Historic Photos of Christmas in Chicago

In Chicago, as wherever Christmas is celebrated, holiday traditions reflect both universal themes and local color, both the spirit of giving and snow-covered State Street. In 1913, Chicago decorated its first civic Christmas tree, while many others arrived on the fabled ＂Christmas tree ships＂ of the era. Holiday shoppers crowded the sidewalks in front of stores such as Marshall Field & Company, Santa Claus held the rapt gaze of children, and churches and charities reached out to the needy. So Christmas was then, and so it has remained.

Historic Photos of Christmas in Chicago offers nearly 200 images of the Christmas season in the Windy City, from festive outdoor celebrations to intimate family gatherings. Culled from the archives of the Chicago History Museum, these images depict the city through the years during its annual celebration of this very special holiday, and so provide a chance to look back in time while reflecting on the meaning of Christmas today.

Rosemary K. Adams is director of print and multimedia publications at the Chicago History Museum and is the editor-in-chief of Chicago History magazine, the museum’s award-winning popular history journal. She is the author of What George Wore Sally Didn’t: Surprising Stories From America’s Past, and A Wild Kind of Boldness: A Chicago History Reader. Adams has edited numerous Chicago History Museum books and exhibition catalogues, including Becoming American Women; Chicago Goes to War; Go West: Chicago and American Expansion; Chicago: Crossroads of America; Big Picture; and Chic Chicago: Couture Treasures from the Chicago History Museum. She is responsible for the development of the museum’s Web site and served as illustration editor of the Encyclopedia of Chicago (2004).

A graduate of Dominican University in 1987, Adams received a master’s degree from DePaul University in 2002.