In April 1949 - exactly 75 years ago - author Arthur Meeker published his novel Prairie Avenue. The characters in the book may have been fictional, but were little more than thinly veiled depictions of Chicago’s business and social leaders of the late 19th century, who Meeker and his parents counted among their neighbors. Born at 1815 S. Prairie Avenue in 1902, Meeker absorbed the world around him, and in Prairie Avenue presented Chicago’s glittering Gilded Age, as it existed from the 1880s to the early 1900s.
By the time of the novel’s publication, the street had slipped into obscurity, the majestic mansions that cost a fortune to build a half century earlier having been replaced by printing plants and warehouses, or repurposed as offices or boarding houses. The novel brought renewed interest to the street and the families that established Chicago as a world-class city in the decades following the Great Chicago Fire.
This presentation will be given by William Tyre, Executive Director and Curator. In addition to discussing the book itself, Tyre will explore the three generations of Meeker’s family who called the neighborhood home, the book’s reception, and the real people that served as inspiration for the novel’s engaging characters.
The program will be recorded. A link to the recording will be sent to all registrants after the program, and will remain active for seven days.
$15 per person / $12 for members
All ticket sales are final; no refunds or exchanges.