“Exhibition Explores the History of Race and the Built Environment in Chicago through the archaeology of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, the Charnley-Persky House and the Mecca Flats
“Opening at the Charnley-Persky House Museum on November 3, 2022, The City Beyond the White City: Race, Two Chicago Homes, and their Neighborhoods, connects the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, also called the ‘White City,’ to the material, spatial, and social histories of two 1892 structures—the Charnley-Persky House and the Mecca Flats—located respectively on Chicago’s privileged Near North and disinvested Near South Sides.
“The physical exhibition, featuring archaeologically recovered artifacts, is accompanied by a virtual exhibit; together they frame the history of race, structures of racism, and the built environment in Chicago.
“The City beyond the White City features over 30 individual artifacts excavated from the Charnley-Persky House (Adler & Sullivan, 1891–1892) and from the former Mecca Flats (Edbrooke & Burnham, 1891–1892). Together, archival documents, oral histories, and 19th- and early-20th-century artifacts unearthed in archaeological digs are used to interpret a nuanced public history of race and place in Chicago for student and public audiences.
“The exhibition is co-curated by Dr. Rebecca Graff, associate professor of anthropology at Lake Forest College, and the late Pauline Saliga, former executive director of the Society of Architectural Historians and the Charnley-Persky House Museum Foundation.
“Exhibition Hours: The exhibition is open Wednesdays and Saturdays from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. No reservations are required.”
Charnley-Persky House, 1365 N. Astor St.
November 3, 2022 – October 28, 2023
The City Beyond the White City: Race, Two Chicago Homes, and their Neighborhoods