Vintage Chicago Tribune: Solar eclipses and how Chicagoans viewed them
When was the last time Chicago experienced a total solar eclipse? Before the city existed! And the next one won’t happen here until 2099. While we’re waiting, here’s a look back t… The April 8, 2018 total solar eclipse will occur in southern Illinois for the second time in seven years, with about 90% of the sun expected to disappear in Chicago. The last time Chicago experienced a total solar Eclipse was in 1806, more than three decades before the city even existed. Astronomer Tom Skilling, former WGN-TV chief meteorologist, experienced the phenomenon in Carbondale and is now flying back from Hawaii to observe it again from the same location. Despite the danger of eye damage due to looking directly into the sun during the eclipse, no reports have been reported of eye injuries. The two bronze lions outside the Art Institute of Chicago were seen during a solar eclipse as part of their 100th birthday party.
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Chicago is usually the perfect place for sightseeing — but to observe April 8’s total solar eclipse many astronomy fans are heading south.
The moon will completely block the sun for more than four minutes in southern Illinois for the second time in seven years. About 90% of the sun will disappear in Chicago during the same event.
When was the last time Chicago experienced a total solar eclipse? Before the city existed! On June 16, 1806 — more than three decades before Chicago became a city — this area came within a whisker (99.9%) of a total solar eclipse with totality observed southward into central Illinois.
The rare experience is likely to make some people speechless and others cry.
Beloved former WGN-TV chief meteorologist Tom Skilling was choked when he viewed the phenomenon in Carbondale in 2017. His reaction became an internet sensation. He’s flying back from Hawaii to observe it again from the same location.
When will Chicago gets its place again in the absence of the sun? Skilling says areas from Evanston north into Wisconsin will experience a total eclipse Sept. 14, 2099. So get those reservations made now.
While we’re waiting, here’s a look back through the decades at how Chicagoans celebrated the arrival of a solar eclipse.
Chicagoans had to wake early to catch a glimpse of the eclipse. The Tribune reported that many people were outside by 5:30 a.m.
“The parks contained almost as many people as on an ordinary week day and the housetops, balconies and other vantage points were alive with spectators.”
Amateur astronomers found smoked glasses and cardboard devices useless due to the weak light of the early morning.
In Evanston, smoke and clouds made it impossible to take great photos at Northwestern University’s observatory.
The best view was captured at Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wisconsin. Still, experts considered it unsatisfying.
“The sun was too quiet and disappointing,” said professor E.B. Frost.
Less than an hour before the moon was to cross the face of the sun, clouds rolled in.
The Adler Planetarium was flooded with questions — and Boy Scouts — during the event.
It was the first time Eric Carlson, an astronomer at the facility, had ever looked at the sun with two pieces of cardboard.
“I’ve never done it before,” he admitted. “I was never an amateur astronomer. Here I am learning the first lessons last.”
Despite the danger of eye damage because of looking directly into the sun during the eclipse, a random sampling of hospitals revealed that there were no reports of people being admitted with eye injuries.
The two bronze lions that stand guard outside the Art Institute of Chicago were nonplussed when a solar eclipse crowned their 100th birthday party.
As the sky darkened, the Michigan Avenue steps of the Art Institute filled with packs of school kids and curious onlookers.
“I hope you realize just how much planning it took for us to get this eclipse to happen today,” James Wood, the Art Institute’s director and president, told the packs of schoolchildren, seniors and downtown workers who gathered for both the solar event and the birthday party. The festivities began at noon, and the sun was 94 percent gone by 12:04 p.m.
The statues of the African lion, the biggest and fiercest of the species, are considered legendary landmarks, images inseparable from the Art Institute and from Chicago.
The bronze statues were sculpted by artist Edward Kemeys for the museum in 1893, in time for the first Chicago World’s Fair, and commissioned by Florence Lathrop Field, wife of Henry Field. According to a 2018 account from the Art Institute, the lions were installed the following year: “The lion on the north pedestal is ‘on the prowl.’ The other, ‘in an attitude of defiance’ on the south pedestal was, according to the artist, ‘the most difficult I have ever attempted.’”
In 2022, the lions were removed from their perches for cleaning and conservation work then reinstalled on their plinths flanking the main entrance.
• None The total solar eclipse from the campus of Southern Illinois University in Carbondale on Aug. 21, 2017.
• None Jashana Smith, 18, from left, Jessica Leonhardt, 23, Jenisha Sims, 21, and Sheldon Butler, 29, observe the total solar eclipse from the campus of Southern Illinois University in Carbondale on Aug. 21, 2017.
• None Students from Muchin College Prep react as the solar eclipse emerges from behind clouds in Millennium Park in Chicago on Aug. 21, 2017. (Alexandra Wimley/Chicago Tribune)
• None Scene across from Daley Plaza during the solar eclipse in Chicago Aug. 21, 2017.
• None Molly Ryan, 25, left, and Giselle Hilgert, 24, both of Chicago, view the eclipse Aug. 21, 2017, from North Avenue Beach.
• None The total solar eclipse from the campus of Southern Illinois University in Carbondale on Aug. 21, 2017.
• None Thousands gather at Daley Plaza during the solar eclipse in Chicago Aug. 21, 2017.
• None Griselda Proano, right, uses a homemade viewing box to safely look at the eclipse at Montrose Beach on Aug. 21, 2017, in Chicago.
• None People watch the solar eclipse from Daley Plaza in downtown Chicago on Aug. 21, 2017.
• None Cameron McClary, from left, Gabriella Juriner, Amanda Novacs, and Megan Neville, all freshman at Naperville Central High School, watch the solar eclipse on the football field on Aug. 21, 2017.
• None Diana Kohl of Oak Park uses her eclipse glasses to view the solar eclipse at Daley Plaza in Chicago Aug. 21, 2017.
• None Thousands gather at Daley Plaza during the solar eclipse in Chicago Aug. 21, 2017.
• None Thousands gather at Daley Plaza during the solar eclipse in Chicago Aug. 21, 2017.
• None People watch the solar eclipse from Millennium Park in downtown Chicago on Aug. 21, 2017.
• None Through light cloud cover the partial solar eclipse can be seen on Aug. 21, 2017, in Chicago.
• None Scene outside the Daley Plaza during the solar eclipse in Chicago Aug. 21, 2017.
• None People use solar filter glasses to view the solar eclipse from the sidewalk of South Dearborn street on Aug. 21, 2017, in downtown Chicago.
• None The solar eclipse behind The Spirit of Progress statue depicting the goddess Diana on top of the Montgomery Ward Building in River North on Aug. 21, 2017.
• None People take selfies with their new eclipse glasses in Chicago on Aug. 17, 2017.
• None Kevin Gold, Chicago, and his daughter Rae Gold, 3, view the eclipse Aug. 21, 2017, using a shadow box from North Avenue Beach.
• None Cheerleaders greet people entering Salukis Stadium to observe the total solar eclipse from the campus of Southern Illinois University in Carbondale on Aug. 21, 2017.
• None J.P. Venman from Grand Rapids, Mich., observes the total solar eclipse from the Salukis stadium of Southern Illinois University in Carbondale on Aug. 21, 2017.
• None Thousands gather at Daley Plaza during the solar eclipse in Chicago Aug. 21, 2017.
• None People watch the solar eclipse from Millennium Park in downtown Chicago on Aug. 21, 2017.
• None Relaxing while viewing the solar eclipse at the Adler Planetarium Aug. 21, 2017.
• None Xavier Howard, 8, of Chicago, tries on eclipse glasses Aug. 17, 2017, as thousands showed up at Roosevelt Road and Michigan Avenue in Chicago to score a free pair of the special eyewear before the Aug. 21 solar eclipse.
• None A view of the solar eclipse from the River North neighborhood of Chicago, Aug. 21, 2017.
• None Eclipse enthusiasts who made it to the front of the line after several blocks collect their free eclipse glasses at Roosevelt Road and Michigan Avenue in Chicago on Aug. 17, 2017.
• None Thousands gather at Daley Plaza during the solar eclipse in Chicago Aug. 21, 2017.
• None People observe the total solar eclipse from the campus of Southern Illinois University in Carbondale on Aug. 21, 2017.
• None Sanket Rairker, left, Rushikesh Bodake, center, and Neil Purandare, right, all of Chicago, view a partial solar eclipse from North Michigan Avenue in Chicago on Monday, Aug 21, 2107.
• None Michael Pine, right, and Taylor Rosemeyer, center, try to view the solar eclipse through their homemade solar filter adapters that they made at work Aug. 21, 2017, in downtown Chicago.
• None Jose Tapia, 42, left, Jose Oliva, 14, center, and Tony Garcia, 36, watch the solar eclipse in Harrison Park in the Heart of Chicago neighborhood Aug. 21, 2017, in Chicago.
• None Scene outside Daley Plaza during the solar eclipse in Chicago Aug. 21, 2017.
• None Scene outside the Daley Plaza during the solar eclipse in Chicago Aug. 21, 2017.
• None Thousands line up for free eclipse glasses at Daley Plaza before the solar eclipse in Chicago Aug. 21, 2017.
• None People watch the solar eclipse from Millennium Park in downtown Chicago on Aug. 21, 2017.
• None Zsalynn Westerwal, left, 3, and Kairi Ferrenti of Zion, try to make the special eclipse glasses work outside the Adler Planetarium Aug. 21, 2017, for the solar eclipse event.
• None People who made it to the front of the line that covered several blocks collect their free eclipse glasses at Roosevelt Road and Michigan Avenue in Chicago on Aug. 17, 2017.
• None Scene outside Daley Plaza during the solar eclipse in Chicago Aug. 21, 2017.
• None Jorge Bernaldez, left, and Jarrah Tawhid take photos through special glasses with their phones during the solar eclipse at Montrose Beach Aug. 21, 2017, in Chicago.
• None Griselda Proano looks up at the solar eclipse at Montrose Beach Aug. 21, 2017, in Chicago.
• None Weather balloons are ready to be launched to photograph the total solar eclipse from the Salukis stadium of Southern Illinois University in Carbondale on Aug. 21, 2017.
• None Glasses at Adler Planetarium Aug. 21, 2017, for the solar eclipse event.
• None People react as the solar eclipse becomes visible through the clouds from Daley Plaza in Chicago on Aug. 21, 2017.
• None A woman uses solar filter glasses to view the moon passing over the sun during the solar eclipse Aug. 21, 2017, in downtown Chicago.
• None Veronica Gomez, left, and Pablo Gordon, of Argentina watch the solar eclipse in Millennium Park in downtown Chicago on Aug. 21, 2017.
• None In advance of the Aug. 21, 2017, solar eclipse, thousands of people line up for free eclipse glasses at Roosevelt Road and Michigan Avenue in Chicago on Aug. 17.
• None The clouds break for a moment and part of the solar eclipse is seen in relation to the football stadium lights at Naperville Central High School Aug. 21, 2017.
• None A man watches the solar eclipse while other people eat lunch in Chicago Aug. 21, 2017.
• None Clouds partially obscure the solar eclipse from Montrose Beach August 21, 2017, in Chicago.
• None A view of the solar eclipse from the River North neighborhood of Chicago, Aug. 21, 2017.
The first total solar eclipse streaming across the continental U.S. since 1918 — the one that was supposed to put on a breathtaking celestial display here — was less than totally fulfilling for Dave Ellis.
“You have to say it was disappointing just to get that glimpse of it,” said Ellis, a 1980 graduate of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.
A fat, low cloud permitted him and about 15,000 others in and around the university’s football stadium to catch less than five seconds of totality, when the moon slides in front of the sun and blocks its light completely. “That was a pretty mean trick.”
But 7 miles south in Makanda, the total eclipse was visible for the full 2 minutes and nearly 42 seconds, an experience Makanda eclipse ambassador Joe McFarland called “emotionally overwhelming.”
In the Chicago region, clouds also teased perhaps hundreds of thousands of viewers by shrouding the peak, 87 percent coverage of the sun that occurred about 1:20 p.m.
“It was one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences,” said Vijay Patel, of Glenview, shortly after the cloudy eclipse presented itself to a crowd at Adler Planetarium, where attendance was estimated at 45,000. “So you want to bring your kids to experience it.”
Many cheered when the sun punched through the cloud cover. Patel described the eclipse as a “gift from God,” although he chuckled when acknowledging that his two sons, ages 11 and 8, “had no idea what they were seeing, but they thought it was pretty cool.”
“As it was starting,” Patel said, “my son was like, ‘It took a bite out of it.’”
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