A Chicago thoroughfare celebrated in song and two previous motion pictures is set to become the subject of a third documentary film, according to project organizers. The upcoming project will expand upon earlier visual studies of Halsted Street, a roadway that spans from the city’s southern limits to Lake Michigan.
Tracing the History of Halsted Street Documentaries
The new film follows two notable predecessors that documented the multi-mile stretch over the decades, according to historical accounts. The first project is a 16-minute silent film titled “Halsted Street,” produced in 1932 by filmmaker and labor organizer Conrad Friberg, as described in archival footage available on mediaburn.org. Friberg’s work captures a cross-section of Chicago featuring farmland, urban settings, streetcars, automobiles, and local businesses like Swedish Records and a public bathhouse advertising remedies for rheumatism and high blood pressure.
Decades later, director David Simpson released “Halsted Street, USA” during the 1990s. According to a Chicago Tribune review, Simpson’s hour-long kaleidoscopic film explicitly references Friberg’s earlier work and captures a 400-mile stretch running from the southern tip of Halsted at the Ohio River north to the street’s merge with Broadway. Studs Terkel narrated Simpson’s film, describing Halsted as the backbone of Chicago and a melting pot at full boil.
The Mouse Arts and Letters Club Project
The newest documentary effort is spearheaded by members of the Mouse Arts and Letters Club, a Bridgeport-based social club founded earlier this year, according to co-founders Morley Musick and Blair Paddock. Musick describes the organization as a hybrid of a salon and an effort to revive historic Chicago bohemian groups like the Dill Pickle Club. Paddock, a reporter with WTTW, notes that the club focuses on avoiding online contentiousness by bringing people together for expert discussions and collaborative group projects.
The club’s upcoming documentary will strictly adhere to the geography of the street rather than serving as a general neighborhood portrait, according to Paddock. To cover the expansive route, participating artists, poets, journalists, and neighborhood residents will divide into teams. Musick explains that these mini-documentary crews will conduct local block-by-block interviews, execute historical reenactments sourced from newspaper archives, produce visual art and poetry, and capture photography for collage into a final feature.
Did you know?
The Mouse Arts and Letters Club also hosts “Job Night” series inspired by Studs Terkel’s 1974 nonfiction book “Working,” where industry professionals take audience questions about their daily occupations.
Production Plans and Historical Reenactments
Production will incorporate various artistic disciplines, including animation and live historical reenactments directed by Paul Durica, the Chicago History Museum’s director of exhibitions. Durica, known for staging reenactments of the 1877 Battle of the Viaduct workers’ uprising, plans a larger reenactment for next year that the documentary teams intend to film, according to Musick.
Operating on a shoestring budget, all participants are volunteers relying on borrowed filmmaker cameras while fundraising for an additional video camera, Musick states. Organizers hope the collaborative process will build a bridge between North and South Side residents as they interview one another throughout the production cycle.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the focus of the new Halsted Street documentary?
The project focuses strictly on Halsted Street itself, capturing a cross-section of its history, people, and geography rather than broad neighborhood portraits, according to organizers.
Who is making the third Halsted Street film?
Members of the Mouse Arts and Letters Club, a Bridgeport-based social club composed of artists, poets, journalists, and local residents, are producing the film on a volunteer basis.
How does this film compare to previous documentaries?
Unlike the 1932 silent film by Conrad Friberg or the 1990s film by David Simpson narrated by Studs Terkel, the new project uses a collaborative team approach involving multiple artistic disciplines, including poetry, visual art, animation, and historical reenactments.
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