LITERARY LOCAL | Vintage-Inspired Books on Christmas in Chicago

Vintage Holiday Magic: Chicago Christmas Memories Through the Pages

CHICAGO–Step back into Chicago’s enchanting holiday history with Marshall Field’s: The Store that Helped Build Chicago and Historic Photos of Christmas in Chicago. These books beautifully capture the city’s beloved Christmas traditions, from the iconic Marshall Field’s holiday displays to vintage snapshots that spark memories of a bygone festive era. Celebrate the spirit of Chicago’s timeless Christmas magic through these nostalgic pages.

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Historic Photos of Christmas in Chicago

by Rosemary K. Adams

CHICAGO–In Chicago, as wherever Christmas is celebrated, holiday traditions reflect both universal themes and local color, both the spirit of giving and snow-covered State Street. In 1913, Chicago decorated its first civic Christmas tree, while many others arrived on the fabled "Christmas tree ships” of the era. Holiday shoppers crowded the sidewalks in front of stores such as Marshall Field & Company, Santa Claus held the rapt gaze of children, and churches and charities reached out to the needy. So Christmas was then, and so it has remained.

Historic Photos of Christmas in Chicago offers nearly 200 images of the Christmas season in the Windy City, from festive outdoor celebrations to intimate family gatherings. Culled from the archives of the Chicago History Museum, these images depict the city through the years during its annual celebration of this very special holiday, and so provide a chance to look back in time while reflecting on the meaning of Christmas today.

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Marshall Field's: The Store that Helped Build Chicago (Landmarks)

by Gayle Soucek

Anyone who has waited in a Christmas line for the Walnut Room's Great Tree can attest that Chicago's loyalty to Marshall Field's is fierce. Dayton-Hudson even had to take out advertising around town to apologize for changing the Field's hallowed green bags. And with good reason--the store and those who ran it shaped the city's streets, subsidized its culture and heralded its progress. The resulting commercial empire dictated wholesale tradeterms in Calcutta and sponsored towns in North Carolina, but its essence was always Chicago. So when the Marshall Field name was retired in 2006 after the stores were purchased by Macy's, protest slogans like "Field's is Chicago" and "Field's: as Chicago as it gets" weren't just emotional hype. Many still hope that name will be resurrected like the city it helped support during the Great Fire and the Great Depression. Until then, fans of Marshall Field's can celebrate its history with this warm look back at the beloved institution.

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