43rd Street Bronzeville Walking Tour, Part 2: ‘Doctor Dan’

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Doctor Daniel Hale Williams

Now that we’ve seen the fabulous greystones on Dr. Martin Luther King Drive, let’s continue with Part 2 of our series, and walk further down 42nd Street. A modest red Queen Anne house with subtle cornice bracketing is a neighborhood landmark because of an extraordinary man who once lived there.

445 E. 42nd Street was for decades the home of Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, also known as “Dr. Dan.” He is widely credited as the first to successfully perform surgery to repair a damaged heart, and his daring and skilled feat made headlines around the world in 1893.

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Chicago Jazz History Revealed at Meyers Ace Hardware

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Meyers Ace Hardware

At first glance, the appeal of Meyers Ace Hardware on 35th Street in Bronzeville is that it has the personality and charm of a true, old school neighborhood hardware store. But if you step inside, you learn that its rich history makes it so much more. It once hosted performances by such legends as Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, and Louie Armstrong.

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Garfield: Last Station Standing of the First “L” Line

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garfield (2)

Hidden in Washington Park on the South Side is a small Victorian building that is the oldest standing public transit structure in Chicago, and probably the the United States. It was built to connect downtown with the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Jackson Park.

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Hidden in Hermosa: Walt Disney’s Birthplace and Childhood Home

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Walt Disney house

Hidden on a quiet street on the northwest side is a modest home which saw the beginning of an international entertainment icon: Walt Disney.

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