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Curious City

WBEZ Chicago

Ask questions, vote and discover answers about Chicago, the region and its people. From WBEZ.

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00:28:08

We’ve got answers to your winter-related questions

Curious City ·

2024/01/04

This week, we rounded up answers to five winter-related questions: What’s the purpose of the sand dunes along Lake Michigan in the winter? Starts at 2:20How does salt runoff from Chicago roads affect our waterways? Starts at 5:10How do I avoid ice falling from buildings when I see those “Caution: Falling ice” signs? Starts at 12:23How much sun does Chicago get in the winter compared to other cities? Starts at 17:55What are some activities I can do with my dog in Chicago when it’s freezing

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00:23:23

The nostalgic and painful memories of the Walnut Room

Curious City ·

2023/12/28

A visit to the Walnut Room is a long-standing holiday tradition for many Chicagoans. It first started in the Marshall Field’s department store on State Street. The store is now known as Macy’s, but the tradition of the Walnut Room continues with its glitzy Christmas tree and special visits from Santa Claus.It got some listeners wondering how the Walnut Room got its start.According to historian Sarah Sullivan, Marshall Field’s managers were always looking for ways to expand the shopping experience

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00:17:37

The Chicago newspaper box lives on

Curious City ·

2023/12/21

When Kathryn Jackson-Jones moved from Scotland to Chicago in 2022, she was excited to see colorful newspaper boxes dotting the sidewalks in her neighborhood. “We thought, great, this is a place where we can find a local newspaper that will tell us [about] local issues, [and] events that are happening,” she said. “And we can just get to know what it's like to live here.” But she quickly realized the boxes were nearly always empty. Do any newspapers still use the boxes? she wondered. Is there

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00:22:03

The first Black-owned airport in the U.S. was in...

Curious City ·

2023/12/14

In the 1920s and ’30s, Chicago was home for the burgeoning Black aviation community, a place of opportunity that was central to Black exploration and innovation. The area was where many firsts were achieved, and remarkably, where some of the most influential Black pilots in history opened the first Black-owned airport. This legacy started with the work of Bessie Coleman, who spent her short adulthood in Chicago. In 1921, Coleman became the first Black American woman to earn a pilot's license

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00:17:39

Who’s behind the CTA holiday train? Santa and the...

Curious City ·

2023/12/07

Twinkling lights, cheerful music and a man in a red suit are rumbling along Chicago’s train tracks. It’s that time of year when the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) holiday train and bus — officially known as the Allstate CTA holiday fleet — offer a sometimes unexpected dose of red and green joy. Curious City listener Kristina Bittorf remembers her first ride on the holiday train. She was waiting for a Brown Line train after work. She says her mood instantly changed when the doors opened and out

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00:25:32

How did Indian Boundary Park get its name?

Curious City ·

2023/12/01

Chicago, the “City in a Garden,” is home to more than 8,000 acres of parks — each a small reminder of the land beneath the concrete jungle. On the North Side of the city, in the West Ridge neighborhood, Indian Boundary Park — with its 13 acres, lagoon and fieldhouse — is one such parcel. Curious City listener Amy Loriaux says she made lasting memories on the park’s playground as a child. But as an adult, Loriaux began to wonder how the park got its name. “I'm not sure who told me, once upon a

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00:19:41

How Chicago's Mexican bakeries stay competitive

Curious City ·

2023/11/23

In some neighborhoods in Chicago, you can stumble onto a bakery simply by following the scent. Take Pilsen, where you’ll find many bakeries clustered around 18th Street, sometimes just a few doors down from one another.And this got one curious Chicagoan wondering:In neighborhoods like Pilsen, how doMexican bakeries stay in business with so much competition?It turns out the answer has a lot to do with culture and tradition. We dive into the answer this week.

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00:24:39

Migrants are finding spare rooms and shared spaces as...

Curious City ·

2023/11/16

Since last summer, more than 21,000 migrants, mostly from Venezuela, have been bussed from Texas to Chicago. New arrivals are staying at police stations, O’Hare Airport and city-run shelters. With winter on the way, city officials are scrambling to find housing alternatives. They’re considering converting a variety of buildings into living spaces and plan to build a tent encampment in Brighton Park on the Southwest Side. But in the meantime, some asylum seekers are

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00:22:39

Was there ever a Cuban neighborhood in Chicago?

Curious City ·

2023/11/11

Growing up in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood in the 1970s, Mario Rueda remembers being surrounded by Cuban people and culture. “Our neighbors were Cuban,” he said. “All our family friends were Cuban. The first person I met in grade school, who translated for me, was Cuban.” As a kid, Rueda regularly walked past St. Ita Church, with its large Cuban congregation, and visited La Plaza, a grocery store owned by a Cuban family. The owner of the store even wrote recommendation letters for

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00:28:28

Chicago bars on the big (and small) screen

Curious City ·

2023/11/02

Have you ever noticed that some of the most pivotal scenes in TV shows and movies take place in a drinking establishment? Liz Garibay with the Chicago Brewseum came to Curious City with this idea. Part of the Brewseum’s mission is to show the role bars and taverns have played in the history of our country, city and pop culture. Last month, we partnered with the Brewseum for a live event called “Suds on Screen” at the Goose Island Barrelhouse. Curious City Senior Producer Jason Marck was joined by

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00:27:19

In East Pilsen, a ghost boy plays hide-and-seek with...

Curious City ·

2023/10/26

Along a sparsely tree-lined block in East Pilsen, amid a collection of older homes and newer apartment buildings, sits the two-story residence of Margot Lozano. She shares the home with her husband, but they aren’t alone. She feels spirits roaming through the halls of the East Pilsen home. The spirits make their way up and down the stairs at night, linger outside bedroom doors, and weave in and out of the family’s history, which has unfolded in a neighborhood in the shadows of the Dan Ryan

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00:29:18

Flooded basements are becoming more common in...

Curious City ·

2023/10/19

Chicago was built along a maze of rivers and marshy wetlands, and flooding has been an issue since Day One. Over the years, engineers have dreamt up some big, ambitious schemes to keep the water confined to our rivers and lakes and out of our streets and homes: they raised buildings to lay the original sewer pipes, reversed the flow of the Chicago River to protect our source of drinking water, and in 1975, began construction on the Tunnel and Reservoir Plan to capture excess water during heavy

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00:17:56

What’s it like to be a CTA train operator? And what’s...

Curious City ·

2023/10/12

Back in 2018, Curious City talked with former Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) rail operators and learned the ins and outs of a day on the job.While the logistics of being a rail operator have largely stayed the same, a lot has changed since the COVID pandemic began.Like other transit agencies in the U.S., the CTA is facing a labor shortage, which has had cascading effects on service. Previously, bus and rail operators could only be hired from the CTA’s existing part-time or contingent workforce. The

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00:20:06

Organizing a race in Chicago requires fees, permits...

Curious City ·

2023/10/05

Every year in Chicago, tens of thousands of people take part in 5Ks, marathons and other running and walking events across the city.OneCurious Citylistener wanted to know: What’s the process like to get permission to hold one of these events? And what rules do event organizers need to follow?This week, we're revisiting the answer to that question.

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00:20:13

The Medinah Temple: A history from ice shows to circuses

Curious City ·

2023/09/28

The Medinah Temple reopened its doors earlier this month, this time as a casino. The building at the corner of Wabash and Ontario Streets in Chicago’s River North neighborhood will be home to Bally’s, the city’s first-ever casino, until a permanent location is constructed in River West. The temple’s onion-shaped domes, horseshoe arch and Arabic inscriptions got one Curious City listener wondering about the history of the Medinah Temple, as well as the community after which it was named. The

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00:16:51

Who enforces the rules at dog parks?

Curious City ·

2023/09/21

On a nice day, it’s common to find a pack of dogs running around together at one of Chicago’s 34 dog parks. They can be off leash and socialize with other dogs while owners relax. But sometimes, a playful romp can turn aggressive or uncomfortable. That’s what happened to one of Kelsey Kamp’s dogs. “We had our boxer over at Churchill dog park, and someone brought in … eight dogs and puppies that just started attacking her, and they were hanging off her face,” Kamp said. “She was not very happy

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00:28:16

The Fireside Bowl: An unlikely place for punks of all...

Curious City ·

2023/09/14

Growing up in the Chicago suburbs in the 1980s and ’90s, Joe Principe was a kid filled with a little rage and plenty of restlessness. Like other teens, he was searching for an outlet in music that grabbed him by his adolescent collar. “I got into punk when I was really young, probably fourth grade … I would go into [my sister’s] bedroom and steal her cassettes. And I remember coming across Dead Kennedys’ Plastic Surgery Disasters.” The music spoke to him. Kids like Principe gravitated towards punk

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00:13:36

What's it like to be a Chicago garbage collector?

Curious City ·

2023/09/07

Curious City listener Diane Judge thinks a lot about what she throws away. The longtime Ravenswood resident composts what she can, recycles what she can and consigns to the garbage bin only what she has to. Because of that, she makes a trip to her alley to toss her garbage in the city-issued bin less often than most. But when she does, she sometimes runs into a Chicago Streets and Sanitation collection crew making their rounds. That got her curious about the people who pick up her trash

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00:20:01

Is suburban Chicago taking away Devon Avenue’s...

Curious City ·

2023/08/31

The Devon Avenue area of Chicago’s West Ridge neighborhood is known as “Little India” because of its dense population of South Asian residents and cluster of businesses. But over the years, there’s been a demographic shift and many South Asians now live in the suburbs. Today, Chicago's metropolitan area has the second-largest Indian population and the fourth-largest Pakistani community in the U.S., according to Pew Research Center. And it got Curious City listener Salek Khalid wondering: “Is the

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00:00:00

¿Qué es lo más inexplicable que te ha pasado?...

Curious City ·

2023/08/26

El otoño pasado, un oyente de WBEZ nos contó la historia de una casa embrujada en Barrington, IL, donde un niño murió en circunstancias trágicas y su espíritu quedó rondando. ¿Tienes una historia similar que ha pasado aquí en Chicago o en los suburbios para compartir con nosotros? Tal vez hayas notado objetos moviéndose inexplicablemente por una habitación, dispositivos electrónicos apagándose y encendiéndose u otras inquietantes señales de una aparición. A lo mejor investigaste la historia de tu

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