What was Chicago Like when You Were Born?

Chicago in the mid-1940s

When we were born in the mid-1940s, the world, and in particular Chicago, was a very different place than it is today. Our "skyscrapers" were the Chicago Tribune Tower and the Wrigley Building.  The 44-story Prudential Building, once the tallest building in Chicago, wouldn't be completed until 1955.

Many cultural venues which we enjoy today were already in place: The Field Museum of Natural History, Museum of Science and Industry, Civic Opera House and the Adler Planetarium.  At the time, Chicago had many "superlatives" including

• Largest Building of its kind in the world --The Merchandise Mart -- with 4 million square feet of floor space
• Largest transportation center in the world, with about 40 railroads and 1,500 passenger trains arriving at or departing from Chicago every day
• Largest hotel in the world -- The Stevens Hotel on south Michigan Avenue, now The Hilton -- with 3,000 rooms
• Tallest hotel in the world -- The Morrison Hotel -- demolished in 1965 to make room for the the First National Bank Building, now Chase Tower.  (A bit of trivia - when the Morrison Hotel was razed, it was the tallest building EVER demolished anywhere in the world!)

In addition, we had Soldier Field, the old Chicago Public Library building (now the the Cultural Center) with 800,000 volumes (and not one computer!), the Water Tower, Marshall Field's (now Macy's) and Buckingham Fountain.

Join us at the Reunion and see how much the city has changed since you were a toddler. 

Source: James A. Fitzpatrick's Traveltalks 1948 Chicago the Beautiful