Delaware Block, 36 W. Randolph. Wheelock and Thomas, 1874 (extended later). (Photo by Thomas Leslie) Chicago’s soil was a hurdle to tall construction regardless of building type. Chicago rested up […]
Category: Illinois / regional
Illinois History $2.99 eBook sale
To coincide with the Conference on Illinois History annual meeting September 27, 2013, in Springfield, Illinois, we are offering eBook versions of three University of Illinois Press titles on sale for $2.99. […]
Skyscraper of the Day, Part 1
Mather Tower, 75 E. Wacker. Herbert Hugh Riddle, 1928. View from north. (Photograph by Thomas Leslie) No tower had been built to such slender proportions, and there were few opportunities […]
Q&A with The Negro in Illinois: The WPA Papers editor Brian Dolinar
Brian Dolinar is a scholar of African American literature and culture from the Depression era. He is the editor of The Negro in Illinois: The WPA Papers. We asked him […]
Reconsidering the Chicago School of architecture
Thomas Leslie, author of Chicago Skyscrapers, 1871-1934, recently spoke with WGLT-FM public radio about what architecture says not only about a city’s history, but about interpreting an urban identity. “Chicago skyscrapers […]
The Chronicle of Higher Education features Chicago Skyscrapers
Thomas Leslie, author of the new University of Illinois Press book Chicago Skyscrapers, 1871-1934, is the subject of a Chronicle of Higher Education feature. Thomas Leslie likes to warn his […]
Chicago architecture from the Great Fire to the Great Depression
Thomas Leslie discusses Chicago Skyscrapers on PBS affiliate WTTW’s Chicago Tonight. […]
Where was the birthplace of the skyscraper?
Chicago Skyscrapers, 1871-1934 author Thomas Leslie was on hand for the Association of Preservation Technology Western Great Lakes Chapter and Construction History Society of America’s Skyscraper Symposium. The daylong event […]
Organized Crime in Chicago on Book TV
Robert Lombardo author of Organized Crime in Chicago: Beyond the Mafia was featured on CSPAN’s Book TV. During the book discussion Lombardo covered his brushes with mobsters in his grammar school days, his […]
Willis Tower or One World Trade Center: Which is Taller?
Is the soon-to-be-finished One World Trade Center the tallest building in the United States? Thomas Leslie, author of Chicago Skyscrapers, 1871-1934, says maybe not. Leslie wrote an op-ed for the […]
Chicago Skyscrapers in New York
Thomas Leslie signs copies of his new book Chicago Skyscrapers, 1871-1934 at Book Expo America in New York. […]
The “Nikkei” path breaker with the St. Louis Cardinals
As the St. Louis Cardinals play their 2013 home opener today, Japanese or Japanese American players are no unusual site in Major League ballparks. But that wasn’t always the case. Samuel […]