Conference-Sponsored Tours

Chicago-Area Black Music Repositories and Collections
Friday, March 17, 9:30 a.m.
Andrew Leach (CBMR Assistant Librarian and Archivist), host
$15, approximately 4 hours

Visit several key research facilities in Chicago that house significant collections of materials relating to African-American music, including the Center for Black Music Research Library and Archives, the Chicago Blues Archives at the Harold Washington Library, the Chicago Jazz Archive at the University of Chicago, and the Woodson Regional Library's Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Culture. A librarian or archivist at each facility will guide attendees through the collections, show important and noteworthy materials, and generally discuss their work.

Chicago's Historic Jazz and Blues Venues
and Recording Studios
Friday, March 17, 2:00 p.m.
Richard Wang (University of Illinois, Chicago, retired), host
$20, maximum tour size will be 45 people

Jazz scholar Richard Wang will lead this 90-minute private tour in the comfort of a luxury tour bus. Visit the sites of many early Chicago jazz and blues venues and famed recording studios. Each ticket-holder will receive a copy of Jazz Music in Chicago's Early South-Side Theaters , by Charles A. Sengstock Jr. (Northbrook, Ill.: Canterbury Press of Northbrook, 2000).

Private Tour of Chicago's Auditorium Theatre
Friday, March 17, 3:00 p.m.
Mark Clague (University of Michigan), host
$6, minimum of 10 people required

The Auditorium Theatre (left) is the crowning achievement of famed architects Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler. Built in 1889, it was immediately acclaimed as one of the most beautiful and functional theaters in the world and was cited for its architectural integrity and perfect acoustics. It was the original home of both the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (1891) and the Lyric Opera, originally the Chicago Opera Company
(1910). It was the site of Theodore Roosevelt's “Bull Moose” speech (1912) and his nomination for President of the United States by the National Progressive Party. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the theater was Chicago's premier rock venue, presenting Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Janis Joplin, and The Grateful Dead, among many others. And in 1968, the infamous anti-war protests during the Democratic National Convention erupted outside the theater and the Congress Hotel next door. The Auditorium Theatre has been designated a National Historic Landmark and is managed by Roosevelt University.