Binaural recording taken at the Haymarket Memorial in Chicago, IL, USA on November 21, 2020. The memorial is situated on a one-way street with vehicles moving south from the right to the left side of the stereo field. The memorial is situated west of the center of “the loop” (downtown) and is a few blocks away from the highway (heard in the background) and the “El” public transit system (to the far right of the stereo field). There is an ebb and flow of traffic and transit, from trains, cars, motorcycles, and pedestrians. During the course of recording, in the foreground, a United States Postal Service worker dropped off a number of packages and a familiar internet-based commerce platform employee made deliveries to the upper-class condominium high-rise that now overshadows the monument.

What happened in the Haymarket district is an important part of Chicago labor history. From the plaque on the memorial: “SITE OF THE HAYMARKET TRAGEDY: On the evening of May 4th, 1886, a tragedy of international significance unfolded on this site in Chicago’s Haymarket produce district. An outdoor meeting had been hastily organized by anarchist activists to protest the violent death of workers during a labor lockout the previous day in another area of the city. Spectators gathered in the street as speakers dressed political, social, and labor issues from atop a wagon that stood at the location of this monument. When approximately 175 policemen approached with an order to disperse the meeting, a dynamite bomb was thrown into their ranks. The identity and affiliation of the person who threw the bomb have never been determined, but this anonymous act had many victims. From the blast and panic that followed, seven policemen and at least four civilian bystanders lost their lives, but victims of the incident were not limited to those who died as a direct result of the bombing. In the aftermath, the people who organized and spoke at the meeting, and others who held unpopular political viewpoints were arrested and unfairly tried, even though none could be tied to the bombing itself. Meeting organizers George Engel and Adolph Fischer, along with speakers August Spies and Albert Parsons were put to death by hanging. Activist Louis Lingg died violently in jail prior to his scheduled execution. Meeting speaker Samuel Fielden, and activists Oscar Neebe and Michael Schwab were sentenced to prison, but later pardoned in 1893 by Illinois Governor John Peter Altgeld, citing the injustices of their trial. Over the years, the site of the Haymarket bombing has become a powerful symbol for a diverse cross-section of people, ideals and movements. Its significance touches on the issues of free speech, the right of public assembly, organized labor, the fight for the eight-hour workday, law enforcement, justice, anarchy, and the right of every human being to pursue an equitable and prosperous life. For all, it is a poignant lesson in the rewards and consequences inherent in such human pursuits.”

Recorded for the European Broadcasting Union's Ars Acustica Binaural Location Podcast project, 2021.