The series looks back in loving detail at many of the things that have helped create a city's unique identity that have since disappeared: the streetcars, the shops, the parks, the churches, the amusement parks, even the annual parades. It looks at the architectural gems that failed to be preserved, the hotels that could not be adapted and fell to the wrecking ball, and the novelty buildings. Famous landmarks, much-loved restaurants, sports stadia, movie palaces, pleasure gardens, piers, and lake steamers, plus the Union stockyards all feature, along with the industries that once drove the Chicago economy but have since moved on.