We toast Chicago’s first mayor with a drink that gives a nod to William B. Ogden’s influence on city bridges and railroads: the Boilermaker.

After an extensive and highly competitive search, The Obama Foundation chose a New York-based architectural firm to design the Obama Presidential Center. Blair Kamin gives us some insights into the work of the architects and what Chicago might expect to see from them.

The award-winning series celebrates some of the stranger destinations you can visit in the U.S. The show's host and executive producer join us to talk about what you can expect from the new season, debuting this weekend.

Eat your way through 200 menu items at the 36th annual mega-fest in Grant Park, where Billy Idol and Sheila E. are among this year's musical guests. Get details on that event and others in this week's roundup.

The Chicago Botanic Garden's Eliza Fournier shares a bushel of recommendations to keep your garden healthy in the summer heat.

Did a used-car salesman design and build his sleek and sporty luxury car right here in Chicago? Geoffrey Baer has that story and more.

It has been said that the Great Depression was the best thing that ever happened to American artists. A new exhibition looks at how artists of the 1930s applied their diverse visions to the American dream during this time of immense change.

On Saturday, Holocaust survivor and Nobel Prize-winner Elie Wiesel died. He was 87 years old. In 2002, host Phil Ponce spoke with the author and activist about his widely acclaimed book "Night." Watch the full interview.

The brutal murder of eight young Chicago nurses in the summer of 1966 horrified the nation. Fifty years later, the lead prosecutor on the case that was instantly dubbed "The Crime of the Century" is here to tell us about it.

This week, we raise a glass to five-time U.S. Congressman and two-time U.S. Sen. Paul Simon, the O.G. hipster of the Senate, with a new twist on an old-school cocktail.

Now that it’s clear that “Star Wars” creator George Lucas will be taking his project to another state, what of the small nonprofit group that fell the mighty filmmaker and his supporter, Mayor Rahm Emanuel? Friends of the Parks Executive Director Juanita Irizarry joins us.

President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama announced Thursday that the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago will be designed by renowned architects Tod Williams and Billie Tsien.  

Blair Kamin, Pulitzer prize-winning architecture critic for the Chicago Tribune, talks about the architectural artistry of Harvard Yard and his new book on the subject.

Go out with a bang this weekend as fireworks, parades and festivals offer plenty of ways to celebrate across the city and suburbs.

Geoffrey Baer answers viewer questions about Chicago's North suburban neighbors in this week's edition of Ask Geoffrey.

The great Mel Brooks turns 90 on Tuesday. A WTTW11 crew met him in February 2001 when this genuine genius of entertainment was just a babe at 74 years old.