlets, Books, & more
We're artists! We like making things to accompany our tours. Our printed goods are imagined, designed, illustrated, researched, written, cut, and folded by our collaborators, staff, & friends.
Neat! Where can I get one? Attend our events! We give zines & stickers out for free in conjunction with certain tours and lectures. You can also head over to the donate page, where any amount over $5 qualifies you to receive your choice of materials below. Educators & activists are entitled to use our handouts, free of charge, with proper credit. Just let us know, and we'll hook you up!
Neat! Where can I get one? Attend our events! We give zines & stickers out for free in conjunction with certain tours and lectures. You can also head over to the donate page, where any amount over $5 qualifies you to receive your choice of materials below. Educators & activists are entitled to use our handouts, free of charge, with proper credit. Just let us know, and we'll hook you up!
Online Databases & Resources
Curious about Chicago? Want to dive in and learn on your own? We often use these free resources below to conduct our tour research. These should help get you started! Find something neat? Have a cool resource to suggest? Email us, we'd love to know!
Chicago neighborhoods map: http://chicagomap.zolk.com/
Chicago neighborhood overviews: https://www.neighborhoods.com/neighborhood-guides/il/chicago
Chicago & Cook County Architectural resources:
Chicago History resources:
Genealogical resources:
Specific, free, online databases:
Historic Photo Collections:
Library Research database listings & library guides:
Chicago neighborhood overviews: https://www.neighborhoods.com/neighborhood-guides/il/chicago
Chicago & Cook County Architectural resources:
- Commission on Chicago Landmarks: Your House Has A History
- Illinois Historic Preservation Agency HARGIS: http://gis.hpa.state.il.us
- Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps: http://collections.carli.illinois.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/sanborn
- Chicago Tribune Archives (access for free with your Chicago Public Library card):
- Tip: search for building history (famous past residents, former business occupants, old advertisements, etc.) by searching the street address in quotes. Northside address? Find older articles without the street direction. Ex. “1241 Damen”. Newer articles are more likely to be found with “1241 N Damen”. Southside address? Always include “south” or “s” in the street address or you’ll get the northside address equivalent. Ex. “1255 S Michigan” or “1255 South Michigan”.
- Historic Resources survey (city database, can often use to find construction date and any associated architects. Search by street): http://webapps.cityofchicago.org/landmarksweb/web/historicsurvey.htm
- Cook County Building Details (official street address, building PIN number, & age of building in an interactive map): http://cookviewer1.cookcountyil.gov/jsviewer/mapviewer.html?
- Chicago Building Permits (official database, need building PIN to search): http://162.217.184.82/i2/default.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1
- Chicago Building Permits (reporting by residents, can lookup by address, easier to use than the city database): http://www.chicagocityscape.com/permits.php?pid=100464542
- Chicago Building Violations: https://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/bldgs/provdrs/inspect/svcs/building_violationsonline.html
Chicago History resources:
- Chicago Newspapers (free access through CPL): https://www.chipublib.org/resources/genealogy/
- Encyclopedia of Chicago: http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/
- Chicagology (articles about Chicago grouped by decades & categories): https://chicagology.com/
- Me & My Shadow blog (oral histories of Northwest-side neighborhoods): http://francesarcher.com/
- Chicago Patterns (history by neighborhood): http://chicagopatterns.com/chicago-neighborhoods-map/
- Forgotten Chicago (great, well researched articles on various Chicago topics): https://forgottenchicago.com/
Genealogical resources:
- Chicago Genealogy (city directories, birth/death/marriage/property records, & more): http://chicagogenealogy.com/
- Chicago Ancestors (address-based history): http://www.chicagoancestors.org
- Heritage.com (census records, family & personal records): https://www.ancestryheritagequest.com/HQA/Search
- Cook County Business Directories: https://sites.google.com/site/onlinedirectorysite/Home/usa/il/cook
- Chicago Phone Books: https://www.loc.gov/collections/united-states-telephone-directory-collection/?c=150&fa=location:illinois%7Clocation:chicago&st=list
Specific, free, online databases:
- Theatres: http://cinematreasures.org/
- Chicago Schools: https://chicagohistoricschools.wordpres.com
- Chicago El, Metra, & Rail History: http://www.chicago-l.org/history/
Historic Photo Collections:
- Chicago Public Library Digital Collections: https://cdm16818.contentdm.oclc.org/customizations/global/pages/
- Chicago Collections Consortium: http://chicagocollections.org/
- Chicago Geek: http://chicagogeek.tumblr.com/
Library Research database listings & library guides:
- Chicago History Museum: http://libguides.chicagohistory.org/research
- Northwestern University: http://libguides.northwestern.edu/az.php
- Newberry Library: https://www.newberry.org/chicago-history
- Art Institute of Chicago: https://startit.artic.edu/kb/resources/webproxy/databaselist.html