For those who don't know, the Chicago Tribune has a great, lengthy article up right now, detailing the years of the early 20th century when Chicago was actually pumping out more movies than Hollywood was. Although not the first film business to set up here, most credit Essanay Studios as being the ones to make short silents profitable and prolific, and for turning what was until then a goofy hobby into a viable industry; their main studios were located near Argyle and Broadway, coincidentally enough about a mile from where I live now. Although it was the weather that eventually killed off Chicago's relationship with the film companies (with all movies having to be shot outdoors in those days, because of powerful indoor lights simply not existing yet), Essanay and others were able to pump out literally thousands of short reels in the years before the migration happened; this weekend article in the Trib details what those shorts meant for the fledgling community, and what eventually happened to the people and assets involved. It's an intriguing article and a highly entertaining one; I encourage you to check it out if you have the chance.