[IL Bell Chicago Crossroads of a Continent]
The Illinois Bell Telephone Company takes the viewer on a journey through the past, present, and future of Chicago!
The Illinois Bell Telephone Company takes the viewer on a journey through the past, present, and future of Chicago!
See what the nightlife scene in downtown Chicago was like in 1948 – in spectacular technicolor!
“What Trees Do They Plant” is a film produced by the City of Chicago as a response to criticism of the way the Chicago Police Department treated protesters during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Its claim is that the Yippies conducted a deliberate campaign to disrupt the city and harm the police.
Witness silent film footage of Roosevelt College in its early days as filmed by some of its first students!
Silent footage of the demo reel for the Jeff Spitz documentary about Roosevelt College, now Roosevelt University.
Why and how did an integrated college in a segregated city start in downtown Chicago just as World War II was ending? In 1984 an independent documentary filmmaker, Jeff Spitz, found old pictures and film footage about Roosevelt University including a magazine article that referred to the school as “The Roosevelt Experiment.”
Tapping the memories of former students who crossed the color line, particularly Blacks and Jews, the film blends archival images and interviews into an exploration of race, racial quotas and democratic ideals. Former students recall being questioned during an anti-communist investigation that targeted their school.
Chicago Mayor Harold Washington, a former student council president, shares poignant memories of getting into political
arguments in the cafeteria. He called it an “insane but interesting place.”
Shortly after the film’s release Spitz returned to City Hall to interview Mayor Washington about fairness, diversity and clashing visions of government. Mayor Washington’s additional commentary appears at the end of the video.
Watch a series of onstage performances at the Chicago Cultural Center!
This video documents Chicago’s first 6.2 mile race for women. Organized and hosted by the Loop Center YWCA in April,1978, it was billed as one of the largest, if not the largest, sporting event for women to that date. Over 2000 entrants completed the race. The tape vividly captures the excitement of women of all ages, races and economic status, many of whom were motivated to run by the desire to do something ‘just for themselves.’ Loop YWCA organizers, Sharon Mier and Erma Tranter appear in the tape as does then mayor of Chicago, Michael Bilandic.