20 photos of Chicago in the 1920s

As cars became more commonplace in the 1920s, traffic lights became essential in major cities like Chicago, where roads were shared by private automobiles, horse and carriages, and streetcars. Here, traffic flows smoothly on a downtown street thanks to the installation of newfangled electric traffic lights.

Two construction workers sit atop the steel frame of the Chicago Daily News building. Completed in 1929, the art deco building was opened by President Herbert Hoover, who pushed the button that started the presses.

The Art Institute of Chicago first opened in 1879 and immediately became a landmark location for the Windy City. As seen here, the museum was the absolute pinnacle of attention on Michigan Avenue's east side as you move south from the Chicago River. In the '20s, the museum added a major expansion, which bridged the railroad tracks that bordered its east wall, in an effort to house its growing collection. Today, those tracks remain in service and the museum's extension features large windows that allow visitors to see the service traffic below.

Following 10 years of construction, Chicago's Union Station opened in 1925. The third-busiest station in the country to this day, the beaux arts building cost $75 million (or around $1 billion today) to complete.

In the 1920s, motor buses were a relatively new addition to Chicago's public transit system—the first motor bus route began in 1917. Here, a group of riders waits at a bus stop on North and Clark Avenues.

In 1929, the Graf Zeppelin made the first passenger-carrying flight around the world. During this record-setting journey, the aircraft passed over Chicago, and here, spectators gather on the Grant Park lawn, hoping to get a glimpse of the historic moment.

The 1920s, with their looser morals and more relaxed politics, brought new levels of independence for women. Here, two liberated ladies exploit those newfound freedoms by taking their car out for a joyride.

Prohibition dealt a serious blow to Chicago's economy, as saloon licensing fees had previously accounted for nearly 25% of its overall revenues. Here, a group of men dispose of now-illegal spirits shortly after the law went into effect.

The Maxwell Street Market, a precursor to modern-day flea markets, has been a Chicago staple since the 19th century. Above, a group of men (likely all immigrants) stand in front of booths selling all types of wares.

One of its most brutal winters in recorded history, 1925 brought a jaw-dropping 52.3 inches of snow to the Midwestern city. Here, a horse and carriage attempt to navigate an especially brutal snowstorm.

A barge passes under the Michigan Avenue Bridge (or the DuSable Bridge). When it was first opened in 1920, the bridge was said to be the only one in the world with two decks, both of which were at highway level.

One of the most popular jazz clubs in Chicago during the 1920s, Bert Kelly's Jazz Stables hosted icons like Joe "King" Oliver and the Dodds Brothers. Its owner, the eponymous Bert Kelly, claimed to have both brought jazz to the city and coined the term jazz himself.

Up until the mid-1920s, South Water Street was the primary produce market in the city of Chicago. The buildings that housed the market unloaded produce from riverboats on one side and sold to landlocked customers on the other. In 1925, the city relocated the market to a secondary location (though it kept the name) in order to construct Wacker Drive.

In the 1920s, Uptown was one of Chicago's most luxurious neighborhoods. Home to great shopping, theaters, jazz clubs, restaurants, and hotels, the area was where one went to see and be seen (as evidenced by this woman's eye-catching fur jacket).

Louis Armstrong and his orchestra perform at the Sunset Cafe, one of Chicago's famous black and tan establishments. These venues allowed entrance to both Black and white patrons, making them one of the few places in the segregated city where folks of various races could mix.

Organized crime grew exponentially in Chicago during the 1920s and '30s. Groups of Chicago police officers, such as those seen here crammed into one of the force's automobiles, were charged with tracking down these gangsters and putting an end to their nefarious activities.

Completed in 1929, the Palmolive Building (which stands in the center of this aerial photograph) served as the headquarters for the Colgate-Palmolive-Peet Company. In the '60s, Playboy took over the lease, and in the early aughts, it was converted to residential apartments.

Two men greet a steamship carrying passengers and goods during a winter cold snap. The water intake cribs behind them are completely covered in ice and snow.

The Chicago Theater, one of the grandest theaters in the country, opened its doors in 1921. Built in a neo-baroque, French Revival style, the movie palace had 3,800 seats and billed itself as "the Wonder Theater of the World."

In an effort to beat the summer heat, Chicagoans gather on Oak Street Beach to take a dip in Lake Michigan. The second-largest of the Great Lakes, Lake Michigan isn't necessarily warm, but its chilly waters would have provided a welcome respite from the humidity of the Midwestern season.