July 27, 2015
Linda Blaser
Urban dig creates media buzz
The Media Day and Open House for the Archaeological Field School drew members of the press, and the public.
Broadcast and print media came out in full force to cover the College’s first Archaeological Field School in Chicago during a Media Day on July 28, 2015.
Reporters, photographers, and videographers for the morning class included:
- WBBM-TV (CBS Chicago)
- WMAQ-TV (NBC Chicago)
- WGN-TV (CW Chicago)
- WTTW-TV (PBS Chicago)
- Chicago Tribune
- WBBM radio
- WBEZ radio
The chance to view students from Lake Forest College, Beloit College, St. Olaf College, Northeastern Illinois University, and Chicago Public Schools, who are digging through Gold Coast dirt to better understand late-19th and early-20th-century urban domestic life in Chicago’s Gold Coast, made for a compelling news story.
Assistant Professor of Anthropology Rebecca Graff is leading her students in the new summer course at the Charnley-Persky House in Chicago.
The excavation is part of Digital Chicago: Unearthing History and Culture, an $800,000, four-year grant at Lake Forest College from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to to involve students and faculty in exploring specific sites in Chicago’s history, through urban archeological digs, innovative digital projects, and complementary coursework in a wide array of disciplines, including English, History, Art, Music, and others.
The Society of Architectural Historians, headquartered at the Charnley-Persky House, is a key project partner. The Charnley-Persky house is a National Historic Landmark building designed by Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright (1891–92).
Click here to view the CBS coverage, here to view the WGN-TV story, here to view the WTTW broadcast, and here to view the Chicago Tribune’s online photo gallery, video, and article.