Author: WBEZ Chicago

Chicagoans call lots of places home. We live in two-flats, three-flats, bungalows and skyscrapers. And hundreds of households live in Chicago’s only trailer park, Harbor Point Estates. Beyond the city’s borders, there’s another 18,000 mobile homes in our metro area. Reporter Linda Lutton set out to answer a question about what life is like in Chicagoland mobile home communities, as told by residents themselves.

During the Cold War, many Americans were convinced that the end was near, building concrete bunkers to protect themselves from a nuclear attack. Whatever happened to these fallout shelters around Chicago? In this episode Curious City goes underground to find out.

Curious City’s new reporter Adriana Cardona-Maguigad braves the freezing temperatures to find out how Chicagoans are getting through the stress of winter.

Reporter Araceli Gómez-Aldana spent the day in Marriage and Civil Union Court in downtown Chicago where she met all kinds of couples who were there to say “I do,” and a clerk that’s helped thousands of couples tie the knot over the last 50 years. She’s seen it all, including brides left at the altar at the last minute, and Chicagoans lining up for hours to wed on the same day as Prince Charles and Princess Diana.

In this episode we head to the Hideout in Chicago for an evening of storytelling around rats. Jesse Dukes, Curious City’s lead rat reporter shares some stories from a trip we took to Lincoln Park’s rattiest alley. And some Chicagoans share their some of their most traumatic rat encounters.

On this week’s episode we’re revisiting a couple of holiday stories. Reporter Monica Eng answers a question about a shuttered Chicago jazz bar that one hosted the likes of Tony Bennett, Liza Minnelli and Lionel Hampton. Plus, we meet some of the people that run the Christmas tree pop-ups around Chicago.

Native Americans farmed, developed trade routes and took advantage of Chicago’s geography before anyone else settled in the region. Yet Chicago histories usually start in 1830. Reporter Jesse Dukes fills us in on what the history books are missing.

The Chicago region was home to a number of Native American nations, and Illinois’ native history is rich and varied. But unlike neighboring states like Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa, Illinois doesn’t have any Indian reservations. Curious City looks into the history to find out why.

Every driver in Chicago has probably encountered a speed hump (yep, they are officially known as humps, not bumps) at some point while traversing the city. It’s probably safe to say that no one particularly enjoys going over one, but these barriers meant to slow drivers and make streets safer certainly annoy some more than others. And one listener wants to know if they’re even effective. Reporter Andrew Meriwether investigates.

Lawyer selfies line the interstate between Illinois and Indiana. Curious City took a road trip and counted almost a hundred in one stretch of I-90/94. Audio producer Steven Jackson investigates why there’s so many of these billboards here, especially for personal injury attorneys. He shares insights from lawyers, marketers, and historians. Features a guest cameo by Lyndon B. Johnson.