CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Listening and learning were the foundations of the Chicago Literary Club, a local organization that's celebrating its 150th anniversary later this month.
Past members of the Chicago Literary Club include Daniel Burnham and Robert Todd Lincoln, son of President Abraham Lincoln.
Former TV journalist Robert Jordan is the club's current president. He said the club invites members to research and present a paper on a topic of interest — something that, at the time of its founding in 1874, was a way to pass the time.
“The entertainment for people was to sit around and listen to someone read a paper,” he said.
He added the ideas presented over the decades shaped the city.
“These were scholars, they were architects, or they were physicians, attorneys — these were some of the people in Chicago that really designed the city,” he said.
The Chicago Literary Club will formally mark its anniversary with a special reception on May 20.
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