“Neighborhood group Logan Square Preservation has hosted a September house and garden walk for nearly 40 years, giving neighbors a peek inside historical homes along and around Logan Boulevard.
“But this year, with the coronavirus pandemic, the organization canceled the walk and launched a self-guided history tour that allows residents to learn about neighborhood landmarks and historically significant homes safely and on their own time.
“The Pillars & Porticos tour, which doubles as a membership drive, launched online this weekend. It is only available to members of Logan Square Preservation. A membership costs $20 annually.
“Neighbors can pull up the map — on their phone or computer — and travel to any of the 22 curated sites they want to visit. At each site, there are accompanying ‘stories of those who have built, lived and worked in these places’ over the years.
“Group member Shana Liberman, who helped organize the tour, stressed that while the house and garden walk served as inspiration, the self-guided tour has grown into ‘so much more.’
“A group of Logan Square Preservation volunteers spent hundreds of hours compiling historical facts, anecdotes and photos for the tour, creating a ‘downloadable reference people can keep forever,’ Liberman said.
“‘The value the docents provide [at the house walk] is they can point out things like the moldings and the architects … the appeal of this guide is it gets into far greater detail than a docent would ever able be able to go into,’ she said.
“Participants can find a range of sites on the map, from the Illinois Centennial Monument to an early 1900s mansion designed for the founder of an ice company.
Read the full story at Block Club Chicago
How Well Do You Know Logan Square History? Neighborhood Group Launches Self-Guided Tour
