Related Links to Explore

Old Chicago

Chicago History Journal
An amazing work of love and scholarship by Sharon E. Williams, a.k.a. Chicagobookbabe, amateur historian, bibliophile, and student, with an unnatural and utterly romanticized view of Chicago history.

Chicago History Museum
Formerly the Chicago Historical Society, the museum houses 22 million artifacts from Chicago and U.S. history.

Chicago Landmarks
City of Chicago landmarks page.

Forgotten Chicago
Discovering, documenting, and preserving little-known elements of Chicago's infrastructure, architecture, neighborhoods, and general cityscape, both existing and historical.

Museum of Classic Chicago Television
Online museum furthering the acquisition, preservation, exhibition, education, and nostalgic enjoyment of classic Chicago television broadcasts.

Preservation Chicago
Citizens advocating for the preservation of Chicago's historic architecture.

 

Other Chicago Oldests

Oldest Bar in Chicagoland (and one of country's oldest 20 taverns)
Village Tavern (1849). For more information, see Sean Parnell's Historic Bars of Chicago.

Oldest Beer Garden
Resi's Bierstube (1965). For more information, see Sean Parnell's Historic Bars of Chicago.

Oldest Beer Distributor (in U.S.)
Louis Glunz Beer (1888). For more information, see Sean Parnell's Historic Bars of Chicago.

Oldest Blues Bar
Kingston Mines (1968). For more information, see Sean Parnell's Historic Bars of Chicago.

Oldest Charity
Illinois Saint Andrew Society (1845).

Oldest Chinatown Restaurant
Won Kow (1927).

Oldest Citizens' Crime-Fighting Organization (in U.S.)
Chicago Crime Commission (1919)

Oldest Continuously Family-Owned Enterprise in Chicago
House of Glunz (1888). For more information, see Sean Parnell's Historic Bars of Chicago.

Oldest Continuously Run Tavern in the City
Schaller's Pump (1881). For more information, see Sean Parnell's Historic Bars of Chicago.

Oldest Continuously Run Tavern on the North Side
Kelly's Pub (1935). For more information, see Sean Parnell's Historic Bars of Chicago.

Oldest Continuous Tavern License on the North Side
Durkin's (1934). For more information, see Sean Parnell's Historic Bars of Chicago.

Oldest Division Street Dance Floor
Mothers, The Original (1968). For more information, see Sean Parnell's Historic Bars of Chicago.

Oldest Fan Club of the Chicago Cubs
West Side Rooters Social Club (1908, revived 2008). For more information, see Anbritt Stengele's Sports Traveler Chicago.

Oldest Government Watchdog Group
Better Government Association (1923)

Oldest Jazz Club
Green Mill Cocktail Lounge (1907). For more information, see Sean Parnell's Historic Bars of Chicago.

Oldest Labor History Society (in U.S.)
Illinois Labor History Society (1969)

Oldest Law Firm
Winston & Strawn LLP (1853)

Oldest Liquor License (first one post-Prohibition)
The Berghoff (1933). For more information, see Sean Parnell's Historic Bars of Chicago.

Oldest Magic Shop (and oldest family-run magic shop in North America)
Magic Inc. (1926).

Oldest Mexican-American Business in Chicago
La Guadalupana (1945).

Oldest Moving Company
Reebie Storage & Moving Co. (1880).

Oldest Nightclub
Neo (1979). For more information, see Sean Parnell's Historic Bars of Chicago.

Oldest No-Kill Animal Shelter
Lake Shore Animal Shelter (1966).

Oldest Public Golf Course (west of the Allegheny Mountains)
Downers Grove Public Golf Course (1892).

Oldest Real Estate Company (and one of oldest in U.S.)
Baird & Warner (1855).

Oldest Rush and Division Bar
The Lodge (1957). For more information, see Sean Parnell's Historic Bars of Chicago.

Oldest Service Provider to Those with Severe Mental Illness (in Illinois)
Thresholds Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center (1959)

Oldest Sherlockian Society
Hounds of the Baskerville (1942)

Oldest Small Venue for Alternative Music
Elbo Room (1989). For more information, see Sean Parnell's Historic Bars of Chicago.

Oldest Tour Boat Company
Wendella Boats (1935). For more information, see Dr. Phyllis J. Kozlowski's The Chicago River Architecture Tour.

Oldest Wicker Park Music Venue
Phyllis' Musical Inn (1954). For more information, see Sean Parnell's Historic Bars of Chicago.

Oldest Wine Bar
Webster's Wine Bar (1994). For more information, see Sean Parnell's Historic Bars of Chicago.

Oldest Zen Center
Zen Buddhist Temple of Chicago (1949)