If you’re a Chicagoan you’re bound to have a winter storm tale.
As a kid, whenever I visited my cousins in the southern states for summer break, one of my favorite things to do was tell them about the many blizzards and snowstorms I’d survived that winter.
The first snowfall of the season is filled with nostalgia. Watching how the snow falls and blankets the city can be an absolute wonder to witness. However there have also been moments when the snow has brought the city to a standstill. When the snow seemed endless, creating chaos and ultimately, a lifetime of memories that can be told and retold. In the City of Chicago Graphics and Reproduction Center Photographs collection, you can see the other side of a snowfall, the less enjoyable aspects such as the closures, snow removals and snowplows.
The 2011 snowstorm, once referred to as the Snowpocalypse, that started Tuesday, February 1 and ended up dumping over 20 inches of snow on the city, with winds gusting up to 70 miles per hour, is one of those storms. It left many without power and forced the closure of Lake Shore Drive, schools, businesses, and city departments. Initially thought to be the worst storm in Chicago’s history, it eventually ranked third, behind the 1967 and 1999 snowstorms. The 2011 Snowstorm Photographs collection contains photographs of Chicago neighborhoods during or just after the 2011 blizzard.
If you would like to see any of the items shared in this post or learn more about the library's special collections, feel free to make an appointment. We’d also love to hear some of your snow memories.
Unidentified department: Riverwalk view of Merchandise MartSource: Special Collections, City of Chicago Graphics and Reproduction Center Photographs, 2001-2004. cgp_spe_c00148_204_001_c17_14A
Unidentified department. Snow removal operation on Harrison Street and S. DamenSource: Special Collections, City of Chicago Graphics and Reproduction Center Photographs, 1979 January 26, cgp_spe_c00148_008_025_c05_013A
Unidentified department: Snow removal operation on Harrison Street and S. DamenSource: Special Collections, City of Chicago
Graphics and Reproduction Center Photographs, 2001 September 15-16, cgp_spe_c00148_008_025_c05_020A
Unidentified department: Snow removal operation on Harrison Street and S. DamenSource: Special Collections, City of Chicago
Graphics and Reproduction Center Photographs, 2001 September 15-16, cgp_spe_c00148_008_025_c05_020A
Department of Streets and Sanitation: O’Hare Airport snow plowingSource: Special Collections, City of Chicago Graphics and Reproduction Center Photographs, cgp_spe_c00148_014_019_008
Department of Streets and Sanitation: O’Hare Airport snow plowingSource: Special Collections, City of Chicago Graphics and Reproduction Center Photograph, 1980 February 15, cgp_spe_c00148_014_019_001_n022A
Department of Streets and Sanitation: O’Hare Airport snow plowingSource: Special Collections, City of Chicago Graphics and Reproduction Center Photograph, 1980 February 15, cgp_spe_c00148_014_019_001_n022A
South Side: E. 70th Street and S. South Shore Drive, 2011 February 2Source: Special Collections, 2011 Snowstorm Photographs, cgp_spe_nhrc_snow_12_17
Unidentified department: Snow removal operation on Harrison Street and S. DamenSource: Special Collections, Chicago Graphics and Reproduction Center Photographs, 2001 September 15-16, cgp_spe_c00148_008_025_c05_020A
North Side: W. Pensacola and N. Greenview, Avenues, 2011 February 2Source: Special Collections, 2011 Snowstorm Photographs, cgp_spe_nhrc_snow_4_2
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