Collections
CFA's collections contain professional and amateur films of all genres, including documentaries, experimental films, and home movies, depicting histories of Chicago, the Midwest and the world. Our online catalog contains thousands of digitized items from our collections along with descriptive catalog records.
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1932 – 2001
This collection of films was compiled by Jack Behrend who owned a camera equipment rental house and worked as a professional industrial filmmaker from the 1950s until the 1990s. Included in this collection are 13 reels of raw footage from an unfinished documentary of historical inns of America and time lapse footage of Grant Park, the Equitable Building and Lake Point Tower as they were being constructed. The collection includes industrial films about steel foundries, the making of railroad wheels and a film about the teachers' strike at Niles North in the 1970s. Also within this collection are films made by Gordon Weisenborn, a Chicago filmmaker who gave his films to Jack Behrend before his death. Behrend has donated the prints and rights of his films and those of Gordon Weisenborn to CFA. He has also donated 52 prints made by the National Film Board of Canada.
after 2000
This collection contains items created by or in collaboration with Chicago Film Archives in connection with its programs, including recorded oral histories with individuals related to CFA collections and original video works created by pairings of artists as part of CFA's annual Media Mixer event.
1902 – 2007
The Margaret Conneely Collection contains the films and papers of Margaret Conneely, a prolific and respected Chicago amateur filmmaker. The collection includes medical films she made as a cinematographer for Loyola University, story films she made with other local hobbyists and professional filmmakers, films made by other amateur filmmakers, such as Carl Frazier and Nora Rafferty, and commercial films that she collected. Four of her films have been preserved by the National Film Preservation Foundation and the New York Women in Film & Television sponsored Women's Film Preservation Fund. The papers include a wealth of correspondence between Conneely and other amateur filmmakers, documents and publications from amateur film and photography associations, as well as photographs of Conneely and other filmmakers.
1938 – 2001
The Julian Gromer Collection includes 15 travelogues and related papers by filmmaker Julian Gromer. The films depict his travels to Cuba, Nigeria, around Lake Michigan, Hawaii two months before Pearl Harbor, Canada, up the Amazon and Hudson rivers, and three films of cross-country cycling. Gromer was represented by the Redpath Bureau and co-owned Ralph Windoes Travelogues, Inc. His work is representative of post-World War II travelogue lectures that were exhibited in a variety of non-theatrical venues.
1924 – 2004
The Heidkamp Family Collection consists primarily of home movies shot by Herbert A. Heidkamp, a Chicago optometrist and realtor. The 16mm films were shot between ca. 1924 - 1956 and depict the life of the Heidkamp family in the Lincoln Square neighborhood. Events recorded include First Communions, May Day celebrations, and various weddings - almost all at Queen of Angels church on Sunnyside Ave. Heidkamp also filmed historic events in the city, including the 1928 Graf Zeppelin flyover from Grant Park and a 1939 Armistice Day parade, as well as footage of notable Chicago landmarks (Wrigley Building, Field Museum, Lincoln Park Zoo and Conservatory, etc.) over the decades.
The collection also contains a handful of collected commercial films (mostly German cartoons), home movies shot by Herbert's brother George, and 8mm and Super 8 home movies from the next generation of Heidkamps.
The collection also contains a handful of collected commercial films (mostly German cartoons), home movies shot by Herbert's brother George, and 8mm and Super 8 home movies from the next generation of Heidkamps.
1980 – 2010
The collection consists of home movies shot by Julia Lesage. All were captured on small gauge formats, and feature images of everyday life in Logan Square with partner Chuck Kleinhans as well as travel to Central and South America.
1965 – 2001
The Chuck Olin Collection is comprised of films, videotapes and ephemera made by Chuck Olin from his work at two Chicago area film production companies from the mid-60s to the late 1990s: first with the Film Group/Mike Gray Associates and after 1974 with his own Chuck Olin Associates. Included are political documentaries made by the Film Group on the 1968 Democratic National Convention; television commercials for a variety of clients including Sears, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and politicians running for election; sponsored films for the Art Institute of Chicago, the National Medical Association, and Eli Lilly; educational films for Encyclopaedia Britannica; and a documentary by Olin on the Jewish Brigade in World War II.
1940 – 2001
The Tom Palazzolo Collection consists of experimental films and documentaries, their elements, and outtakes made by Chicago-based filmmaker Tom Palazzolo, once called "Chicago's filmmaker laureate" by critic Roger Ebert. Although the subjects of his films vary widely, they are all united in their humanist depiction of those living on the margins of society. Included in the collection are well-known works like Jerry's (1976), featuring the explosive owner of a deli in Chicago's Streeterville neighborhood and At Maxwell Street (1984), about the city's storied Maxwell Street market, as well as lesser-known films like Pigeon Lady (1966), Palazzolo's first film, and Rita on the Ropes (2001), the most recent film in the collection.
1947 – 2000
The films in this collection were made and collected by Chicago photojournalist, critic and filmmaker Bill Stamets. The bulk of the collection consists of Super 8 films and footage shot by Stamets in the 1970s and 1980s. They depict political events primarily in the city of Chicago, including former Chicago Mayor Harold Washington's two election campaigns, inaugurations, and time in office; numerous street protests and marches; and cultural festivals around the city.
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Collections in Progress
Our staff is always working to expand CFA's catalog by researching, describing, and digitizing new collections. Here are the collections that are currently in progress.
A collection of 129 16mm films, mainly educational titles.
Materials related to the work of experimental filmmaker and Chicago high school teacher Eleanor Binstock.
Elements associated with film Pause of the Clock, produced in the 1990s and completed digitally in 2015.
13 reels of 16mm adult films rescued from the Oak Theater in Chicago, at Armitage Ave and Western Ave, as it was being cleared out for renovation.
52 reels of 16mm home movies and collected films from the Beverly and South Shore areas of Chicago, shot and collected by Chester Faust.
Two 16mm films about Fred Flom, of Menasha, Wisconsin, who was a prisoner of war in Vietnam from 1966 to 1973.
Collection of over 60 reels of 16mm home movies, most shot by William J. Grede, the grandfather of Chicago-based filmmaker and writer Scott Jacobs, who donated this collection.
Collection of 8mm home movies and slides shot by Evelyn Greene of her travels.
12 cans of 35mm negatives in cans from National Film Archives - Public Archives Canada.
Collection includes 9.5mm equipment and commercial films as well as 8mm home movies from the 1940s and 1950s.
Collection of films produced by Guzik as part of his work for various companies during the late 1970s.
1929 – 1978
40 reels of home movies in Super 8, 8mm, and 16mm, mainly depicting Chicago in the 1930s and 1940s.
Collection of 13 home movies from the mid-1950s, most of which were shot by Judith Hembree's father.
Films made by, worked on, or collected by documentary filmmaker Judy Hoffman.
3 reels of family outings; 1 reel, Bar Mitzvah party, Albany Park, 1956; 1 reel, Carnival, 1956 at the University of Illinois, Champaign.
38 reels of 8mm home movies shot by Sydney Katz, primarily of family birthday parties, weddings, holidays, and vacations.
Collection of 71 8mm home movies.
Collection of predominantly industrial films worked on by Charles S. C. Lee, who worked in film production in Chicago from the 1960s – 1980s.
Five 8mm home movies shot in Chicago between 1958 and 1962.
About a dozen rolls of 16mm film, mainly comprising unedited footage shot during the 1966 football season, as well as 16mm kinescopes of the Vince Lombardi Show and the George Halas Show.
Collection of 8mm and Super 8 home movies from a Michigan family.
Home movies on 8mm and Super 8 film.
1929 – 1976
Films and audiotape depicting and recording activities of the Neighborhood Boys & Girls Club.
A collection of independent/student films made in the late 1960s and early 1970s in and around Chicago, Park Ridge, and Niles, Illinois.
This collection, donated by Northwestern University, is mainly comprised of 16mm films. These include prints of feature film classics formerly used in film studies instruction at Northwestern University, a collection of films made by Chicago filmmaker Helene Fischer, and a collection of films made by Wilding Studios (a Chicago-based maker of educational and industrial films).
Collection consisting mainly of 16mm elements of films made by or in collaboration with Robert Orr, both during his high school years and his professional career.
Collection of 4 16mm home movies.
47 reels of 8mm home movies found in a dumpster and donated to CFA. Reel labels indicate that the films depict visits to Europe as well as to Crivitz, Wisconsin.
13 reels of 16mm film from Dr. Herbert Ratner, who was health commissioner of Oak Park, IL, from 1949 to 1974.
This collection of 8mm and 16mm films, and some audio tapes, belonged to Dr. Martin Ross of Lincolnwood, IL. He was an avid traveler and photographer, and often shot 8mm and 16mm film on his trips in addition to slides and snapshots. He shot all of the films which are home movies and travelogues.
2 reels of 16mm film about urban planning in Chicago, produced by the City of Chicago Department of Urban Renewal.
circa 1955 – 1974
Multiple 8mm and Super 8 films taken by Caroline Wenz Rubin in the 1950s-'70s in Chicago, lL; Perrysburg, OH; Yellow Springs, OH; Newton, MA; Washington, DC; and various other locations. Collection includes one or more short movies filmed by Betsy Rubin, then a high school student. Most films are family or travel documentary in nature; a few are filmed stories or plays, including one stop-action short film.
Collection of 8mm and Super 8 home movies.
Collection of over 200 16mm films, predominantly home movies shot by Arthur Senior of Homewood, Illinois.
Collection of 16mm and 8mm home movies shot around Ottawa, Illinois.
1930 – 2008
Collection of over 5800 films, videos, and audio elements related to C.L. Venard Productions, a Peoria, Illinois-based producer of industrial films, mainly related to agriculture. Venard ran a production studio, distributed films made by others, and did work for hire for companies like Caterpillar. The collection was donated to CFA by Gary Smith, who worked in production for C.L. Venard for many years before purchasing the company from Venard in 1967.
Collection of 31 reels of 16mm home movies from a Michigan family.
Three reels of film found in the church when they were clearing out old things.
A collection of educational films, newsreels, and student films.
Films, videos, and audio tapes related to the organization's activities.
Materials documenting street cars in Chicago, including films, mini DV tapes, and paper materials.
1998
16mm and 35mm materials documenting the demolition of the Lakefront Properties by the Chicago Housing Authority. These buildings were located in the North Kenwood / Oakland neighborhood of Chicago near 39th Street.
104 home movies shot between 1946 and 1986.
Collection of 8mm home movies.