Historical Endeavors
Writing, Tours, and Research
Movie Palace Research
I have been working in movie palaces since 2008, writing about them since 2009, and leading tours of them since 2011. I have been a lead tour guide at the Chicago Theatre for a decade & have lead 10,000+ people on tours of the building.
My research has extended beyond the Chicago Theatre to movie palaces & the entertainment business in the early 1900s in Chicago. I have written & lead both virtual & in person tours based on movie palace history, both independently and in conjunction with Atlas Obscura, including a tour of the Wurlitzer pipe organ at the Chicago Theatre, a walking tour of silent cinemas in London, a history of movie theatres in Uptown, & a current virtual series on Chicago's Lost Movie Palaces.
In my free time I'm trying to learn how to play the theatre organ.