A community sourced collection reflecting the effects of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic on the daily lives of people during the years 2020-2021. Contributors may visit our Share Your Story page to learn more and upload submissions.

Remarkably candid glass positive photographs taken in downtown Des Plaines, Illinois, circa 1915. The collection includes activity at the Des Plaines commuter train station, pedestrians and shops on Miner Street and Ellinwood Street, and more.

The Sports & Recreation collection gives an overview of the parks and programs through the years in the the city of Des Plaines. It offers the chance to look at the early days of our neighborhood play places, many of which are still in use today, and to see how these spaces have changed over time.

The materials gathered in the Life During Wartime collection speak to the effects of war on the citizens of Des Plaines, Illinois: those who served in the military and those who remained on the home front.

Whether they be family farms or greenhouses, Mom and Pop stores, sole proprietorships or light manufacturing companies, small businesses have always played an important part of life in Des Plaines. The We Mean Business collection demonstrates this sector of Des Plaines’s identity.

This collection is a diverse assortment of materials contributed by the public, reflecting the daily lives and milestone moments of Des Plainesites past and present. Contributors may visit our Share Your Story page to learn more and upload submissions.