MCC's Sarah Sullivan Talks Marshall Field's on WTTW
MCC Instructor Sarah Sullivan to Share Marshall Field’s Legacy on WTTW’s Chicago Stories
For generations of Chicagoans, Marshall Field’s was synonymous with the city itself.
It was a place to meet, socialize, or find something meaningful. It was a place where families went to eat in the Walnut Room after visiting Santa, gaze up in awe at the holiday window displays, or register for a wedding. It was a place where special things happened.
That nostalgia was what inspired Sarah Sullivan, a history instructor at McHenry County College (MCC), to dive deeper into the origins and legacy of Marshall Field’s.
“I have fond memories of Field’s like most Chicagoans of a certain age,” Sullivan said. “My husband and I both worked for Field’s before we got married, and I loved to shop there. I took a grad school class on popular culture and ended up doing my research on Marshall Field's. The more I researched, the more interested I became.”
As she explored a range of books and primary sources about both Marshall Field, the man, and Marshall Field’s, the institution, Sullivan discovered that its influence extended far beyond retail.
“Field’s was a Chicago institution that played a role in many of the city’s major historic events,” she explained. “Marshall Field’s was at one time the largest department store in the world, and pioneered many innovations in customer service and retail—so there’s some civic pride there, too!”
Beyond its commercial legacy, the store played a part in events such as the Eastland Disaster and the Iroquois Theater Fire, and supported both the 1893 and 1933 Chicago World’s Fairs. Field’s also helped raise money during both World Wars and contributed significantly to Chicago’s cultural institutions. The Field Museum and Shedd Aquarium are named after the first and second presidents of Marshall Field and Company, respectively.
Sullivan’s research eventually became a presentation that drew growing interest from audiences. In 2018, she was selected as a speaker for the Illinois Humanities Road Scholars Program, which sends experts across the state to share Illinois-related topics with community groups. She delivered more than a dozen talks through the program, and continued sharing her work at libraries, senior centers, and historical societies even after the program concluded.
In October 2019, she presented her Marshall Field’s talk at MCC as part of the College’s Experts and Insights Faculty Speaker Series. A producer from WTTW’s Chicago Stories came across a recording of that event and reached out.
They connected in early 2023, and her segment was filmed that April at the historic Dole Mansion in Crystal Lake—selected for its period-appropriate ambiance. Sullivan provided her research and presentation materials in advance, which the producer used to shape the interview.
“It was a fascinating process, and the team was amazing,” Sullivan said. “It was a very positive experience, and I learned so much just being part of it.”
The episode will air on WTTW on Friday, October 24, at 8 p.m., as part of the Chicago Stories series.
“It’s a feel-good topic that will bring a smile to the face of anyone who was raised with Marshall Field’s,” Sullivan said. “Attendees of my presentations often bring their own Marshall Field’s items—ornaments, stationery, Frangos—because it means so much to them. There is some big nostalgia in this topic.”
As a history instructor, Sullivan also hopes viewers come away with a deeper understanding of how something as seemingly simple as a department store can reflect a city’s identity, values, and evolution.
That belief in the power of history is central to her teaching. “Everything is history—what you had for breakfast, the last war, who won an Oscar in 1939. That means there’s something in history for everyone,” she said. “I love that college-level history isn’t about memorizing dates anymore. It’s about analyzing the ‘how’ and ‘why.’”
She encourages her students to think critically, ask questions, and apply historical thinking to their everyday lives. “I always tell them there are three ‘right’ answers for everything in history: money, power, and ‘it’s complicated.’ Those always hold true. There’s power in understanding the past. It gives us a framework for the future, a sense of how we got here, and a roadmap for moving forward.”
Sullivan began teaching at MCC in 1997, starting in the business department. In 2014, she transitioned to history, becoming the first woman to teach in the discipline at the college. Today, she teaches U.S. History I (from the colonial period to the end of the Civil War), Women’s History, Latin American History, and Introduction to Business.
“Marshall Field’s is a perfect topic for me,” she said. “It’s where my background in business and my love of history intersect. And honestly—it’s just a lot of fun to share.”