About this Event
The lawn mower mows over the just and the unjust; all large cemeteries are home to both heroes and villains. Chicago's graceland is full of some of the most fascinating politicians - good and bad - of their eras, from progressive pioneers to people who seemed to want to drive us right back to the dark ages. There are leaders in the fight for abolition, suffragists, journalists... and some of their enemies, too. Some of their issues still feel relevant today, others make them seem like aliens.
Each tour is a little different, though almost all of our Graceland routes include the famous Inez and "Eternal Silence" statues. This tour, a special edition to celebrate the DNC returning to Chicago, will focus on the most fascinating politicians interred here and the unique issues that drove them (The route will also take us to the new monument to Sox and Negro Leagues great Minnie Minoso!) We'll likely include anarchist candidates for mayor, people who lobbied Andrew Johnson to support Black voting rights, people who ran weapons to radical abolitionists, friends of Abraham Lincoln, suffragists, and more.
Adam Selzer is the author of Mysterious Chicago, HH: Holmes: The True History of the White City Devil, and many other Chicago history books, including out now from University of Illinois Press. His virtual tours continue to log thousands of viewers per week, and he's a regular on The History Channel, Netflix, WTTW, and more.
After the tour, you can follow us down to the south side for a similar tour at Oak Woods Cemetery, or come back the next morning for Rosehill Cemetery!
Praise for Adam's Graceland Book:
"Tantalizing... A prolific and stylish writer, tireless tour guide, and passionate researcher." - Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune
"A truth-seeking research glutton....(the book is) an adept melding of the tours, the research, and the writing." - Chicago Reader
"Emblematic of...hipster tour guides. Selzer goes beyond mere trivia. He turns up fascinating individual stories of cemetery residents without leaning too heavily on the big names." - Third Coast Reviews
What You Need to Know:
- Meet a bit before 10:00am inside the gates. We'll be at the newly renovated main entrance at Clark and Irving Park! Look for Adam with the white glasses and headset mic.
- We normally start at 11, but this one is at 10 to accomodate an afternoon tour at Oak Woods, and avoid some of the Cubs traffic - they have an afternoon game, which complicates parking sometimes.
- There is limited parking in the cemetery, and more in the neighborhoods nearby. Parking along Clark Street is harder now, as they've changed it to a bike path.
- Tour runs rain or shine!
- The cemetery is near the red line (get off at Sheridan or Addison and it's a few blocks), the 22 Clark bus, and the Irving Park bus.
- The walk covers about 1.5 miles over the course of 75-90 min. Some of the walking veers off the paved paths. You'll get about 3k steps!
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Graceland Cemetery, 4001 North Clark Street, Chicago, United States
USD 25.31