CGN Publisher Ginny Van Alyea visited the WGN Radio studios on Wednesday evening to talk to Justin Kaufmann, host of the Extension 720 show, about the great River North Gallery Fire, memorialized in this April 2019 CGN article on the 30th anniversary of the fire. 

Click here to listen to the interview. 

30 years ago, a huge fire ripped through River North destroying an estimated $50 million dollars worth of art. WGN wanted to look back on the impact of that fire on the art community and neighborhood. While the fire is well known by members of the art scene from that time, it is still a revelation to many. Ginny spent some time giving a sense of what was so unique and vibrant about River North back in 1989, how much of the area was impacted by the fire, how quickly the fire spread and why the cause of the fire remains a mystery. She also emphasized the staggering amount of art that was unrecoverable and how the art community managed to rebound and move on after the fire.

The topic of Kaufmann's show was 1989.