Arthur Meeker Jr. (1902-1971) grew up at 1815 Prairie Avenue, the son of the general manager of Armour & Co. who was deeply involved in Chicago business, politics, and society. Much of Meeker's published work focused on the interaction of those aspects of life in Chicago. For Prairie Avenue, Meeker drew heavily on the stories he had heard and lived, providing detail that resulted, according to one critic, in such a faithful picture of the times as to be amazing. The same critic hoped that the novel would remind its readers about Prairie Avenue, a site of Chicago history that he felt by 1949 had already been forgotten.

Author: Arthur Meeker
Source: Chicago Historical Society (ICHi-38216)