Forgotten Chicago: Examining Vintage Postcards

A message on the back of this postcard says the image is of the first playground built by Jane Addams. The postcard was sent on July 8, 1910 to Buckeye, IL from Chicago. The postcard was printed in Germany. Life was difficult for the many poor immigrants who settled on Chicago’s West Side. Not only was the neighborhood very dirty , it was also congested and dangerous at times. Jane Addams’s Hull House brought hope to the neighborhood. Hull House offered an array of activities like swimming, art and English classes, employment services, and the opportunity to meet others. Hull House ous offered many activities for children and incorporated a child day care center to allow more women the ability to work.    The story of Hull House began in 1889 when Jane Addams and her friend Ellen Starr leased a large home built by Charles Hull at 800 S. Halsted, near Polk Street. Their intention was to set up a settlement house like one they had previously visited in London to ...

People walk and browse through items for sale on Maxwell Street. This postcard shows the market in the early 1900s. Published  by V.O. Hammon Publishing Co. of Chicago. Maxwell Street was more than just a street market. It was a melting pot of different cultures and a place where people came to sell and buy a variety of items from shoelaces to ethnic foods. European Jews established the open-air street market near Roosevelt Road and Halsted Streets in the late 19 th century. Other cultures soon started to come to the market, including the Irish, Italians, Greeks, Poles, and Russians. People also came to the market to enjoy music by street performers.  African Americans, who came to the neighborhood after World War I, brought with them a unique type of music: Mississippi-style Delta blues. It was later referred to as the “Chicago Blues,” after electric amplification was added.  “Each succeeding culture brought the comforts of home with them--their tra...