JONI HIRSCH BLACKMAN This Used to Be Chicago NAPERVILLE–Joni Hirsch Blackman, a Naperville mother, grandmother, newspaper reporter and author, has recently written a unique book showcasing more than 90 Chicago buildings that used to be something else. This Used to Be Chicago will take you through the history of the liquor store that used to be a speakeasy during Prohibition, the many condominiums that used to be various types of factories, or even the circus school that used to be a church. With countless hours of reading, research and interviews, she explores Chicago with a new eye.
“The book is dedicated to my grandmother who was born in Chicago in 1901 and died in Chicago in 1999,” says Joni. “She took me all over the city – on the El and buses, to Marshall Fields and to children’s theater, ingraining in me a love of the city.”
A former Naperville Sun columnist, Joni wrote a column titled, Culdesacs for twelve years, then more recently, Building Memories, where each month she focused on a different historic building in Naperville’s downtown, tracing its biography. After she became a docent for the Chicago Architecture Center, she learned of a publisher looking for someone to write something similar for the city of Chicago. She couldn’t resist the opportunity.
You can find This Used to Be Chicago in bookstores as well as Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.
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