A Visual Presentation by Erica Ruggiero
Thursday, December 4, 2014, 6:30 p.m.
Edgewater Branch, Chicago Public Library
In the early 20th Century, Chicago was a national hub of automobile commerce – home to the country’s largest concentration of car and truck dealers along South Michigan Avenue’s Motor Row. Smaller hubs flourished in neighborhoods, including Edgewater, which was home to the North Side Motor Row. Join Preservation Chicago’s Erica Ruggiero on a photo tour of these, sometimes grand, remnants of automobile commerce – back when cars and trucks were new and everyone was buying. Click here for a flyer.
The 2014 Fall General meeting and Austin Wyman Lecture will be on Saturday, October 18, 2014 at 9:30 a.m. at the Broadway Armory, 5917 N. Broadway.
The Edgewater Historical Society is a Community Partner of Open House Chicago 2014 and the EHS Museum will be open extended hours (from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.) on October 18‑19. Here is the list of Edgewater sites with links to the Open House Chicago website:
The EHS Museum will again become an art gallery to showcase selected works of the Plein Air Painters of Chicago during Andersonville Arts and Design Weekend (October 10‑12, 2014). There will be a reception at the Museum on Friday (Oct. 10) from 5‑9 p.m. and the Museum will be open extended hours (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) on Saturday and Sunday (Oct. 11‑12). 
The next meeting of the Chicago History Book Club will be October 11, 2014 at 1:00 p.m. at the Edgewater Branch of the Chicago Public Library. This will be a multi-book discussion related to the Great Chicago Fire. 
The 26th Annual Edgewater Home Tour is Sunday, September 21, 2014.
Trucks were special innovations along Edgewater’s Northside Motor Row. They were invented, manufactured and marketed differently from cars, and ultimately evolved into different vehicles. “Motoring Through Edgewater” curator Tiffany Middleton will motor through truck history, from war to national tours to businesses right here in Edgewater. August 23, 2014 at 10 a.m. at the Museum.
The next meeting of the Chicago History Book Club will be August 2, 2014 at 1:00 p.m. at the Edgewater Branch of the Chicago Public Library. The book to be discussed is “Forever Open, Clear, and Free: The struggle for Chicago’s Lakefront” by Lois Wille (University of Chicago Press, 2nd edition, 1991). 
The current Museum exhibit, “Gems from our Collection,” runs through July 5, 2014. Maybe they’re not jewelry gems, but they’re definitely precious. The exhibit will showcase some of the items donated to EHS over the past 25 years, and tell the story of the object and/or the person who donated it. This will be an eclectic display of items, such as stained glass windows from a demolished Edgewater home or a portable clothes washer made here in Chicago. It will also feature some of the people of Edgewater and their contributions to the culture of Edgewater and Chicago.