Event—Adult Education

Industrial Chicago

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Learn about Chicago’s historical industries and see what happens in these spaces today.

A black and white photograph of a trainyard.

Locomotives and coal cars, Western Avenue rail yards, Chicago, May 1948. Source: Newberry Library, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company records, CB&Q A-5-1.

Class Description

This seminar will study several of Chicago’s most important industrial sites through classroom discussion sessions, Newberry collection presentations, and walking tours. The classroom sessions and collection presentations will examine the industries in their prime, while the walking tours will examine the traces that remain in the built environment and the new uses for which the structures and sites have been adapted. Special attention will be paid to industries that are well represented in the Newberry collection, including the railroads and printing.

For the walking tours, class members should be prepared to walk as much as a mile and a half.

Diane Dillon is a scholar in residence at the Newberry. She holds a PhD in the History of Art from Yale.

Materials List

  • Instructor-Distributed Materials

A Brief Syllabus

  1. Introduction at the Newberry
  2. Railroads: collection presentation at the Newberry
  3. Printing and Publishing: collection presentation at the Newberry
  4. Pullman: walking tour
  5. Meat Packing and the Union Stockyards: walking tour
  6. Printing and Publishing: walking tour
  7. Ravenswood Industrial Corridor: walking tour
  8. Goose Island: walking tour

Cost and Registration

8 Sessions, $300 ($270 for Newberry members, seniors, and students). Learn about becoming a member.

We offer our classes at three different price options: Regular ($300), Community Supported ($280), and Sponsor ($320). Following the models of other institutions, we want to ensure that our classes are accessible to a wider audience while continuing to support our instructors. You may choose the price that best fits your situation when registering through Learning Stream.

To register multiple people for this class, please go through the course calendar in Learning Stream, our registration platform. When you select the course and register, you’ll be prompted to add another registrant.

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Call us at (312) 255-3700 or send us an email at adulteducation@newberry.org.

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