>> 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

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