>> THE LOFTY NAMES OF SOME
NORTHERN SUBURBS SUGGEST HIGH
ELEVATION SO WHERE ARE ALL THE
MOUNTAINS?
GEOFFREY BAER IS HERE TO TELL
US HOW PLACES LIKE ARLINGTON
HEIGHTS REALLY ARE IN TONIGHT
EDITION OF ASK GEOFFREY.
WE WILL START OUT WITH OUR
FIRST QUESTION.
IN THE'50S PEOPLE WOULD GATHER
AT A PARK REFER TO AS BUGHOUSE
SQUARE TO HEAR INFORMAL
SPEECHES ON A VARIETY OF
TOPICS.
>> IT IS STILL THERE IT IS
AROUND 900 NORTH.
NEWBERRY LIBRARY OVERLOOKS
BUGHOUSE SQUARE.
THE OFFICIAL NAME IS WASHINGTON
SQUARE PARK.
IT WAS KNOWN AS BUNKHOUSE
SQUARE AS FOR THE SLANG FROM
MENTAL HEALTH FACILITY THE
PARKS REPUTATION AS A HOME FOR
FANATICS BEGAN IN THE BEGAN IN
THE 1910'S RADICALS WOULD HOP
UP ON SOAP TAXES TO CHAMPION
WHATEVER THEIR CAUSE WAS.
TOPICS RAN THE GAMUT BUT
SPEAKERS HAD TO MAKE THEIR
VOICES HEARD ABOUT A LIVELY
CROWD OF COMPETING SPEAKERS AND
LOTS OF HECKLERS.
ONE TRIBUTE ARTICLE DESCRIBED A
SPEAKER BY THE NAME OF ONE
ARMED CHARLIE WOULD BEGIN BY
SHOUTING SOUNDS LIKE FRED
STONE.
>> IT WAS A WIDE OPEN FORUM
BUT THE SPEAKERS WERE MOSTLY
RADICALS?
>> SOCIALIST, ANARCHIST, LABOR
ORGANIZERS, WOBBLIES OR CROWD
FAVORITES.
STUDS TERKEL WAS A FREQUENT
LISTENER AND SOMETIME ORDER AT
BUGHOUSE SQUARE.
DURING THE HEYDAY HIS FAMILY
OPERATED A HOTEL NEAR THE
SQUARE AND YOUNG STUDS WOULD
STOP BY TO HEAR PEOPLE LIKE
LABOR RADICAL LUCY PARSONS HER
HUSBAND WAS ONE OF THE ONES
EXECUTED.
IT WAS SO FORMATIVE THAT HE
ASKED FOR HIS ASHES TO BE
SCATTERED THERE.
THE SPEECHIFYING DECLINE DURING
THE RED SCARE OF THE 1950S WITH
HIS BACK LASHING AGAINST
COMMUNIST AND SOCIALIST AND BY
THE'60S GATHERINGS WERE A THING
OF THE PAST.
THE NEWBERRY LIBRARY IS
BRINGING BACK THE LIFE FOR ONE
DAY EACH SUMMER SPEAKERS CLIMB
UP ON SOAPBOXES AND GET 15
MINUTES TO PLEAD THEIR CASE ON
EVERYTHING FROM GUN CONTROL TO
IMMIGRATION.
THE CHAMPION SPEAKER IS AWARDED
A DELL PICKLE AND THAT IS
BECAUSE THE DILL PICKLE CLUB
WAS A BOHEMIAN GATHERING PLACE
THEREBY FOR REGULARS.
>> DO THEY ALSO YELL?
>> I HAVE NO IDEA.
>> X QUESTION.
I SCRATCH MY HEAD WHEN I THINK
ABOUT THE NAME OF ARLINGTON
HEIGHTS AND MOUNT PROSPECT
WHICH HAVE
NO ELEVATION.
HOW DID THEY GET THEIR NAME?
ASK NORTHERN ILLINOIS IS NOT
KNOWN FOR ITS DRAMATIC
TOPOGRAPHY.
NOT A LOT OF SKIING.
AND IN PIONEER DAYS THE CHICAGO
AREA WAS BETTER KNOWN AS SOGGY,
FLOOD PRONE PRAIRIE.
SO DEVELOPERS LOOKIN
G FOR WAYS
FOR BUYERS TO THESE NEW SUBURBS
CHOSE NAMES THAT REASSURED
FOLKS THEIR PROPERTY WAS HIGH
AND DRY.
THIS WAS IMPORTANT TO FARMERS
THAT FOR THE MAJORITY OF BUYERS
BACK IN THE 1880S WHEN
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS WAS
INCORPORATED IN MOUNT PROSPECT
WAS GETTING STARTED IN PARK
RIDGE IS ANOTHER ONE.
THE LOFTY SNOWCAPPED PARK
RIDGE.
WE ACTUALLY WONDERED WHETHER
THERE IS ANY TRUTH IN
ADVERTISING HERE.
SO WE CONSULTED CITY DATA.COM
AND CHICAGO IS GENERALLY ABOUT
600 FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS IS 700 FEET
ABOVE SEA LEVEL AND MOUNT
PROSPECT IS A WHOPPING 665 FEET
ABOVE FEET LEVEL.
IT'S ONLY IN A FLAT PLACE LIKE
ILLINOIS THIS COULD BE MARKETED
AS HEIGHTS OR A MONTH.
IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR THE
HIGHEST ELEVATION IT IS WAY UP
IN THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF THE
COUNTY AT A WHOPPING 830 FEET.
>> I HAVE BEEN THERE AND
GOTTEN ALTITUDE SICKNESS.
BESIDE THE BEAUTIFUL MONUMENT
ON KING DRIVE IN THE NAME OF
PERSHING ROAD WHAT OTHER
TRIBUTE TO WORLD WAR I CAN BE
FOUND IN CHICAGO?
>> THIS IS THE 100 ANNIVERSARY
OF THE START OF WORLD WAR I
THIS YEAR.
WHEN WE FIRST GOT THIS QUESTION
I COULD ONLY THINK OF A FEW.
THERE ARE QUITE A FEW WORLD WAR
I MONUMENTS AROUND CHICAGO
INCLUDING TWO MAJOR BILLINGS.
MUNICIPAL PEER WAS RENAMED NAVY
PEER.
AND THE OTHER ONE IS SOLDIER
FIELD WHEN IT OPENED IN 1924
WAS KNOWN AS MUNICIPAL GRANT
PARK STADIUM QUITE A MOUTHFUL
BUT WITHIN A YEAR IT WAS
RENAMED SOLDIER FIELD IN HONOR
OF WORLD WAR ONE SOLDIERS.
NOT QUITE AS PROMINENT IS THIS,
THE ELKS NATIONAL MEMORIAL IN
LAKEVIEW.
THIS PARTICULAR DESIGN WAS THE
RESULT OF COMPETITION TO CREATE
A MEMORIAL HONORING MEMBERS OF
THE ORDER OF ELKS WHO DIED
DURING THE GREAT WAR.
>> THOSE ARE PRETTY BIG
MONUMENTS.
OTHER SMALLER THINGS SCATTERED
AROUND CHICAGO?
>> THERE ARE A NUMBER SMALLER
TRIBUTES.
THE VIEW MENTIONS THE MONUMENT
ON KING DRIVE.
SHE'S REFERRING TO THE VICTORY
MONUMENT HONORING THE EIGHTH
REGIMENT OF AFRICAN AMERICAN
SOLDIERS SERVED IN FRANCE
DURING WORLD WAR I. IN EDISON
PARK GRANTED MEMORIAL HONORED
CITIZENS OF THAT NEIGHBORHOOD.
IMPLEMENT ANOTHER GRANITE
MONUMENT STANCE IN TRIBUTE TO
THE DOUGHBOYS WHO LOST THEIR
LIVES WAS ORIGINALLY HAD A
BRONZE ANGLE IT WAS STOLEN AND
HAS SINCE THEN REPLACED WITH A
GRANITE PYRAMID.
GARFIELD PARK A MARBLE PYLON
WITH A BRONZE FLAME.
IN THE SOUTH CHICAGO
NEIGHBORHOOD PEOPLE PROBABLY
KNOW RAINBOW EACH AND PARK THEY
ARE NAMED IN HONOR OF THE
ARMI
ES 42ND INFANTRY DIVISION
KNOWN AS THE RAINBOW DIVISION.
THIS GRANITE ARCH STANCE IN THE
PARK TO HONOR THE RAINBOW
DIVISION FOR THEIR HEROISM.
THERE IS THIS LOGAN SCARE, GOT
A CONCRETE BASE WITH A BRONZE
PLAQUE INSCRIBED WITH THE NAMES
OF 50 PEOPLE MADE THE ULTIMATE
SACRIFICE AND WORLD WAR I. I
KNOW OUR VIEWERS ASKED ONLY
ABOUT THE CITY THERE ARE MANY
OTHER IN THE SUBURBS AND ONES
THAT ARE NO LONGER STANDING
LIKE CANNONS AND TANKS WHICH
WERE MELTED DOWN FOR WORLD WAR
II.
WE SHOULD ALSO NOTE NEWBERRY
LIBRARY HAS A SERIOUS OF
EXHIBITS STARTING THIS MONTH
THROUGH JANUARY EXPLORING
CHICAGO'S EXPERIENCE DURING THE
GREAT WAR.
>> THANK YOU.
YOU CAN VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR
MORE PERMISSION ON THESE AND