What Chicago's State and Monroe looked like in 1920s
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A photo of the intersection fo State and Monroe in what's likely the 1920s. Photo: Bettmann archives/Getty Images
Our History Mystery sleuths didn't just figure out where this week's photo was taken; they may have corrected the history books.
The (big) picture: We're looking west on Monroe Street from State Street in the heart of the Loop.
Zoom in: The giveaway may be The Majestic Theatre marquee.
- The theater is still at 18 W. Monroe, although it's gone through plenty of names, including the Shubert, LaSalle Bank, Bank of America and PrivateBank theaters before becoming today's CIBC Theatre.
- Designed by Chicago architecture firm Holabird & Roche, the building opened as the Majestic in 1906.
Fun fact: The North American Restaurant, at 36 S. State St., advertised itself as the "best ventilated restaurant in Chicago."
Yes, but: Solving where this was taken may have been easier than solving when.
- Getty's description says the photo was taken in the pre-World War I era, but several of our amateur sleuths spotted evidence to the contrary.
Reality check: Dan A. zeroed in on the hats, automobiles and, most importantly, the Majestic marquee. One of the performers advertised is Karyl Norman, a nationally known vaudeville female impersonator billed as the "Creole Fashion Plate."
- And that's a huge clue: A September 1922 trade publication reported that Norman was headlining the Majestic in Chicago and the performer stayed on for a third week because of popular demand.
- Another Getty listing of this scene identifies Norman and the other performers on the marquee and dates it circa 1923.
Meanwhile: Don M. thought the automobiles looked much more like the early-to-mid 1920s than the 1910s.
- And Tom Z. spotted another clue hiding in plain sight: the postal truck. The city's transition from horse-drawn mail wagons to motor vehicles also contradicts an early-1910s date.
The bottom line: Our readers appear to have solved two mysteries this week: where the photo was taken (State and Monroe) and when. The evidence strongly suggests we're looking at downtown Chicago around 1922-23, not before World War I.
More History Mystery photos solved:
- Van Buren, 1940
- Millennium Park, 1943
- Palmer House, 1924
- South Water Street, 1904
- Board of Trade, 1929
- Madison Street, 1918
- West Loop, 2012
- Rush Street, 1954
- 47th Street, 1973
- Roosevelt Road, 1910
- Bughouse Square, 1915
- Little Poland, 1905
- Randolph Street, 1962
- Union Station, 1925
- Madison Street, 1900s
- Tribune Tower, 1925