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Harpo Inc. (Oprah's Studio)
1058 W. Washington Blvd.
Chicago, IL.
On July 24, 1915, more than
800 passengers of the Eastland steamer died when the ship capsized on the
Chicago River. The 2nd Regiment Armory at 1054
W. Washington was quickly
established as a temporary morgue and nearly 200 bodies were transported to the
building. When Oprah Winfrey established her Harpo Studios in the Armory
building in 1989, it came as no surprise when employees discovered the building
was haunted. Security guards working the night shift reported crashing noises,
the sounds of dozens of invisible footsteps marching across the lobby, phantom
laughter, and the sounds of a woman sobbing. Others have encountered a ghost
known as the "Gray Lady" seen floating down hallways in vintage dress.
Harpo employees have no doubt the Eastland tragedy left an indelible impression
upon the building.
S-M-C Cartage Company
On Valentine's Day in 1929, Al Capone sent some of his men to leave a tragic message to Bugs Moran, at one of his buildings. The building was called the S-M-C Cartage Company and was a red, brick structure over on Clark Street. Seven men were lined up against the wall and mowed down with machine gun fire, leaving the wall splattered with blood and full of bullet holes. After hearing the news, Bugs was heard to exclaim, "Only Capone kills guys like that!" In 1972, a man bought the factory and transformed it into a 20's themed club. The brick wall the massacre took place on was dismantled and the factory was torn down. People still hear gunfire and screams coming from the area. Supposedly, before it was torn down, seven shadowy figures were seen lined up on the wall and the viewer would be filled with fear.
Options Exchange Building
In 1979 two traders had a disagreement over a trade. Well, they decided to settle the matter outside by the horse statue fountain. One of the men was so badly injured that he died, before the paramedics could save him. And still, janitors say they can hear what sounds like two men arguing after everyone has left.
Clarence
Seward Darrow was born in Kinsman, Ohio on April 18, 1857 and died in Chicago
on March 13, 1938. He was a magnificent orator, lifelong dissenter, often
defended the most unpopular cases and handled some of the most sensational
trials of the day. His father was an agonistic and abolitionist during the Civil
War. His trades included cabinetmaker, furniture dealer and undertaker.
Darrow
studied at Allegheny College and the University of Michigan Law School. He was
admitted to the bar in 1878 and practiced in northeastern Ohio. In 1888 he moved
to Chicago and he met John Peter Altgeld. Darrow greatly admired Altgeld's
critique, "Our Penal Machinery and Its Victims". They eventually
became business associates. Later, Darrow formed a partnership with Edgar Lee
Master who was also a poet.
In 1890
Darrow was appointed assistant corporation counsel for the city. He later
resigned to become general counsel for the Chicago and Northwest Railway and
then left to defend Eugene Debs in the Pullman strike trial in 1895. It became a
turning point in his career.
In 1902
Darrow was elected to the Illinois House on the Public Ownership ticket. He
served one term. He also represented miners in the anthracite strike in 1902 in
Pennsylvania and successfully defended William D. Haywood in 1907. Haywood was
accused of murdering former Idaho governor Frank Steunenberg. In 1911 he
defended the McNamara brothers who were accused of bombing the Los Angeles Times
building in a terrorist act. They killed some twenty people. Darrow won but was
accused of jury tampering. He was later acquitted.
His biggest
case came in 1924 when he represented Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb who were
teenage sons of some prominent Chicagoans who were accused of kidnaping and
murdering fourteen-year-old Bobby Franks for "kicks". The public
demanded the death penalty but in the end, Darrow won. On September 10, 1924,
the court sentenced the defendants to life in prison.
Darrow died
of heart disease in March of 1938 at his home at 1537 E. 60th Street,
overlooking the bridge near the Jackson Park Lagoon. Funeral services were held
at the Bond Chapel on the University of Chicago and his ashes were scattered in
the lagoon. On May 1, 1957, the bridge bearing his name was dedicated. Every
year on the date of his demise, a wreath-laying ceremony is held to commemorate
his life and death.
In October of
1990 rumors began to circulate about visual apparitions allegedly seen by the
back stairs of the Museum of Science and Industry at 57th and South Lake Shore
Drive. A group of people saw a nicely dressed elderly man standing there in a
camel-haired coat. As they called out to him, he did not answer or respond in
anyway. It was like he really wasn't there at all. About a week later another
group were at the same area and only some saw the apparition while others in the
group did not.
In 1991 a
strange silhouetted form was seen from time to time near the top of the stairs
on the right-hand side. It wasn't a natural shadow because of subsequent visits,
nothing was seen.
Beginning in
1993, I began to tour the location on my Excursions Into The Unknown haunted bus
tours. A man from Middlebury, Indiana, Gary Phipps, had never heard about the
story before had taken some pictures from the left-hand side of the bridge
facing the south-side of the museum. The temperature was mild and no visible
steam or smoke was being emitted from the lagoon. However, after he got his film
back, he was amazed to see a smokey image resembling a face just over the
guardrails of the bridge.
In 1998, we
repeated this site on our south and southwest tours and, strangely enough, Mr.
Phipps was on this tour as well. During our last general public tour on November
14, 1998, he took three strange photographs that appear to have some strange fog
or mist.
Could these
images be the ghost of Clarence Darrow? Does he still haunt the site where his
ashes were scattered? This year was the 60th Anniversary of his death.
Coincidence??
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