Tim Samuelson leads the way to his Chicago Cultural Center office, all the while spouting trivia: “That’s the top of the Tiffany dome, restored in 2008. … And there’s the roof where Kevin Costner confronts Billy Drago in ‘The Untouchables.'”
Chicago’s cultural historian, Samuelson is the king of fascinating facts, and his office is a shrine to the city’s past, from maps to a player piano.
And books: old and dense and dog-eared.
“My office bookcases have evolved into a personal research SWAT team, versatile for efficiently addressing any type of historical inquiry that may come my way,” he says.
Among the most referenced: a social directory; the autobiography of Louis Sullivan; and Rand, McNally & Co.’s “Bird’s-Eye Views and Guide to Chicago.”
The collection reflects a love of Chicago stories and a desire to share them.
