“For Pete Kastanes, nostalgia was like salt — properly sprinkled, it made everything better.
“He liked to leaf through high school yearbooks and collect old comics. His matchbook collection evoked images of neon bar signs.
“As a kid, he wanted to go see things in Chicago that he’d heard about, like pizzerias and parks, and learn their histories. If a place really fascinated him, he’d go to the library and dig for information.
“In 2011, Mr. Kastanes, inspired by a Facebook page that paid tribute to a shuttered Chicago business, created one dedicated to the memory of a record store he frequented as a teenager.
“In 2012, he created a Facebook page called Chicago Extinct Businesses, later renaming it Vanished Chicagoland. It celebrated things like defunct Chicago businesses and restaurants and invites people to share their memories and favorite forgotten spots.
“He gained a loyal following of nearly 100,000 people on Facebook and hosted a podcast.
“In recent years, he also shared details about his battle with cancer.
“‘Vanished Chicagoland wasn’t polished, it wasn’t some fancy production. It was just Pete sharing what he knew about a TV show or a restaurant or an amusement park, and other people sharing what they knew, and that created a community,’ said Eric Miller, development coordinator at the Chicago History Museum. ‘And he was very clear if someone wrote something negative or about politics he’d right away tell everyone ‘I won’t tolerate it.’ And people loved that.’
“Following an online groundswell calling for Mr. Kastanes to be recognized for his role in sharing the city’s history, the Chicago History Museum created the Citizen History Award and presented it to him during a ceremony in February 2025.
“’He was not someone looking for recognition, he just loved it and people loved that about him,’ Miller said. ‘He was as Chicago as you can get. He exuded Chicago without pretense.’” (Dudek, Chicago Sun-Times, 4/29/26)