Stop whatever you're working on at the moment and spend the next ten minutes exploring downtown Chicago as it was in 1948. Produced by MGM Studios, this short film is one of many of the TravelTalks films featuring James A. FitzPatrick that the studio made during the 1930s, '40s and early '50s. In this short film, the viewer is taken on a journey that starts in downtown, then heads north to the old Edgewater Beach Hotel then back south towards the Museum Campus and Hyde Park. Many landmark buildings make appearances in the film, including the Chicago Board of Trade, Merchandise Mart, Tribune Tower, Wrigley Building, Field Museum, Lyric Opera House and even the long-demolished Palmer Mansion built by famous developer Potter Palmer.
A few of the themes highlighted in the film still ring true for the Windy City to this day—primarily the city's famous skyline and architecture, Chicago's legacy as a popular tourist destination and finally, the city's role as an important transportation hub. Posted to the Forgotten Chicago group on Facebook, the film is a delightful trip through a city that has changed so much yet still remains unmistakably Chicago.
·1948 Chicago [Youtube]
·How Chicago looked in 1948 [Forgotten Chicago/Facebook]
·Video Interlude archives [Curbed Chicago]
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