The Binny’s Beverage Depot at the intersection of Clark Street and Wellington Avenue in Lakeview is marked by its medieval exterior. The design isn’t a creative technique to make the liquor store stand out among other retailers in the area, but a reminder of the building’s history, which spans as far back as the 1920s.
Ask Geoffrey
Geoffrey Baer joined “Chicago Tonight” for this week’s Ask Geoffrey, about old Nike missile bases in Chicago.
The Wrigley Building celebrates its 100th anniversary. The latest edition of “Ask Geoffrey” explores how the Chicago icon transformed Michigan Avenue.
The Old World meets the new at a legendary Cicero restaurant that’s long served as an anchor for Chicago’s expansive Czech community. But now, its legacy is under threat.
Today we know Frank Lloyd Wright as one of the most influential American architects, but early in his career he designed projects you might have trouble recognizing as his — even if you lived in the building.
You may have been stuck at home the past 15 months, but Chicago’s ever-growing skyline didn’t skip a beat. New buildings have sprouted up all over downtown Chicago, including some projects that might surprise you.
A contest meant to inspire civic pride gets knocked off course after accusations of political scheming. But hey, this is Chicago.
German architect Helmut Jahn died Saturday after being struck by a car while riding a bicycle in the western suburbs. Geoffrey Baer takes a look at Jahn’s work and his legacy in a special edition of Ask Geoffrey.
What can an apartment building that once hosted royalty tell us about Chicago’s Norwegian American community? Geoffrey Baer has the story of this former social club designed by a pair of famous Chicago architects.
On Chicago’s South Side, there’s a bridge spanning the Dan Ryan expressway that looks more like a Disney World monorail than part of a working CTA train line.
A piece of Civil War history is being restored in one of Chicago’s most well-known public buildings. But what was it doing there in the first place? Geoffrey Baer has the answer.
For decades, they acted as the city’s front door, where people from all over the country arrived seeking out a better life – or just the thrills of the big city. Geoffrey Baer takes us back to the golden age of rail travel.
What does a 20th century electricity baron have to do with a spitting llama at a suburban petting zoo? Geoffrey Baer is here with the story of the Hawthorn Mellody dairy farm in this week’s Ask Geoffrey.
A collective groan may or may not have been heard around Chicago when the city awoke to find it was snowing — again. Geoffrey Baer explains how this recent blast of snowy weather stacks up against Chicago’s most infamous winter storms.
Bicycle sales in Chicago have surged over the past year as the pandemic has forced more and more people outside for exercise and recreation. But it’s hardly the city’s first “bike boom.” Geoffrey Baer takes us back to when Chicago was called “the Detroit of bicycles.”
Geoffrey Baer explores the past, present and future of a historic West Side garden in North Lawndale.