The details of Chicago’s storied history just became a bit clearer, thanks to a trio of time capsules found in the iconic Tribune Tower building.
From a century-old baseball to Chicago Tribune copies to cartoons, the time capsules — from the years 1919, 1924 and 1947 — held more than 100 treasures from the city’s past.
The building — former home of the Chicago Tribune newspaper, now luxury residences — underwent a major three-year renovation during which crews stumbled upon three different time capsules from the early 20th century.
For Chicago History Museum Director of Exhibitions Paul Durica, opening the time capsules brought the serenity of looking upon past times while sparking new, slightly existential questions about time, values and society.
“What makes time capsules interesting and also challenging at times is that they do give us a real understanding of what the people who put that capsule together valued and what they thought was important,” Durica told the Sun-Times. “By opening this capsule, it makes the person opening it look at the current moment, too.”
The capsules were found more than a year ago during the renovation process but just opened Thursday.
Durica said many of the artifacts were predictable: copies of the Tribune and photos of Chicago. But some prompted a bit more head-scratching.
A baseball in the 1919 capsule could have been used in the year’s World Series when the White Sox lost to the Cincinnati Reds and eight players were accused of fixing the series. Durica said the timing of the capsule in relation to the Series made him infer it was a ball from that event but said he’ll look through the history museum’s archives to see if he can confirm.
“That’s the interesting thing about this process,” Durica said. “It wasn’t just one of discovery, but it’s one that prompts more discovery and research.”
The 1947 time capsule included a centennial edition of the Chicago Tribune, in which a list of the time capsule’s contents was published. But Durica said some of the listed items weren’t located in the capsule yet, including a penny from 1847, the year the Tribune was founded.
“When we opened it, we expected to find this penny, and we weren’t able to locate it,” Durica said, noting that some parts of the capsule are still sealed.
After Durica and historians determine what has historical value and what can be preserved, the hope is to put some artifacts in museums or exhibits.
“The experience was an adventure with some mystery thrown in,” Durica said.
