Born and raised in northeast Kansas, Connie Fairbanks, author of the recently released book, Chicago’s West Loop, Then and Now: People, Businesses and Buildings, imagined a life with endless possibilities—instead of not taking a chance in seeing what the world has to offer.
“Everyone knew everyone, and here’s the funny part: we only had four-digit phone numbers,” Fairbanks said of her upbringing during her recent book launch at Epiphany Center for the Arts.
Things got interesting when Fairbanks’s hometown had a once-a-week bookmobile. Her teacher, “Ms. Eula,” encouraged her to read a book called We Were There, which sparked Fairbanks’s interest in studying history and how to apply it in everyday life.
“I like to discover what others have endured and accomplished in the past and what to learn from it,” she said. “What I have realized, thus far, is that history repeats itself.”
Her love of history, combined with more than 25 years of living in the West Loop, inspired Fairbanks to document the neighborhood’s history in her new book.
After five years of interactive and dynamic research, Fairbanks knows numerous interesting facts about her community’s history.
“Did you know that there was a Turtle Wax building located on Madison Street that changed colors as a way of predicting the week’s weather?” she asked. “Did you know that Philo Carpenter,” for whom the City named Carpenter Street, “was the first pharmacist in Illinois? He created safe houses for slaves during the Civil War. Mary Todd Lincoln once lived on West Washington Street, and the finest harp company in the world is located in the West Loop. And the list goes on and on.”
Had Fairbanks always been this interested in West Loop history? “No,” she admitted. “But I got out there and asked many people for their insight of Chicago, from the past to the present. My friends, Louis and Annie Kostiner, encouraged me to do some research on the city. Hence, the book was created.”
Fairbanks has lived in the West Loop longer than anywhere else in her life. She misses the restaurants that formerly served the area, especially Perez and Los Sardines. “Those wonderful eateries cross my mind,” she said. “I miss the food and the atmosphere.”
Today, she “loves seeing all the families with children, our beautiful parks, terrific schools, and the great West Loop restaurants that are here now,” she said. “We are lucky to live in such a great neighborhood so close to the Loop.”
Fairbanks believes Chicago “is a great city full of wonderful neighborhoods,” she said. “If you put in the work, anyone could write a book about their neighborhood or small town.”
Thanks to Chicago’s West Loop, Then and Now: People, Businesses, and Buildings, readers can meet the community’s pioneers of both yesteryear and today and learn about a variety of businesses. The 245-page book also showcases the area’s architectural gems and other points of interest through more than 150 photos.
For more information, go to www.conniefairbanks.com.
—Dana Rettig