Pete Kastanes, who spread nostalgia with Vanished Chicagoland social media posts, dies at 62

For Pete Kastanes, nostalgia was like salt — properly sprinkled, it made everything better.

He liked to leaf through high school yearbooks and collect old comics.

His matchbook collection evoked images of neon bar signs.

His DVD collection leaned into old Disney capers featuring a young Hayley Mills. "That Darn Cat!" was one of his favorites.

As a kid, he wanted to go see things in Chicago that he'd heard about, like pizzerias and parks, and learn their histories. If a place really fascinated him, he'd go to the library and dig for information.

As an adult, the Internet fed his passion.

In 2011, Mr. Kastanes, inspired by a Facebook page that paid tribute to a shuttered Chicago business, he created one dedicated to the memory of a record store he frequented as a teen.

In 2012 he created a Facebook page called Chicago Extinct Businesses, later renamed Vanished Chicagoland. It celebrated things like defunct Chicago businesses and restaurants and invites people to share their memories and favorite forgotten spots.

He gained a loyal following of nearly 100,000 people on Facebook and hosted a podcast.

In recent years, he also shared details about his battle with cancer.

His last Facebook post on April 23 read, in part: "My cancer has spread. I don’t have time much left. As of Vanished Chicagoland the future will be a family decision. Thank you! For my making this fun. I love you all! And god bless!"

Mr. Kastanes died April 25. He was 62.

More than 3,000 people commented on his last Facebook post.

"Vanished Chicagoland wasn't polished, it wasn't some fancy production. It was just Pete sharing what he knew about a TV show or a restaurant or an amusement park, and other people sharing what they knew, and that created a community," said Eric Miller, development coordinator at the Chicago History Museum. "And he was very clear if someone wrote something negative or about politics he'd right away tell everyone 'I won't tolerate it.' And people loved that."

Mr. Kastanes was born Oct 4, 1963, and grew up in three different South Side neighborhoods: South Shore, Roseland and Ashburn.

His late father, Chris, was a longtime room service waiter at the downtown Hilton, and his mother, Zoe, was a homemaker and waitress. Both came to the United States from Greece.

"He's a good person, a good friend, a good son to me," said his mother. "He respected me, respected everybody. He's a good man."

Mr. Kastanes, a graduate of Bogan High School and DeVry University, lived in Oak Lawn, where he ran Vanished Chicago from his home computer during his free time.

He worked for American Express Travel, fielding phone calls and assisting customers with their miles and points when booking flights and hotels.

"It played to his strengths. Pete was friendly and outgoing," said his brother, John Kastanes.

Following an online groundswell calling for Mr. Kastanes to be recognized for his role in sharing the city's history, the Chicago History Museum created the Citizen History Award and presented it to him during a ceremony in February 2025.

"It was just a beautiful event, and this is hard for me to say," Miller said, taking a moment. "But a few weeks later he posted on Facebook that it was one of the best days of his life, and it made me feel really good."

Mr. Kastanes proudly displayed the plaque he received on a wall at his home, his brother said.

"He was not someone looking for recognition, he just loved it and people loved that about him," Miller said. "He was as Chicago as you can get. He exuded Chicago without pretense."

His family wasn't sure if Vanished Chicagoland would continue without Mr. Kastanes at the helm.

A wake will be held Thursday from 3 to 8 p.m. at Palos-Gaidas Funeral Home in Palos Hills. A funeral will be held Friday at 10 a.m. at Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church in Palos Hills.