🎤📚Chicago Misconceptions: Third Coast: Inland Port | CFC Winter Lecture 🍸

🎤📚 Chicago Misconceptions: Third Coast: The Great Inland Port | CFC Winter Lecture Series 🍸

Join us for the TENTH lecture of the season in Chicago for Chicagoans’ 9th Annual Winter Speakeasy Lecture Series — and a very controversial topic

⚠️ IMPORTANT HOST NOTE
I will be attending so it will be back to normal rotation with Giovina as host!

Landlocked city? Not so fast! As the junction between the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes, Chicago's been one of the nation's largest ports for over 175 years. You'll discover our city's rich maritime history, from the earliest shipyards, to naval battles, lighthouses, freshwater pirates, & the many things we still ship by water today. Lecture by tour guide and maritime historian Sam Presti

🎤 Lecture by Sam Presti— tour guide & maritime historian

🚨 REGISTRATION REQUIRED — PLEASE READ CAREFULLY

TENTH LECTURE OF THE SEASON!
Lecture by Sam Presti
📅 Tuesday, March 10, 2026

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🚨 REGISTRATION REQUIRED — READ FIRST
RSVPing on Meetup does NOT secure your spot.
You MUST register separately on Eventbrite to attend in person.

This event is FREE, but registration is required to enter the speakeasy area for the lecture.
🗓 Registration opens: Tuesday, 2/24/26 at 9:00 AM (set reminder)
⚠️ Space is limited — register ASAP
👉 Register here:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/chicago-misconceptions-third-coast-the-great-inland-port-registration-1975057383802

If registration is full:
• Join the Eventbrite waitlist — people cancel and waitlist guests DO get in
• Walk-ins are allowed, space permitting at 7 pm

⭐ NEW, BIGGER VENUE — but it still fills up fast!

****IMPORTANT!! PLEASE NOTE THAT TICKETS FOR THE EVENT ARE NOT YET AVAILABLE. IT IS CRUCIAL THAT EVERYONE SETS A REMINDER TO REGISTER ON EVENTBRITE ON TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2026, AT 9 AM. RSVPING ON MEETUP DOES NOT SECURE YOUR SPOT. YOU MUST GO BACK AND REGISTER VIA THE EVENTBRITE LINK TO CONFIRM YOUR ATTENDANCE. ****

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## ⏰ TIMING & ENTRY DETAILS (VERY IMPORTANT)

• Meetup group meets: 6:00 PM
• Doors open: 6:30 PM
• Registered ticket holders admitted first
• Walk-ins admitted at 7:00 PM, space permitting
• Lecture begins promptly at 7:10 PM
➡️ Not registered? Arrive close to 7:00 PM and be flexible.

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📍 Venue
Bad Apple Lincoln Park
658 W Belden Ave · Chicago
Historic, handicap accessible, with great food & cocktails
🍔 YES — food is available during the lecture
✔ Food available during lecture
✔ Separate checks allowed
✔ More seating than past venues
https://www.badapplebar.com/the-bad-apple-lincoln-park

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🏙️ About the Series
Chicago for Chicagoans returns for their 9th Winter Speakeasy Lecture Series, designed to teach Chicago residents about the history of their own city.

Hosted at Bad Apple Lincoln Park, these pay-what-you-can events spark discussion about Chicago’s past — and how it continues to shape our future.

📅 NOW ON TUESDAY EVENINGS!

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🔍 This Year’s Theme: MISCONCEPTIONS
This season explores the unfair stereotypes, urban legends, and dubious assumptions surrounding Chicago’s past.

Each week features a different local Chicago historian & expert for 12 one-of-a-kind evenings of:
• Legendary tall tales
• Corrected mischaracterizations
• Disproven myths
• Lively discussion + tasty cocktails
Attend in person or watch the recorded lectures online afterward.

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📚 THIS WEEK’S LECTURE — 03/10/26
Landlocked city? Not so fast!
Though far from the ocean, Chicago has long been a maritime powerhouse. As the critical junction between the Great Lakes and the vast Mississippi River system, the city became one of the nation’s most important inland ports — a title it has held for more than 175 years.

This lecture explores how water shaped Chicago’s rise from a frontier outpost to a global commercial hub.

You’ll discover:
⚓ The earliest shipyards along the Chicago River
⚓ How the Illinois & Michigan Canal transformed trade routes
⚓ Naval activity and military connections on the Great Lakes
⚓ The role of lighthouses in protecting busy shipping lanes
⚓ Tales of freshwater pirates and riverfront crime
⚓ The engineering marvel of reversing the Chicago River
⚓ The surprising volume of goods still shipped by water today — including grain, steel, cement, and more

Learn how sailors, dockworkers, engineers, and entrepreneurs built a thriving maritime economy in a city many still mistakenly call “landlocked.”
From gritty industrial riverfronts to grand lakefront harbors, Chicago’s maritime story is bold, innovative, and full of unexpected drama.

⚓ Lecture by tour guide and maritime historian Sam Presti

🗓 Registration opens 2/24/26

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👩‍🏫 About the Speaker: Sam Presti
Sam Prestigiacomo is a Chicago native and an artist, folklorist, and armchair historian with a penchant for digging up the brutal and bizarre stories of Chicago She specializes in tours of Edgewater, queer & Jewish history, ghosts and pirates

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🌐 Learn More & Watch Recordings
Chicago for Chicagoans:
http://www.chicagoforchicagoans.org/
Effing Chicago:
http://effingchicago.com/

🎥 Recordings posted the following Thursday:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChicagoforChicagoans
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chicagoforchicagoans/videos
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chicagoforchicagoans

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💛 Support the Nonprofit
Chicago for Chicagoans is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
Tax-deductible donations:
http://www.chicagoforchicagoans.org/donate.html

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🚇 Getting There
Public transit:
Google Maps or CTA Trip Planner
https://www.transitchicago.com/planatrip/

🚗 Parking:
• Metered parking on Lincoln, Fullerton & Halsted
• Some free side-street parking (watch signs)
• SpotHero lot directly across the street

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⚠️ NO-SHOW POLICY (PLEASE READ)
• 3 no-shows without updating RSVP = 3-month event freeze
• RSVP cut-off = event start time
• If late, message the host directly
• Failure to check in counts as a no-show
• Continued no-shows may result in removal from the group