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We have a new game this year for summer reading. It’s designed to test your knowledge of Skokie! SkokieGuessr is inspired by the internet game TimeGuessr (inspired by GeoGuessr), which shows you a historical photo taken somewhere in the world and asks you to guess where and when it was taken. 

The photos for our game will be from anywhere in Skokie and any year in Skokie’s history. Some might be from important events that you remember or have heard about. For others, you might need to use landmarks, fashion, or other clues to figure out the answer.

Every week, we’ll have a new photo on the second floor of the library, and you can make your guesses (and see everyone else’s) right there. We’ll also have the previous week’s answer, but if you can’t make it back to check, it’ll be right here on this webpage as well.

JUNE 9-15 PHOTO

Courtesy of Skokie Heritage Museum

Answer: 1973, 9599 Skokie Boulevard

You may have just looked this one up! The Hilton is still there, and you could even check to see when its grand opening was. It’s currently called the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Chicago. That might sound pretty similar, but in 1973, there was a surprising amount of controversy over the name. People felt strongly that it should be called the Skokie Hilton instead of the North Shore Hilton.

This photo was taken for the grand opening on October 27, 1973, and yes, the Village really did proclaim October 28-November 4 to be North Shore Hilton Week. That’s a lot of fuss for one hotel, but a newspaper columnist for the Skokie Life pointed out, “The board has in the works an ordinance creating a new 3 percent hotel and motel tax. For $135,000 in addition taxes…I guess the village can afford to honor the hotel with its own week.”

June 2-8 Photo

Courtesy of the Skokie Heritage Museum

Answer: 1919, 8024 Lincoln Avenue

The original caption for this 1919 photograph reads, “Revelry in the streets was part of the Niles Center community life for many years. Here, villagers dance under a 45-star flag in celebration at the end of World War I.” The 45-star flag would’ve been out-of-date by 1919, but only by a few years—the 48-star flag was adopted in 1912.

A couple of the buildings in the image still exist, including the one that’s second from the front, which has a sign reading R.K. Siegel. At the time, it was a cigar store. At the very front is the Auto Inn, a tavern and bowling alley established in 1875. This building is no longer standing, but it was a Skokie institution for decades.

May 31-June 1 Photo

Courtesy of the Skokie Heritage Museum

Answer: 1977, 4901 Searle Parkway

On June 27, 1977, a forklift hit a chemical container at G.D. Searle & Co., a manufacturer of pharmaceuticals. The resulting explosion caused a fire that the then-Deputy Fire Chief described as more than 100 on a 1-100 scale of difficulty. Toxic chemicals were sprayed hundreds of feet into the air, and seven firefighters were hospitalized following the incident.

Days before the Searle fire, on June 23, there was another fire at Skokie Lumber Company on Oakton Street, just around the corner from Searle. It was a busy year for fires, which might have led you to the right answer!