The Fall Meeting of the Swedish-American Historical Society will take place on Saturday, October 26, 2019, on Chicago’s South Side in Hyde Park, the site of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair.
At the turn of the last century, through the rapid growth of immigration, the frontier town of Chicago had emerged as the nation’s second largest city with more than a million inhabitants, and 10 percent of the immigrant population were Swedes. Swedish-American leaders and organizations were quick to grasp the significance of the World’s Fair as an opportunity to unify its various secular and religious communities as a show of force and ethnic pride. Sweden had its own pavilion championing Swedish culture, commerce, and technological innovation (a building sadly gone), and as a homeland warmly supported plans for a public display of Chicago’s immigrant Swedes and their children.
We will gather in the afternoon at Augustana Lutheran Church, 5500 South Woodlawn, and enjoy guided bus tours from there to extant sites of the “White City” (as the vast complex of pavilions, exposition buildings from countries around the world, and amusements—such as the world’s first Ferris Wheel—was known), a masterpiece of planning under the brilliant visionary, Daniel Burnham. In addition to structures of the Columbian Exposition, such as Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry and the replica Statue of the Republic, we will also tour other historic landmarks of Swedish Chicago.
This will be followed by a reception beginning at 5:30 and a Swedish festive dinner catered by Tre Kronor Restaurant, both at the Augustana Lutheran Church.
The evening program will include a presentation by Dr. Anita Olson Gustafson entitled, “Swedish Chicago in the 1890s: A Vibrant and Growing Community.” Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Professor of History at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, she is an authority on the history of Swedes in Chicago, and her new book is titled Swedish Chicago: The Shaping of an Immigrant Community, 1880-1920. Anita has served as a board member of SAHS and is on the Publications Committee. A graduate of North Park University, she earned her Ph.D. at Northwestern University.
Register HERE to join us for this fun and informative event. We look forward to seeing you on October 26th!
DATE: October 26th, 2019
TIME: 1:00, 2:30 Tour Times; Reception begins at 5:30 p.m., followed by dinner and program at 6:30 p.m.
LOCATION: Augustana Lutheran Church in Hyde Park (5500 South Woodlawn)