Well of the Sea

Culinary Historians of Chicago

Well of the Sea Presented by Margaret Carney, PhD Margaret Carney, director and curator of the International Museum of Dinnerware Design will present Well of the Sea, all about the acclaimed seafood restaurant located in Chicago’s Hotel Sherman between 1948-1972. Why was dining there so memorable? Culinary historians may be captivated by the menu — bouillabaisse, rijstafel of seafood, cafe disable, and flaming rum punch.; Mid-Century Modern art connoisseurs have fixated on the abstract undersea murals designed by Richard Koppe; while dinnerware collectors cannot own too many place settings of the sturdy Shenango China restaurant quality dishes with abstract fish motifs. Cuisine, recipes, restaurant reviews, menus, distinct dinnerware, architecture and interior design will all be presented. Why did Bogey and Bacall attend the funeral of the hotelier and restaurateur who made his idea of the Well of the Sea a reality? Were the ultraviolet lights, which enhanced the sensation of dining under water, really beneficial to one’s health? It’s your best opportunity to get the true flavor of the Well of the Sea and then wish you could go back in time and dine there. Margaret Carney is a ceramic historian with Ph.D. and Master’s Degree in Asian art history, and a B.A. in anthropology/archaeology. Dr. Carney is a Fellow of the American Ceramic Society and an elected member of the International Academy of Ceramics in Switzerland. Grants received include Senior Fellow at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American Art and the Renwick Gallery, as well as from the Tile Heritage Foundation and the Cumming Ceramic Research Foundation. She served as the founding director of the Museum of Ceramic Art at Alfred, in Alfred, New York. She has curated 50 exhibitions, presented over 100 public lectures, and authored 80 books, catalogues, and journal articles. She has taught ceramic world history, as well as other courses, at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, the Ohio State University, and elsewhere. She was director and curator of the Blair Museum of Lithophanes in Toledo, Ohio, for nine years, writing the first book on the topic in 180 years. She currently serves as founding director and curator of the International Museum of Dinnerware Design (IMoDD), Ann Arbor, Michicago, which was established in 2012. Recorded on June 9, 2019 at Bethany Retirement Community. www.GreaterMidwestFoodways.com