Walk Through Rotary History: A Chicago Tour with Rotary/One — June 30
Mark your calendars for June 30 and join Rotary/One President Nancy Kalchbrenner for a one-of-a-kind bus-and-walking tour across Chicago, honoring the city's memorials, flags, and the birthplace of Rotary itself.
Walk Through Rotary History: A Chicago Tour with Rotary/One — June 30
Mark your calendars for June 30 and join Rotary/One President Nancy Kalchbrenner for a one-of-a-kind bus-and-walking tour across Chicago, honoring the city's memorials, flags, and the birthplace of Rotary itself.
Where it all began
Every Rotary club in the world — more than 46,000 of them across over 200 countries — traces its roots to a single room in downtown Chicago. On February 23, 1905, a young attorney named Paul Harris, who had moved to the big city from small-town life and missed the easy fellowship he'd known there, gathered three friends in Room 711 of the Unity Building: coal dealer Silvester Schiele, mining engineer Gustavus Loehr, and merchant tailor Hiram Shorey. Harris pitched a simple idea — a club where business and professional people of different trades could meet, build genuine friendships, and look out for one another.
Because the group rotated its early meetings among members' offices, they called it Rotary. That first club became the Rotary Club of Chicago — Club No. 1, known affectionately ever since as Rotary/One. The idea caught fire: a second club formed in San Francisco in 1908, the first national convention was held in Chicago in 1910, and Rotary soon crossed oceans to become a global movement.
From one room to the whole world
What started as a fellowship club grew into one of the most consequential service organizations in history. Today, 1.4 million Rotary members live out the motto Service Above Self — funding scholarships, building clean-water systems, supporting mothers and children, and strengthening local economies.
Rotary's signature achievement is the fight to end polio. Since launching its PolioPlus program in 1985 and helping found the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1988, Rotary and its partners have helped slash polio cases by more than 99.9% — from hundreds of thousands a year in over 100 countries down to just two countries today. Along the way, Rotary members have contributed nearly $2.9 billion and helped protect billions of children. None of it would exist without the four men who met in Chicago in 1905.
What you'll see on the tour
This tour brings that history to life:
- Mount Hope Cemetery — the final resting place of founder Paul Harris and fellow charter member Silvester Schiele, lifelong friends laid to rest near one another.
- The Paul Harris Home — a stop at the residence of Rotary's founder, where the "Rotary idea" took shape.
- The new Obama Presidential Center — a glimpse of Chicago's newest landmark as we make our way back toward the city's iconic Rotary sites downtown.
Afterward, stick around for a celebratory lunch honoring our CPS Grant Recipients — a fitting reminder that the spirit born in 1905 is still hard at work in our own community today.
Event details
- Tour begins: 9:00 a.m. at the Union League Club (Rotary/One's longtime meeting home)
- Lunch: 12:00 p.m., back at the Union League Club
- Registration: Seats are limited — register now at f.mtr.cool/ibllnbfzho
Come celebrate where Rotary began, and the worldwide impact that has grown from it. We hope to see you there!