As real estate development booms in pockets of the city, it feels like a new neighborhood is introduced every few months. This may seem like a relatively recent phenomenon, but in Chicago, the practice goes back decades. Geoffrey Baer explains.

From the Picasso to the Bean to countless city murals, public art is a vibrant part of Chicago culture. But for over a century, Chicagoans have taken special pride in a pair of sculptures watching over Michigan Avenue. Geoffrey Baer explains.

About a decade ago, Chicago tried, and failed, to bring the 2016 Summer Olympics to the city. But it wasn’t the first time Chicago tried to host a major international sporting event. Geoffrey Baer explains.

When driving along the Kennedy Expressway, you may have noticed massive churches that seem to almost line up with the curves and bends of the highway. Geoffrey Baer explains.

What if instead of hailing a cab or a private car to get to O’Hare or Midway from downtown Chicago, you could hail an airplane? Geoffrey Baer is here with the story of a company that once offered that very service. 

Since Chicago’s early days, anarchists, labor agitators and political radicals of all stripes have passed through the city. In the early 20th century, that included a legendary songwriter – and the subject of one of his most famous songs.

A youth basketball league from the 1940s and ‘50s is a reminder of Japanese American internment during World War II. Geoffrey Baer has that story and more in this edition of Ask Geoffrey.

Eight buildings by famed American architect Frank Lloyd Wright were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. Geoffrey Baer walks us through the designation and the Wright sites.

Geoffrey Baer investigates an early attempt at a Chicago baseball crosstown classic – that may or may not have actually happened.

Geoffrey Baer deposits some knowledge about buildings left behind by the banking panics of the Great Depression.

A semi-pro baseball team once bested the big leagues on the Northwest Side. Geoffrey Baer takes a swing at local baseball history and its “outlaw clubs.”

More than 2,800 streets make up Chicago’s famous grid, and city planners and developers drew the streets’ names from all sorts of people and places – including some of our own politicians.

WTTW’s Geoffrey Baer has explored almost every inch of the Chicago area in TV specials for more than 20 years. On Tuesday, he hits the road – and stops by to tell us about his adventures.

Just how did Chicago wind up with 50 wards and 50 aldermen? Geoffrey Baer does the math in this edition of Ask Geoffrey. And: five fast facts about Chicago mayors past.

When walking through Chicago’s older neighborhoods, you can often find hints about the history of their buildings just by looking up. Geoffrey Baer looks back – and up – at some architectural gems.

A viewer says her uncle used to swipe eggs from a factory in Bronzeville in the 1940s or ‘50s. Chicago history eggs-pert Geoffrey Baer has the surprising answer to that and other questions.