Built in 1954, the innovative Miracle House with its distinctive steel arms was the grand prize in a church raffle. (WTTW News)

With a pair of giant steel arms jutting from its frame and a nearly all-glass exterior, Galewood’s “Miracle House” looks as futuristic in 2021 as it did when it was built in 1954. And it has an origin story as quirky as its appearance.

(Credit: Chicago History Museum)

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.

(WTTW News)

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.

(WTTW News)

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.” 

(WTTW News)

Geoffrey Baer explores the past, present and future of a historic West Side garden in North Lawndale.

(Courtesy: Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago)

When it comes to designing buildings, form may follow function, but that doesn’t mean function has to be without form. Geoffrey Baer joins us with the story of the O’Brien Water Reclamation Plant and other ornamented utility buildings. 

Geoffrey Baer has the story of a famous wagon supply company once based in Chicago. 

(Chicago from the Air / WTTW)

Taking in the city’s expanse via drone, the special explores Chicago’s famous grid system, its industrial legacy, and the natural areas that weave through the dense urban jungle.

(WTTW News)

Angles, curves, one ways and dead ends. Chicago’s street system has long been a source of pride for the city’s residents. Geoffrey Baer has more on the history and quirks of the city’s street system.

(WTTW News)

A tucked-away street on the city's South Side is a time capsule from the days before the neighborhood was even part of Chicago. Geoffrey Baer explains.

Austin Town Hall (WTTW News)

Geoffrey Baer takes a look at the redesigned event in the latest Ask Geoffrey.

Geoffrey Baer traces the half-century story that cost at least one preservationist his life, in this week’s Ask Geoffrey.

Geoffrey Baer has the story of a Chicago nightclub that helped launch the careers of artists like Peter, Paul and Mary, Shel Silverstein, and many more.

Geoffrey Baer on a mysterious lakefront structure in this week's Ask Geoffrey. 

(WTTW News)

Two famous Germans take up permanent residence in Chicago, only to witness the evolution of a West Side neighborhood. Geoffrey Baer goes long on two enduring Humboldt Park statues.