We pick our favorite weekly events in Chicago architecture and history to share with you as you plan your social calendar. This week we feature a dinner series with a lecture about the Mexican immigrant community on Chicago’s South Side, an exclusive tour of a 1920s Neo-Gothic skyscraper church, and a public open house to a Frank Lloyd Wright home in Chicago’s Rogers Park.
1. Navigating the Steel Barrio: the Making of Mexican South Chicago – Chicago History Museum, 1601 N. Clark St.
DINNER AND LECTURE – Thursday, April 24, 5:45pm
$25 – Reservations required
As part of the Chicago History Museum’s “Urban History Seminars” series, Michael Innis-Jiménez of the University of Alabama-Tuscaloosa will present on his historical research. He specializes in the history of labor and community among Mexican immigrants on Chicago’s South Side during the first half of the 20th century. The program includes free parking, an opening reception, dinner at 6:15pm, and the seminar at 7:00pm. There’s a cash bar, too!
2. Exclusive Temple Tour with Views and a Toast – Chicago Temple, 77 W. Washington St.
TOUR – Friday, April 25th, 5:45pm-8:00pm
$36 – Reservations required
Held by yours truly, Chicago Detours, this special tour of the historic Chicago Temple Building includes a prosecco toast from the pastor’s private balcony overlooking downtown Chicago. It may be the last time we offer this special experience because the pastor is retiring. Come on this tour and you will experience the stained glass windows and architecture of this 1920s skyscraper, and you will explore the “Chapel in the Sky” on the 26th floor. Guests will hear the stories behind the Neo-Gothic skyscraper church, the history of the “kitsch Jesus,” and the radical events that led to the integration of the church in the ’60s. The $36 ticket includes tour guide commentary, presentation of shared images on iPads, entrance to the Sky Chapel, exclusive access to the senior pastor’s private balcony and penthouse, and prosecco toast with small bites.
3. Visit Frank Lloyd Wright’s Emil Bach House – 7415 N. Sheridan Rd.
NEIGHBORHOOD OPEN HOUSE – Sunday, April 27, 11:00am-3:00pm
FREE
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Emil Bach House in the Rogers Park neighborhood on the north side of Chicago will be open for free tours this Sunday. You can grab a complimentary tasty beverage as you get to enter prior to the official opening to the public in May. After that, the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust will offer its seasonal tours of the simple architecture of this Frank Lloyd Wright house.
