On Leong Merchant’s Association, c.1930

The Chinese started coming to Chicago in small numbers after 1870, totaling fewer than 1,200 at the turn of the 20th century. However, until the mid-1940s, federal laws governing Chinese immigration put strict limits on the influx of Chinese laborers, effectively allowing only men to enter with few exceptions. American Chinatowns were populated by growing numbers of Chinese men who sought friendship, familiarity, and support in the associations or clubs that provided the commercial and social structure for the community. These business and family-based associations had a tremendous influence on Chinatown commerce, politics, and daily life.

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The FashioNext finalists have been selected! Caroline DeVillo, Katrin Schnabl, and Carla Hwang and Kenneth Park of VWIDON will move on to the next round of the competition. The finalists will create original wedding gowns inspired by select pieces from the upcoming exhibition I Do! Chicago Ties the Knot, opening May 22, 2010. The winning garment will become part of the Museum’s collection and will be featured on display in the exhibition.

After careful consideration of their designs, inspirations, design stories, fabric selections, and overall concepts, the judges narrowed the field from eight fantastic design submissions to these top three.

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It’s January 2010. Wow, 2010! Did you ever think we’d get here? Thankfully, the days are growing longer again, but we are in a deep freeze—and we’ve got a ways to go until that first day of Spring. Chicago, naturally, offers up a striking snowscape in wintertime, but I’m longing for some warmth and greenery here in Lincoln Park. Fast forward to summer at the Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool! 

Located just north of the Lincoln Park Zoo, not far from Fullerton Avenue and Lake Shore Drive, the Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool, part of the Chicago Park District, is a hidden oasis that promises to soothe the soul. Designed by Caldwell, a landscape architect of the Prairie Style, during the 1930s, the garden inspires us to appreciate the natural environment and wildlife of the American Midwest.

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Though they never met, Presidents Abraham Lincoln of the United States and Benito Juárez of Mexico knew of each other, shared similar political ideas, and led their nations through transformative civil wars. To a remarkable degree, their lives followed parallel paths.

Explore an interactive timeline to compare the lives of two of North America’s greatest leaders.

Two landmark exhibitions, key elements in the Museum’s Lincoln Bicentennial year, further explore the influence of Abraham Lincoln and Benito Juárez on their respective nations. Abraham Lincoln Transformed is presented in tandem with Benito Juárez and the Making of Modern Mexico; both exhibitions run through April 12, 2010.

> Learn more about Benito Juárez and the Making of Modern Mexico
> Learn more about Abraham Lincoln Transformed