As Chicagoans, we see our city though such narrow lenses sometimes.
Crime. Bent politicians. Soaring taxes. Potholes. And our underperforming sports teams.
City historian Tim Samuelson encouraged us to broaden and brighten our view.
From his post at the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, Samuelson used his prodigious skills as a curator and storyteller — along with an encyclopedic knowledge of places, spaces and historic figures — to remind us of Chicago’s important cultural, architectural and musical legacies.
Samuelson, 69, is retiring this month after spending 18 years at DCASE, preceded by a long turn working for the city’s Commission on Chicago Landmarks, where his scholarship helped save countless important buildings.
We’re a better city because of Samuelson’s efforts.
For instance, his late 1990s work brought attention — and landmark status — to once-forgotten Motor Row, a cluster of graceful commercial buildings on Michigan Avenue south of Cermak that had been the home of the earliest automobile dealerships in the country.
The landmarks designation kept the buildings from being demolished as part of any further westward expansion of McCormick Place.
Samuelson’s exhibitions at the Chicago Cultural Center often shone light on overlooked histories and neighborhoods, particularly those shaped by the city’s African American population. His 2015 show, Love for Sale: The Graphic Art of Valmor Products, for instance, showcased ads and packaging created by Black designers for the old Chicago-based Valmor Products Company.
His downtown office on east Randolph Street, right across from the Cultural Center, houses his amazing collection of historic artifacts, ranging from building fragments to a functioning player piano — complete with antique music rolls.
We’re glad to hear Samuelson will still be around a bit in an emeritus position, consulting on the planned restoration of the Cultural Center’s GAR Hall and the Tiffany-domed rotunda.
We wish Samuelson all the best and thank him for his service.
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