Category: 60-Second History
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This Chicago Building is Covered in 24k Gold?!
Did you know that there’s a building in Chicago that’s covered in 24k gold? Yes, dahling, it’s true! The Carbide & Carbon building was created by the Burnham Brothers in 1929. And, yes, before you ask, their dad was famed Chicago architect, Daniel Burnham. Imitation gold leaf was originally considered for this 37-story Art Deco […]
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Salvador Dalí Made a Cookbook?!
Did you know that Salvador Dalí made a cookbook? Dalí claimed that he wanted to be a cook when he was 6 years old. He fulfilled that dream in 1973 with the publication of “Les Dîners de Gala,” a surrealist cookbook that feels more like a work of art than a cookbook. I’ll be recreating […]
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How to Look at Art – The Interpretative Analysis
This is part 3 of “How to Look at Art.” In this post, I’m gonna teach you how to do interpretative analysis. So, you’ve gazed at the artwork for a long time (maybe a scary amount of long time), you’ve read a couple books and done some research, you know the gist of the artwork, […]
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How to Look at Art – The Contextual Analysis
This is Part 2 of my “How to Look at Art” series. I’m introducing you to the second part of how to look at art, contextual analysis. So, what is a contextual analysis? This is the part of the process where you’re going to have to do a little bit of research to try to […]
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What Does the Chicago Theatre have to do with Walt Disney?!
Hey everybody, Amara here! What does the historic Chicago Theatre have to do with Walt Disney? The theatre was built in 1921 by noted architecture duo, Rapp & Rapp. With the increasing popularity of film throughout the 1920s, movie theater architecture was evolving rapidly, and Rapp & Rapp were the most sought-out architects for movie […]
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How to Look at Art – The Formal Analysis
This is part 1 of “How to Look at Art.” In the field of art history, there is a generally agreed upon system of “looking” at art. In this post, I’m introducing you to the first part: formal analysis. So, what is a formal analysis? A formal analysis normally consists of looking at the physical […]
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Was the Peace Sign Really based off this Famous Painting?!
Did you know that the peace sign was possibly influenced by this famous painting? The peace sign symbol was created in 1958 by Gerald Holtom for the British nuclear disarmament movement. Holtom presented it to the Direct Action Committee on February 21, 1958 where it was “immediately accepted” as the symbol for a march that […]
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This is the Most Charming Building in Chicago!
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a…giant car?! 🚗 This, my dear friends, is a parking garage located at 60 E. Lake St. in Chicago. But this isn’t just any ol’ parking garage. It’s a car! *beep beep* Built in 1986 by noted architect Stanley Tigerman, this 12-story parking garage was designed to look […]
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A Brief History of the Bookwheel
Is this contraption the 17th century equivalent of having multiple tabs open?! What’s the 17th century equivalent to having multiple tabs open at once? This do-hickey! Isn’t it cool?! This contraption right here is ye olde book lover’s dream machine. I feel like that’d be a good band name.
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*This* is actually the Official Logo of Chicago!
So, when we think of the symbol of the city of Chicago, you normally think of the Chicago flag, right? But what if I told you that there’s actually an official logo that’s hidden in plain sight throughout the city?