Good afternoon, Chicago. ✶
One of the best parts about living in this city is that, no matter how long you’ve been here, there is always something to discover.
Sometimes, it’s a hidden neighborhood gem that you never knew existed, or it’s stopping by a building you might not have been in for some time and picking up on something new.
Below, we look into this year’s Open House Chicago fest and how it can help you get to know our city a bit better. 👇
Plus, we’ve got the community news you need to know this afternoon.
⏱️: A 7-minute read
— Matt Moore, newsletter reporter (@MattKenMoore)
TODAY’S TOP STORY
Open House Chicago returns with new sites, neighborhood focus
Reporting by Isabel Funk
When is this year’s fest?: Open House Chicago returns this weekend with more than 170 architecturally, historically and culturally significant locations around the city open to the public. The free festival hosted by the Chicago Architecture Center runs from Friday through Sunday and will feature more than 40 new sites.
Neighborhood focus: Open House is focusing on 22 neighborhoods — like Austin, Lincoln Square/Ravenswood and Little Village/Pilsen — so participants can visit multiple sites at once with less travel time, says Eleanor Gorski, chief executive of the Chicago Architecture Center. At certain locations, you’ll find demonstrations of different activities, like woodworking at a Pullman workshop.
Why you should visit: This fest is an opportunity to get to know your city better, Gorski says. “So many people have busy lives. They stay in their neighborhood, and they know them really well,” Gorski says. “We want this to be a chance where people can feel like they can travel to other neighborhoods with a purpose to see our sites, and hopefully, they’ll learn about that neighborhood.”
What’s new this year: A new addition to the site list this year, Uptown’s Riviera Theatre, was built in 1918 as a movie palace. Also new is the center’s interactive app, which will help participants create and share their own itineraries, find activities, search transit options and plan travel routes. You’ll also find premade itineraries from local celebrities in the architecture world.
WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?
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Man pleads guilty in fatal shooting of officer: A 25-year-old man was sentenced to seven years in prison Thursday after pleading guilty to weapons and obstruction of justice charges in the fatal shooting of Chicago police officer Ella French.
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Sen. Duckworth in Europe: While on a multileg trip overseas to promote Illinois’ clean energy advancements, U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth also is reassuring foreign allies that aid to Ukraine remains a top priority for Democrats.
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Mayor pitches environment department: In his first proposed budget, Mayor Brandon Johnson is seeking to establish an environmental department at City Hall, though it’s initially a small staff expansion of an existing office that would not enforce pollution laws.
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River Forest girl honored at White House: Anja Herrman, 17, was recognized for her activism and writing on equity, inclusion and disability rights.
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Partial solar eclipse this weekend: The ”ring of fire” solar eclipse will only happen over the western parts of the U.S. However, about 43% of the sun will be covered by the moon as seen from Chicago on Saturday, according to the Adler Planetarium.
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High school football preview: Mike Clark breaks down five of the area’s best games ahead of this weekend, including Barrington-Palatine and St. Rita-St. Laurence.
- 3.5 stars for ‘Lucha Teotl’: This 100-minute odyssey through the Mexico-born sport/theater hybrid stars masked fighters with torrid back stories and bone-crunching moves and merges sport with theater with fabulous impact, writes Catey Sullivan in her review for the Sun-Times.
OUR CITY IN COLOR 🎨
Reporting by Robert Herguth
The Chicago graffiti artist who goes by Zwon says creating street art is relaxing and lets him not to think about ordinary life struggles. It’s “just a way to turn off and be in the moment,” he says.
Wait. Isn’t Zwon the guy who sometimes dangles from tall buildings with a rope and harness in the dark of night so he can illicitly splash his name — and maybe a snake or a skull or another character — on a wall in big, bold letters?
It is, says Zwon: “I might be a little bit of an adrenaline junky. It makes me feel alive.”
Especially at lower altitudes, he likes to feature characters and storylines you might find in comic books.
Zwon says he likes to “create a little world to escape out of the real world.” He says his art can reflect how he felt on a given day.
BRIGHT ONE ✨
These Chicago tattoo parlors let chance (and a gumball machine) choose your design
Reporting by Mary Norkol
Any kid knows the anticipation of putting a coin in a gumball machine and waiting to see which color gumball comes out. There’s a certain suspenseful thrill as you wait to see: Will it be red? Purple? White? Blue?
Some tattoo shops have embraced a similar idea. Only the game of chance in these cases dictates which designs end up being permanently etched onto a person’s skin.
At some Chicago tattoo shops, customers who don’t mind a little uncertainty with their tattoo experience can choose a “get what you get” deal. They pay a flat fee, usually from $50 to $180, depending on the shop and size of the design.
Tattoo designs, usually in a traditional style, are drawn on scraps of paper and put into plastic containers in a gumball machine. Customers twist the crank and wait. Then, it’s up to gumball machines and fate to dispense the soon to be permanent design.
“It takes a lot of the thinking out of it,” says Brad Rearden, owner of Taylor Street Tattoo, an early adopter of the concept.
YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️
From an architectural standpoint, what is your all-time favorite building in Chicago? Tell us why.
Email us (please include your first and last name and where you live). To see the answers to this question, check our Morning Edition newsletter. Not subscribed to Morning Edition? Sign up here so you won’t miss a thing!
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Editor: Satchel Price
Newsletter reporter: Matt Moore
Copy editor: Angie Myers
