iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Matt Bergstrom

Vince Mpls @vincempls.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

#OnThisDay Oct 1 1928: 2 years after the first scheduled airmail flight from the Twin Cities to Chicago, Northwest Airlines publishes its first passenger timetable, advertising integrated air-rail service with the Great Northern, Northern Pacific, Milwaukee Road, and Pennsylvania Railroads.

art deco green and red ad with a silver airplane flying over a map of the US showing transcontinental connections. A broad white line connects Minneapolis St Paul with Chicago. "NORTHWEST AIRWAYS, TRAVEL BY AIR, SAVE A DAY"

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Reposted by Matt Bergstrom

Chicagoans Who Bike @chiwho.bike · 11/09/2026

We are so excited to announce the launch of a brand new tool for getting engaged with biking in Chicago - our new ward biking map! It'll show you bike routes in your ward, which ones were built this latest aldermanic term, and more. Let's break it down 🧵

chiwho.bike

Ward Map | Chicagoans Who Bike

A photo project documenting the stories of the wide variety of Chicagoans who bike around the city

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Matt Bergstrom @mattbergstrom.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Hard to believe its been 25 years

Papercraft miniature model of the twin towers and other buildings of New York's World Trade Center created by Wurlington Press

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Matt Bergstrom @mattbergstrom.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Hooray for the Lake Harriet trolley in Minneapolis, which was restored by volunteers and opened for rides 55 years ago today

Papercraft N-scale model of Lake Harriet streetcar by Wurlington Press

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Matt Bergstrom @mattbergstrom.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Happy 180th birthday to Daniel Burnham, architect of the Flatiron building in 1901!

Papercraft scale model miniature of New York's Flatiron Building created by Wurlington Press

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Reposted by Matt Bergstrom

Colin Dickey @colindickey.com · 12/08/2026

From the top ropes: @cadaverformosus.bsky.social on the fascist dog whistles that JD Vance tried to hide in plain sight in his dogshit memoir, for @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social. “It turns out Vance isn’t just quoting René Girard—he’s quoting Peter Thiel quoting Girard….”

lareviewofbooks.org

J. D. Vance’s Straussian Moment | Los Angeles Review of Books

The US vice president wrote his new book without citing his source—Peter Thiel.

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Reposted by Matt Bergstrom

Lynn Becker @cmgiulini.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Burning off the long-form journalism left over from their absorbing Chicago Magazine, the Trib has a fantastic piece by Tal Rosenberg on the city's parking meter fiasco, including a guy who beat the system by paying parking tickets instead of the meters. www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/17/t...

chicagotribune.com

The Case for a Parking Revolt

The city’s lousy meter deal seems inescapable, no matter who holds the lease. One Chicagoan found a way to beat it. Could the whole city do the same?

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Matt Bergstrom @mattbergstrom.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

The new Thompson Center looks drab without the old color patterns

View of Thompson Center peeking behind City Hall

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Reposted by Matt Bergstrom

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 05/08/2026

😮 Trump's nominees are the most pathetic men in the world 😮 During a hearing, Blumenthal made Trump nominees squirm by asking them who won the 2020 election -- a question they refuse to answer -- but then Schiff upped the ante by asking them *who won the 2016 election.* Here's a supercut:

youtube.com

😮 Trump's nominees are the most pathetic men in the world 😮

YouTube video by Aaron Rupar

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Reposted by Matt Bergstrom

Present & Correct @presentcorrect.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Hungarian cube houses katharinaroters.de/research/hun...

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Matt Bergstrom @mattbergstrom.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

San Francisco's City Hall was completed 110 years ago today (this paper version a few weeks ago)

Paper scale model of San Francisco City Hall by Wurlington Press

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Matt Bergstrom @mattbergstrom.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

The birthplace of the first Wienermobile is in Avondale at 2838 N Elston, still there!

Brick auto garage at 2838 N Elston, former home of General Body Company in the 1930s

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Reposted by Matt Bergstrom

Odd This Day @oddthisday.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Today may be the 90th anniversary of the Wienermobile. According to some unreliable sources (and the semi-reliable HuffPo), the first one rolled off the production line at the General Body Assembly plant in Chicago on 18 July 1936 🧵 www.huffpost.com/entry/my-rid...

1960s or 70s colour photo of a weinermobile – a yellow/beige car/truck chassis with a huge sausage-shaped body mounted on it. The car says ‘yellow band weiners’ on the side, and the disconcertingly red sausage has a yellow band on it that reads Oscar Mayer

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Matt Bergstrom @mattbergstrom.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

250 years ago today, the Declaration of Independence was read from the balcony of what is now the Old State House. The excited crowd tore down the original lion and unicorn carvings on top of the building and burned them

Papercraft miniature scale model of Boston's Old State House by Wurlington Press

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Matt Bergstrom @mattbergstrom.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

A peek into the Wonder Cave at the Rudolph Grotto

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Reposted by Matt Bergstrom

Gary Hornseth @garyhornseth.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

Tightrope walker July 4, 1908 St. Peter, Minn. Image: Nicollet County Historical Society via Minnesota Digital Library; collection.mndigital.org/catalog/nico...

Archivist’s description:

This postcard shows the Great DoBell, a tightrope walker, crossing Minnesota Avenue in St. Peter on the Fourth of July in 1908. Horse-drawn vehicles and a large number of people are visible. A flag is displayed near the intersection at Park Row. The view is to the north. Buildings at the right are on the south 200 block.

Detail showing tightrope walker is wearing a rooster suit.

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Matt Bergstrom @mattbergstrom.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Exploring the WPA castle at Eagle Point Park in Clinton IA

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Matt Bergstrom @mattbergstrom.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Intricate miniature windmill models, some with moving parts, built by Henk & June Hielema on display in Fulton IL

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Reposted by Matt Bergstrom

Derf Backderf @derfbackderf.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

One of today's political prisoners. Cartoonist & zine maker Daniel Rolando Sanchez Estrada wasn't even at the ICE protest. He was accused of "moving" a box of anti-Trump zines THE NEXT DAY. A rightwing judge sentenced him to 30 years! Just for possessing zines. The darkness is descending.

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Reposted by Matt Bergstrom

Odd This Day @oddthisday.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

It’s the 400th anniversary of a book being discovered in a Cambridge market, which would be unremarkable except it was found in the belly of a fish (which had been caught off King’s Lynn and gutted that morning), and consisted of three essays by a Protestant martyr (and was republished. Obviously) 🧵

Frontispiece and title page of Vox Piscis, or the Book-Fish, containing three treatises which were found in the belly of a cod-fish in Cambridge Market, on Midsummer Eve last, Anno Domini 1626. Frontispiece is a woodcut of a fish lying on its side with its belly cut open and a small book pictured inside it

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Matt Bergstrom @mattbergstrom.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

Nighttime bike ride stop at Il Favoloso Mondo di Carta paper model display in Roscoe Village

Antique papercraft models on display in a shop window

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Reposted by Matt Bergstrom

Erik Loomis @erikloomis.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

This Day in Labor History: May 30, 1937. Chicago police opened fire on strikers in front of the Republic Steel mill, killing 10 workers. Let's talk about the Little Steel Strike and the Memorial Day Massacre, the last major event of murderous anti-union state violence in the US!

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Matt Bergstrom @mattbergstrom.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

45 years ago today, "Spider Dan" Goodwin climbed the outside of the Sears Tower using suction cups. He was arrested at the top and ultimately fined $35

Papercraft miniature model of the Sears Tower. If you squint, you might see a tiny spider climbing the miniature in honor of Spider Dan's ascent 45 years ago

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Matt Bergstrom @mattbergstrom.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

170 years ago today, San Francisco city supervisor James Casey assassinated newspaper editor James King of William on the street in front of the Mongomery Block building, where the Transamerica Pyramid now stands. A Vigilance Committee hung Casey and the Peoples Party took control of city hall

Papercraft miniature of the Transamerica Pyramid, built on the site of the historic Montgomery Block demolished in 1959 despite efforts to preserve it

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Reposted by Matt Bergstrom

Sherrilyn Ifill @sifill.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

Feeling overwhelmed with all of this. LISTEN. Another Louisiana resident (Marshawn is the only name we have) testifies against the state’s racial gerrymander, speaking truth to power up and down the hearing room and predicts how this story will end. Speak your truth, fight and believe.

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Reposted by Matt Bergstrom

Chicago Tribune @chicagotribune.com · 12/05/2026

Route 66 begins at East Jackson Boulevard and South Michigan Avenue in Chicago, where a brown sign hanging 12 feet high on a light post tells people they’ve reached the venerable road’s threshold.

chicagotribune.com

Route 66: The last (or first) 300 miles in Illinois

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Matt Bergstrom @mattbergstrom.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Today is the 100th anniversary of the designation of Route 66! Here's the Castle Car Wash on Ogden Ave in the Wurlington Press 3D Viewmaster reel www.wurlington-bros.com/VM/index.html

Cover of Route 66 in Chicago Viewmaster reel with photo of the Castle Car Wash

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Reposted by Matt Bergstrom

Chicago Tribune @chicagotribune.com · 30/04/2026

🧵 It was created to connect us, a fused chain of existing roadways many unpaved that stretched 2,448 miles across 8 states and 3 time zones, starting steps from Lake Michigan in Chicago and ending near the Pacific Ocean and Santa Monica’s famed fishing pier. Route 66, “The Main Street of America.”

chicagotribune.com

One Century, One Road: Route 66, ‘The Main Street of America,’ turns 100

One Century, One Road Route 66, ‘The Main Street of America,’ turns 100 By Jonathan Bullington and E. Jason Wambsgans It was created to connect us, a fused chain of existing roadways many unpaved that...

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Matt Bergstrom @mattbergstrom.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

Built by Joseph Keene in 1889 as headquarters for the Chicago Spring Butt Company (!)

Brick factory with carved stone name “Keene Block 1889”

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Reposted by Matt Bergstrom

David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

Our society has a massive blind spot when it comes to how dangerous these giant trucks and SUVs are to everyone outside of them.

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Reposted by Matt Bergstrom

Chicago Workers Cottage Initiative @chiworkerscottage.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

Little house, little traffic jam on Halsted Street

Yard show display of childrens cars and tricycles in grass in front of woodframe cottage in West Pullman

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Reposted by Matt Bergstrom

The War on Cars @thewaroncars.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

"A study, published in February, has found that over the past several years, traffic fatalities in the United States increased by nearly 15 percent on the same days as the biggest album releases from artists like Ms. Swift and Bad Bunny."

nytimes.com

Is a Big Album Dropping? You Might Want to Watch the Road.

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Reposted by Matt Bergstrom

are you not infotained @alopex-ii.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

Great sign alert

Faded hand painted sign that says “Specified” in an ascending script font with an underline and a strange little mascot made of coils and strips of metal

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Reposted by Matt Bergstrom

Chicago Workers Cottage Initiative @chiworkerscottage.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

Hope to see you tomorrow at the McKinley Park library! www.eventbrite.com/e/1982550123...

If This Cottage Could Talk: workshop for learning how to research Chicago house history on April 4, 2pm at McKinley Park library community room

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Matt Bergstrom @mattbergstrom.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Happy Birthday to Natalie de Blois, born 105 years ago today, architect of 270 Park Ave, built in 1960 and demolished in 2021

Papercraft miniature scale model of former Union Carbide Building at 270 Park Ave demolished in 2021

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Reposted by Matt Bergstrom

Illinois EPA @ilepa.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

We’re excited to introduce our newest lake inspectors. 🐟 Bluegill 🐟 Bass 🐟 One extremely judgmental catfish Through our new Fish Cam Inspector Program, they’ll be monitoring Illinois waters 24/7. They’ll be keeping an eye below the surface and reporting any suspicious activity.

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Reposted by Matt Bergstrom

David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

It's finally happening!

A black-and-white comic strip featuring a child asking his dad for a traffic safety poster slogan. The dad enthusiastically suggests a slogan promoting cyclists' rights and criticizing motorists, saying "I hope gas goes p to $8 a gallon". The child responds by deciding to ask his mom instead.

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Matt Bergstrom @mattbergstrom.bsky.social · 28/03/2026

Discovery of Luray Caverns in miniature + the real thing

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Matt Bergstrom @mattbergstrom.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

Today in 1981, Chicago mayor Jane Byrne moved into the Cabrini-Green public housing project as a short-lived publicity stunt

Papercraft scale model of one of the Cabrini-Green housing project towers

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Matt Bergstrom @mattbergstrom.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

Washington Monument sundial says 3pm

Sun obscured by the Washington Monument obelisk

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Matt Bergstrom @mattbergstrom.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

Postcards from the funicular family from around the world at the top of the Duquesne Incline

Postcards of funicular railways around the world

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Matt Bergstrom @mattbergstrom.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

World’s largest coffee pot in Bedford PA

The Coffee Pot painted on a round building with spout

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Reposted by Matt Bergstrom

John Warner @biblioracle.bsky.social · 15/03/2026

Every one of us possesses a unique intelligence far more interesting than what passes for intelligence with large lanugage models. One part of my unique intelligence is wrapped up in the 1984 Chicago Cubs. open.substack.com/pub/bibliora...

open.substack.com

In Appreciation of Unique Intelligences

"We" are definitely smarter than AI.

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Matt Bergstrom @mattbergstrom.bsky.social · 14/03/2026

The answer to the mystery may or may not be important but the investigation is a fun read

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Matt Bergstrom @mattbergstrom.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

Just topped 1900 items added to the Logan Square Preservation archive of neighborhood photos & other ephemera hub.catalogit.app/logan-square...

Real-photo postcard image of the Avon Theatre at 3327 W Fullerton circa 1910 from the Logan Square Preservation Archive

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Matt Bergstrom @mattbergstrom.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

I was puzzling over one of these fun Earth sculptures in the playground by Soldier Field. The cities highlighted on the spiral path around the park seem to be in line N-S and E-W around the globe, but the hot dog icon does not represent Chicago...

Path spiraling around the playground with city name markers

Globe with cartoon icons of worldwide cities

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