hi, i’m leyla

I started giving tours back in 2011 when I got my first position as a tour guide at the Chicago Theatre. Since then, I’ve given walking tours, bus tours, boat tours, virtual tours/talks, & more for over 15,000 people in person and countless others online.

I’ve worked for several different companies in Chicago, including for Atlas Obscura in the 2010s where I developed my own Chicago history related programming for the company.

I’m also the volunteer Board Vice President for Chicago for Chicagoans, a 501(c)3 non profit dedicated to providing pay-what-you-can walking tours to Chicagoans.

I’m also a member of Effing Chicago, a tour guide collective, & frequent collaborator with Adam Selzer of Mysterious Chicago. Since 2021, I’ve been a contributor of tours and talks for Mystericon, a Chicago history based mini conference that takes place at the end of September.

My main Chicago history obssesions are:

  • The Chicago Theatre

  • Movie Palaces

  • Balaban & Katz

  • Uptown/Edgewater History

  • Strange deaths, weird disasters, true crime, & spooky stories

Giving a talk on the First Ward Ball in 2025
Rehearsing with Pigface in 2019

cello, too!

I originally moved to Chicago to be a part of the music scene. I studied contemporary classical composition and audio design and production at Columbia College. From there, I used my skills as a classically trained cellist to work as a cellist-for-hire for local & national bands such as Kill Hannah, Pigface, Martin Atkins, Foxing, Matt Griffo, & more.

In 2011 my violinist friend Hannah Watson & I started playing duets on Michigan Avenue for donations. What started as a busking business eventually turned into a real business, Chicago Street Strings. For several years I played for weddings and other events all over Chicago. I’ve since retired from the wedding business, but Chicago Street Strings is still going strong!

While I don’t have many gigs nowadays, I am excited to say that I will be performing with Killing Joke in November of 2025! Adding cello to industrial music is just the best.

flying trapeze

While on tour with a band, we ended up with an off day & decided to sign up for a flying trapeze class. I had no idea what this meant nor was I that interested — until I got up on the board & realized it was scary, exciting, & challenging.

As soon as we got back to Chicago, I started taking classes regularly, then working at the flying trapeze rig itself.

Flying Trapeze is one of my favorite hobbies & a big passion of mine. I travel to different rigs all around the world to fly in different locations & work with different coaches. There’s no better feeling in the world than pushing yourself past your limits.

Want to try Flying Trapeze? You SHOULD! Check out Get A Grip Trapeze, Chicago’s only Flying Trapeze rig. Classes are open to everyone, even if you’ve never done something like this before (like me!)

Leyla being caught out of safety lines on a flying trapeze, performing an aerial act against a partly cloudy sky with trees visible at the bottom corners.

say hi!

Wanna chat? Got history questions? Send me an email!