Founder, Radcliffe Hunter
FOUNDING OF A MOVEMENT
Talents of Chicago, Inc., was founded in 1987 by architect Radcliffe Walton Hunter.
A few gentlemen had been gathering for several years to socialize at the Falcon Inn
in Hyde Park, and “Rad” suggested one night that they formalize their relationship by
forming an organization.
The organizers called the group “Talents” because the members had numerous
individual talents themselves and because they wanted to adopt the mission of
encouraging up-and-coming talented artists and musicians. Talents later changed
their name to “Talents of Chicago” and then became an Illinois corporation. Talents
of Chicago currently has a 501c3 status with the Internal Revenue Service.
Radcliffe Hunter was an architect and designer who created model cars and miniature houses as a youth. As a teen, he won a number of awards for his auto designs at the Museum of Science and Industry. Rad attended Dunbar High School, where at the age of 16 he was named Midwest Boy of the Year by the South Side Boys Club because of his leadership, accomplishments and service to the community. He received a scholarship to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he received a dual degree in architecture and interior design.
One of his better known projects was interior design work on Rosebud Restaurant on Taylor Street. After the St. Thomas Episcopal Church, where he worshipped, burned down, he went on to design a new one to replace it, one of his proudest and most loving achievements. After his death in 1999, the church renamed its parish house after him—Hunter House—
as a living monument.
