Old Cook County Hospital

Old Cook County Hospital is located at 1801 West Harrison Street. It was the old facility used for the famous TV show ER.  ER was a medical drama television series that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. ER follows the inner life of the emergency room of fictional County General Hospital and various critical issues faced by the room's physicians and staff. The show ran for 15 seasons with a total of 331 episodes, becoming the longest-running prime time medical drama in American Television History. 

Billy Goat's

The Billy Goat Tavern is a chain of taverns located in Chicago, Illinois, founded in 1934^[1] by Billy Sianis, a Greek immigrant. It achieved fame primarily through newspaper columns by Mike Royko, a supposed curse on the Chicago Cubs, and the Olympia Cafe sketch on Saturday Night Live. In 1964, the eatery moved to its current address at 430 N. Michigan Ave., which is actually below Michigan Avenue, made possible by Chicago's network of multilevel streets in that vicinity.^[2] Being situated between the offices of the Chicago Tribune and the old Chicago Sun-Times building led to the tavern's being mentioned in any number of newspaper columns, particularly those of Mike Royko.(Wikipedia)

Harpo Studios Chicago

Harpo Productions, Inc. is an incorporated US-based multimedia production company founded by Oprah Winfrey (the name 'Harpo' is 'Oprah' spelled backwards, and was the name of her on-screen husband in The Color Purple). It formerly included Harpo Films (the company's film production company), while currently including Harpo Radio, Inc. (the company's radio division). It is based in Chicago, and Harpo Studios (the company's TV production studio) is located in the Near West Side neighborhood of Chicago. (Wikipedia)

 

 

Harpo Films, Inc. was the biggest division of Harpo Productions, Inc. It was an active supplier of motion pictures, developing and producing award-winning features and long-form television programs, including the "Oprah Winfrey Presents" telefilms for the ABC television network. Harpo Films was based in Los Angeles, California.(Wikipedia)

Webster Mansion

This Victorian House located at 1432 North State Parkway in Chicago's Gold Coast was truly beautiful.  I always loved the show Webster and Flat and I were very delighted to find that this landmark was here in Chicago.

Webster is an American situation comedy that aired on ABC from September 16, 1983 until May 8, 1987, and in first-run syndication from September 21, 1987 until March 10, 1989. The series was created by Stu Silver. The show, set in Chicago, revolves around Webster Long (Emmanuel Lewis), a 5-year-old African American orphan whose biological parents, Travis and Gert Long, were recently killed in a car accident. He is taken in by his godfather, retired football star George Papadopoulos (Alex Karras), with whom Travis had played professional football in the 1970s, and his wife Katherine (Susan Clark), an upper crust socialite with zero housekeeping skills. Hard to believe all this took place in the house above.

Newton Minnow "Vast Wasteland"

 Minow's first major speech after he was appointed chairman of the FCC by President John F Kennedy. In the speech, Minow referred to American commercial television programming as a "vast wasteland" and advocated for programming in the public interest. (Wikipidea)  Flat is hangin in there, but getting tired.

Nielsen Building @ 200 W. Jackson

Television and the way we watch it have come a long way since Nielsen began measuring TV audiences in 1950. Today, the ability to watch our favorite shows at any time and on multiple devices amplifies the need for exceptionally adept and flexible audience measurement capabilities.  I live about three blocks from here so this came as a big surprise to find I was near this piece of history

Old Playboy Mansion

 

 

Located at 1340 North State Parkway this 70 room brick & limestone residence was built in 1899. It was interesting to find that Playboy was here in Chicago.  I never knew that.  Talk about a Landmark!!!!

In 2007, the Mansion appeared in an episode of the sixth season of The Apprentice as the site of a pool party held for the winning team.  This site also served as the starting line for the twelfth season of The Amazing Race.