Historical Society of Forest Park

06/15/2026

Want to be part of one of Forest Park’s favorite summer traditions? Volunteer for the Garden Walk!

The majority of our volunteers serve as docents at participating homes, welcoming guests, checking guidebooks, and helping visitors enjoy the tour. It’s a fun and easy way to support this community event while spending time in some of Forest Park’s beautiful gardens.

Sign up to volunteer: https://tinyurl.com/GW-Volunteer26

As a thank-you, all volunteers receive two free Garden Walk tickets to enjoy the tour before or after their shift. Volunteers are also invited to our private Friday evening party for hosts, members, sponsors, and volunteers.

Join us and help make this year’s Garden Walk a success!

06/08/2026

What a night! We packed the house at Charlie’s Restaurant on Friday for an unforgettable evening exploring Roosevelt Road’s fascinating mob history.

Guests gathered at the very site of the former Armory Lounge, once associated with Chicago Outfit boss Sam Giancana, for an engaging illustrated presentation by Bret Juliano. Through historical research, rare stories, and examples from his comic series Dust Bunny Mafia and Based on a True Story, Bret brought Chicago’s organized crime era to life while highlighting connections to Forest Park and Roosevelt Road.

The evening blended local history, true crime, and visual storytelling, giving attendees a fresh perspective on places they pass every day. Guests enjoyed their small bites boxes, browsed Bret’s books before and after the presentation, and filled the room with great questions and conversation.
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A huge thank you to everyone who joined us and helped make this one of our most well-attended programs. Special thanks to Charlie’s Restaurant for hosting and to Bret Juliano for sharing his research, artwork, and passion for uncovering the stories hidden in our local history.

06/05/2026

Tonight — Friday, June 5th 6:30 at Charlie's Restaurant

Tickets will be available at the door for $20. You can also buy your Garden Walk ticket and save $5. Make a bigger impact, pay with cash, and all your money stays with HSFP

Roosevelt Road’s mob past comes alive in this illustrated talk by Bret Juliano, where true crime, comics, and local history collide.
Once a hotspot for nightlife, gamblers, entertainers, and organized crime figures, Roosevelt Road was home to locations like the Armory Lounge, a club associated with Chicago Outfit boss Sam Giancana in the 1960s.

Through historical research, rare stories, and examples from his comic series Dust Bunny Mafia and Based on a True Story, Juliano explores how real events from Chicago’s mob era inspired visual storytelling and continue to echo through communities like Forest Park today.

A bar will be available for purchase, but the kitchen will be closed. Each ticket includes a small bites box.
Bret Juliano will be available before and after the presentation for book purchases and signing.

Roosevelt Road’s mob past comes alive in this illustrated talk by Bret Juliano. True crime, comics, and local history collide.

06/02/2026

This Friday, join cartoonist and true-crime researcher Bret Juliano at Charlie’s for a fascinating look at Chicago’s mob history and its connections to Roosevelt Road and Forest Park.

Through rare stories, historical research, and examples from his comic series *Dust Bunny Mafia* and *Based on a True Story*, Juliano explores how real organized crime history can be transformed into compelling visual storytelling.

The bar will be open for purchases, and each ticket includes a small bites box. Bret will also be available before and after the presentation to sign and sell books.

Tickets: mobsters.eventbrite.com

05/31/2026

Did you catch cartoonist and author Bret Juliano on WGN Weekend Morning News?

Bret is the creator of the wildly imaginative *Dust Bunny Mafia* series, featuring adorable but mischievous monsters while sneaking in fascinating pieces of Chicago history. Some of the stories are even inspired by real Chicago true crime cases, making history fun and accessible for young readers.

If you saw Bret on WGN and want to learn more, there's still time to get tickets for his talk this Friday at Charlie's Restaurant. Don't miss this chance to meet the creator behind these creative and uniquely Chicago stories!

Watch the WGN segment here: [https://wgntv.com/video/dust-bunny-mafia-cartoonist-author-bret-juliano-creates-creative-way-for-kids-to-read-learn-some-facts-about-chicago-history/11840682/](https://wgntv.com/video/dust-bunny-mafia-cartoonist-author-bret-juliano-creates-creative-way-for-kids-to-read-learn-some-facts-about-chicago-history/11840682/)

Get your tickets and join us Friday at Charlie's!
https://mobsters.eventbrite.com

Roosevelt Road’s mob past comes alive in this illustrated talk by Bret Juliano. True crime, comics, and local history collide.

05/05/2026

Finding Dr. Joseph Corbin’s gravesite is now easier at Forest Home Cemetery.

There is a new sign in Section F with an arrow pointing the way. The Historical Society of Forest Park had the sign made to help people find this National Historic Place and learn more about Dr. Corbin.

Thanks to Forest Home Cemetery for installing the sign and for being a great partner in helping keep this history easy to find and connect with.

05/05/2026

On May Day 2026, community members gathered to honor Paul Price as the recipient of the Mark Rogovin: Working Class Heroes Award. Local residents of Forest Park, along with Paul’s family and many of his fellow workers from the Laborers Union, came together to celebrate his achievements and the legacy of Mark Rogovin. Mark lived in Forest Park for 50 years and was deeply dedicated to the Haymarket Martyrs’ Monument, labor history, and anti war activism. This annual award is given in his name to honor those who continue that work.

Paul Price’s career reflects decades of labor organizing and advocacy. He began organizing workers at a grocery store in Utah and was later fired and blacklisted after leading a union drive at a mouse pad factory. He went on to help pass a living wage ordinance in Bloomington, Indiana, and played a key role in a campaign that helped janitors across three Midwestern cities nearly double their wages and secure family health insurance after four years. He also helped residential construction workers in the Southwest recover $500,000 in stolen wages.

Today, Paul works with the Laborers Union in Chicago, defending construction workers from predatory developers and contractors. His work reflects the spirit of the award and the legacy it was created to honor.

05/03/2026

Isaac from Buttons of the Left framed his May Day talk around the powerful words of Haymarket martyr August Spies, who, when sentenced to death, declared: “It is a subterranean fire. You cannot put it out. The ground is on fire upon which you stand.” Using pinback buttons from different eras, Isaac showed how that “subterranean fire” has continued to burn through generations of working class struggle. Though movements are often suppressed, the message carried in these small objects shows they are never extinguished.

His talk traced the 140 years since the Haymarket Affair, highlighting how the fight for workers’ rights resurfaces again and again in new forms. Through the imagery and slogans on the buttons, Isaac connected past struggles to the present, showing that the spirit of resistance and organizing remains constant even as the times change.

Buttons of the Left is an archive and educational project focused on the materials used to educate, agitate, and organize for progressive change. The project collects and preserves buttons as important artifacts of working class history, while also sharing the context and meaning behind each item. Through exhibits and presentations, Isaac brings these objects to life, helping students, workers, and the public better understand the movements that shaped them and the ones still unfolding today.

04/30/2026

We hope to see you tomorrow!

Celebrate May Day at the Haymarket Martyrs Monument getting to know those buried at Radical Row.