In 1888, a village 12 miles northwest of downtown Chicago was incorporated as Niles Centre. This swampy land was eventually renamed “Skokie” in 1940. Skokie means “big swamp” in the language of the area’s former inhabitants, the Potawatomi tribe. After World War II, Skokie’s population boomed, explaining why a large percentage of its homes were…
Tag: Historic Church
Syriac Orthodox Monastery of Saint Mark in Jerusalem
The city of Jerusalem has a 16th century Ottoman wall surrounding its Old City. The area within these walls is allotted into four sections: the Jewish Quarter, the Muslim Quarter, the Christian Quarter, and the Armenian Quarter. Although Armenians are Christian, they were the first country to nationally convert to Christianity, so they have kept…
Church of the Holy Sepulchre
One of the most popular tourist destinations in Jerusalem is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, located where many Christians believe Jesus was crucified, buried, and resurrected. It was built during the reign of Constantine the Great in the 4th century A.D., destroyed several times, and rebuilt or enlarged several times. Currently, the Church is…
Church of the Nativity
Slightly south of Jerusalem is Bethlehem (which means “house of bread” in Hebrew), a small town that became famous for being the birthplace of Jesus as well as King David. However, if you visit Bethlehem today, it is difficult to picture it as the small Jewish town it once was. It is now a somewhat…
DuSable Museum of African American History
After the American Civil War, freed slaves began migrating to the northern United States. This trend continued into the beginning of the twentieth century, as the Ku Klux Klan revived in 1915, and as African Americans in the South sought better job opportunities in the North. The migration of African Americans to the North between…
Bet Arkeh 