An original documentary series from Chicago PBS affiliate WTTW uncovering the city’s fascinating history. Each story presents an entertaining and intriguing tale about a person or event that shaped Chicago. The series reflects the rich diversity and breadth of human experience that shaped this great American city.
Showing Season 1 of 5
Season 1
2020
No overview available.
01. The Great Chicago Fire
2020-10-09
On October 10, 1871, Chicago awoke to an unrecognizable landscape: where 48 hours earlier there had been a vibrant city, now there was nothing but rubble stretched for miles on end. The event is brought to life as never before, using vivid animations, elaborate re-creations, and interviews with historians and the descendants of eyewitnesses.
02. Ida B. Wells
2021-05-21
There are few Chicago historical figures whose life and work speak to the current moment more than Ida B. Wells, the 19th century investigative journalist, civil rights leader, and passionate suffragist.
03. Inventing Improv
2021-10-22
Chicago’s greatest cultural export just might be improvised theater, which was born at Jane Addams’ Hull House during the Great Depression and carried out into the world by the likes of Bill Murray, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Stephen Colbert. But while to most people improv might seem synonymous with comedy, the art form was devised by a woman named Viola Spolin who wasn’t out for laughs.