Essanay Studios is a surviving piece of Chicago's early film history. From 1907 to 1917, the studio helped make the North Side one of the centres of American silent cinema, drawing names such as Charlie Chaplin and Gloria Swanson before the industry settled firmly in California.
The building is not a full museum experience, but film history makes it more than an anonymous old studio. It is most rewarding as a short architectural and historical stop while exploring Andersonville and Uptown.