Unidentified department: University of Pennsylvania Glee Club; Irish concert, "Silvertones," Lima, Ohio, Daley Center. Photographer: Arnie Zoot, Richard Paul. contact sheets, negatives, 1979 March 15, 16 (2024)

The images in this series cover a wide range of City government operations from mayoral photo opportunities with citizens and youth sports teams to Streets and Sanitation equipment and snow removal, to senior citizen gatherings and events, to citywide parades. Researchers are encouraged to consult the collection widely.

Major local, national, and international events are documented including mayoral inaugurations for Michael Bilandic, Harold Washington and Richard M. Daley; Harold Washington’s funeral; the 1994 World Cup games played in Chicago; the 1990 U.S. Conference of Mayors, hosted in Chicago; Chicago’s 1992 World’s Fair bid; the 1996 Democratic National Convention held in Chicago; and celebrations of the NBA championship Chicago Bulls basketball team throughout the 1990s. Visits from foreign dignitaries like Lech Walesa, as well as national politicians like Jimmy Carter, Ted Kennedy, George W. Bush and Hillary Clinton, are also covered.

Annual local events are also captured including Venetian Nights, St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Taste of Chicago, the Chicago Blues Festival, the Chicago Jazz Festival, the Chicago Gospel Festival, Viva Chicago Latin Music Festival, the Air and Water Show, Christkindlmarket, Commission on Human Relations Unity Month, neighborhood festivals, fireworks shows, youth sports tournaments, Winter Break events and farmers’ markets. The photographs also show various public performances, often in Daley Plaza, by student and professional performing artists. Various aldermen and alderwomen are shown throughout the collection, with Alderman Ed Burke appearing frequently. Demolition of old Comiskey Park and construction of the 1991 White Sox stadium is also covered.

More mundane, but essential, operations of City government are also pictured including City Council meetings, road construction and paving, graffiti removal, rodent control, airport construction, public transit construction, awarding of taxi medallions, noise abatement work surrounding airports and various displays and performances in City Hall. The photographs also document social programs like senior citizens’ picnics, recognition of foster grandparents, employee award ceremonies, clean-up and greening programs, Gallery 37 programs, Low Income Housing Trust Fund (LIHTF) projects, education conferences, student essay contests, youth employment and service projects and more. Chicago’s airports are especially well represented.

Neighborhoods, streets, schools, religious institutions and businesses throughout Chicago’s 77 community areas appear. City employees and leaders are portrayed at work, in portraits and celebrating each other at holiday, retirement and birthday parties. Meetings, hearings and press conferences surrounding any number of City issues also depict the workings of City government.

Images of Chicago’s iconic highlights also appear including the skyline, important buildings and sculptures in the Loop like “The Picasso” sculpture, Museum Campus, Navy Pier, aerial views of the Loop and skyline, City Hall, the Chicago River and Lake Michigan.