There’s No Place Like Sweet Home Chicago

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February 2024 View more

‘Amazing Chicago: The City of Big Shoulders, Murder, and Mayhem’ by David Anthony Witter

Think you know the Windy City? David Anthony Witter’s latest book, Amazing Chicago: The City of Big Shoulders, Murder, and Mayhem, tells the stories behind local landmarks, people, food—and even a few hauntings. Whether you’re a lifelong Chicagoan or a recent transplant, you’re bound to learn something new. While it may be common knowledge that Chicago is the birthplace of deep-dish pizza, Italian beef sandwiches, Walt Disney, and Ernest Hemingway (not in that order), did you know it’s also where The Wizard of Oz originated? Nope, it wasn’t Kansas—L. Frank Baum actually wrote his novel while living on Humboldt Boulevard. The spot is now commemorated by a yellow-brick sidewalk and 55-foot mosaic tile mural.

Have you ever driven by Geronimo on Pulaski or the Gemini Giant on Route 66? Know anyone who has pulled over to help Resurrection Mary? From the fascinating to the frightening, Witter covers it all. He even devotes two pages to Chicago’s latest claim to fame: Malört.