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The Northtown branch is currently hosting an exhibit titled "Rogers Park and West Ridge: A History of Neighbors in Service," which will be available to the public from May 1 to December 31, 2025. This exhibit showcases the efforts of residents in Rogers Park and West Ridge in building diverse communities since the early twentieth century. Through a variety of materials such as fliers, brochures, newsletters, reports, and other ephemera, visitors can explore the roles played by local organizations like the Rogers Park Woman’s Club and North Town Woman’s Club.
In addition to community clubs, the exhibit also highlights contributions from local block clubs and various community groups. It sheds light on the evolving ethnic diversity within these neighborhoods and explores unique histories related to local parks.
A key feature of this exhibit is its celebration of collaboration between the Rogers Park/West Ridge Historical Society and Chicago Public Library's Northside Neighborhood History Collection (NNHC). The Historical Society has been active in preserving documents and photographs that reflect local history. Between 2018-2022, they transferred most of their paper archival documents to NNHC at Sulzer Regional Library while keeping ownership of their photographic collection.
Items displayed are sourced from the Rogers Park/West Ridge Community Collection—a product of this transfer—and are now accessible for research at NNHC. The collection includes documentation on families, businesses, organizations, religious institutions, schools, among others within Rogers Park and West Ridge.
For further details or appointments to view this collection, interested individuals may contact NNHC via email at northsidehistory@chipublib.org or call 312-742-4455.
