MeetUp

In 1966, Richard Speck committed one of the most horrifying mass murders in American history when he brutalized and killed eight student nurses living on Chicago's South Side. Richard Speck captured the nation's attention during the summer of 1966 after murdering eight female students who lived together on Chicago's South Side. Before then, he had been responsible for other acts of violence against his family and others but had a knack for escaping the police. After his killing spree in 1966, a manhunt ensued and he was captured two days later. He spent the rest of his life in prison until he died of a heart attack in 1991 at age 49. Richard Benjamin Speck was born on December 6, 1941, in Kirkwood, Illinois, into a large, religious family, where he was the seventh of eight children. After the death of his father when Speck was six, his mother remarried, moving the family to Dallas, Texas. The children suffered considerable abuse at the hands of their drunken stepfathe...

Resurrection Mausoleum was dedicated by:Bishop Edward O'Rourke D.D. in 1971. In November of 2008 Bishop Daniel R. Jenky C.S.C. dedicated the Sixth phase of the mausoleum.   Resurrection Mausoleum current capacity is over 5000 entombments.   With the Catholic Cemetery Association's commitment to the Peoria Community Resurrection Mausoleum is slated for 3 more phase additions in the coming years. The Resurrection Mausoleum is listed in the Guiness Book of World Records as having the largest stained glass windows of any mausoleum in the world!   The windows measure 22,381 square feet in 2,448 panels. Harley, Ellington, Cowin, & Stirton of Detroit, Michigan, were the architects. The firm, known today as Harley Ellis Devereaux, is still in business with additional offices in Chicago and Los Angeles. The mausoleum was designed in a mid-century classical style known as New Formalism. New Formalism is on the long road of Greek and Roman revivals.   Before World...

Beneath the ground here lies the remains of a wide assortment of souls, many of whom went to the grave without a ceremony or a certificate to document their passing. The unclaimed bodies from the City Cemetery's potter's field were reportedly exhumed and moved to here beginning in September 1872. The County Farm, also known as the County Poor Farm, located in the township of Jefferson (today's Jefferson Park within the Chicago city limits) has a confusing history of its own. The dead who were buried within these grounds, include those who died in the county's "Insane Asylum", unclaimed victims of the Chicago Fire, and others, including "inmates" who lived within the grounds during its various functions. It later became known simply as "Dunning", the family name of the original owners of the town of the same name located within Jefferson Township. Like many poor farms and mental hospitals in Illinois, the Cook County Poor Farm (and the...

The original church that once stood here, burned to the ground back in the 1800's with many worshipers inside. A former preacher hung himself from a tree that is just inside the gate. People have reported seeing apparitions, including that of the preacher hanging from the tree. The pavilion is located where the chapel once stood and is the center of most of the activity. A pair of red glowing eyes, and red orbs have also been reported moving around the woods which are near the pavilion. People have also heard whispers, but they are so faint that what is being said cannot be understood. Once you enter the property you are overwhelmed, your heart starts pounding, and an indescribable heaviness is felt. Some have claimed to see the apparition of a woman in white on the top of the hill. People have also reported hearing disembodied voices, the faint sound of music and a woman singing, although what the woman is singing cannot be made out. The Smell of Gas is a purely fictiona...

Loop Tour Eastland Disaster Site Corner of North LaSalle and West Wacker Eastland Disaster (July 24, 1915). On July 24, employees of Western Electric Company were heading to an annual picnic. About 7,300 people arrived at 6 a.m. at the dock between LaSalle and Clark streets to be carried out to the site by five steamers. While bands played, much of the crowd—perhaps even more than the 2,500 people allowed—boarded the Eastland. Some reports indicate that the crowd may also have all gathered on one side of the boat to pose for a photographer, thus creating an imbalance on the boat. In any case, engineer Joseph Erikson opened one of the ballast tanks, which holds water within the boat and stabilizes the ship, and the Eastland began tipping precariously. Some claim that the crew of the boat jumped back to the dock when they realized what was happening. What is known for sure is that the Eastland capsized right next to the dock, trapping hundreds of people on or underneath the la...