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Profile image for Patti Swanson

Patti Swanson

Joined Atlas Obscura in 2016

Best described as "Shazam for buildings," Patti is a city historian, educator, preservation enthusiast, and bookbinder living in Chicago, IL. One art history degree, four years of tour guide-ing, and a whole lot of coffee led to Patti starting her own walking tour project, Chicago for Chicagoans, in 2016. She factors lots of collaboration into her tours and strongly believes in making history accessible to everyone. Patti is an Atlas Obscura Field Agent, so you can also find her planning super-cool explorations for the Chicago Obscura Society!
chicagoforchicagoans.org

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77

Places I've been

Places this traveler has marked as been there.

Essanay Studios

Chicago, Illinois

Essanay Studios

This landmark of the Chicago silent film industry may not be in the picture business anymore but it still stands proudly.

Wooden walls at the Green Mill

Chicago, Illinois

Green Mill Jazz Club

A century-old hotspot for jazz, frequented by everyone from Charlie Chaplin to Al Capone.

Ida Crown Natatorium

Chicago, Illinois

Ida Crown Natatorium

An eccentric park and pool.

Temple and home exterior

Chicago, Illinois

Stan Mansion

Built to house a chapter of the Knights Templar, this grandiose building is a relic of Freemasonry in Chicago a century ago.

Beer Baron Row.

Chicago, Illinois

Beer Baron Row

These mansions date back to Chicago's days as a brewer's paradise.

Championship Vinyl in "High Fidelity"

Chicago, Illinois

Championship Vinyl in "High Fidelity"

Where Cusack's record store from the film "High Fidelity" was located.

Ecclesiastical angels by Tiffany Studios at the Driehaus Museum of Stained Glass.
Permanently Closed

Chicago, Illinois

Stained Glass at Navy Pier

A display of magnificent stained glass windows is the first exhibit of its kind.

The hotel lobby

Chicago, Illinois

Palmer House Hilton

This historic hotel invented the chocolate brownie.

Chicago Bath House

Chicago, Illinois

Chicago Bath House

A European-style bath house in Chicago.

The fern garden.

Chicago, Illinois

Garfield Park Conservatory

A lush green oasis in the middle of Chicago.

Intuit's main gallery. (Intuit)

Chicago, Illinois

Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art

Nonprofit art center that promotes outsider, intuitive, and self-taught art.

Shop window of Merz Apothecary.

Chicago, Illinois

Merz Apothecary

An antiquated German apothecary on Chicago's North Side.

The exterior of the new store
Permanently Closed

Chicago, Illinois

Wicker Park Secret Agent Supply Co.

This shop for all your super spy needs hides an educational secret.

Schlaraffia Room.

Chicago, Illinois

DANK Haus German American Cultural Center

You can take a class, browse the library, or visit the lavish lair of an international men's humor society.

Historic Pullman Center.

Chicago, Illinois

Pullman Historic District

First planned industrial community in the United States.

McDonald's First Store Museum
Permanently Closed

Des Plaines, Illinois

McDonald's First Store Museum

Despite its name, this fast food museum is actually a replica of the ninth McDonald's store.

One of nine gardens

Wilmette, Illinois

Bahá'í Temple

The only Bahá'í house of worship in North America and one of only a handful worldwide.

The World's Columbian Exhibition of 1893

Chicago, Illinois

The World's Columbian Exhibition of 1893

What's left of the ruins of the 1893 Columbian Exhibition, or World's Fair, also known as the White City.

U-505

Chicago, Illinois

U-505

The unluckiest U-boat in the entire German fleet is now on display in a Chicago museum.

Entrance to Bohemian National Cemetery. (Wikimedia Commons)

Chicago, Illinois

Bohemian National Cemetery

Cemetery featuring rare glass-fronted columbarium.

The Wieners Circle

Chicago, Illinois

The Wieners Circle

A hot dog stand where the heads are just as hot as the dogs.

North Avenue Baths Facade

Chicago, Illinois

North Avenue Baths Facade

Former bath house turns gastropub.

Wicker Park

Chicago, Illinois

Wicker Park

Once called the "Polish Gold Coast" it is an icon of the neighborhood that bears its same name.

Locks on the Pont des Arts
Permanently Closed

Paris, France

Paris Padlocks of Love

The celebrated eyesore created by starry-eyed sweethearts.

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