General Discussion Forgotten Chicago Forum
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Roaring Twenties, Skokie Style
Posted by:
QlassiQue
(---.chipublib.org)
Date: September 24, 2013 05:45PM
Skokie boomed in the Roaring Twenties, but the bust was even bigger. By 1948 there was a staggering 30,000 "dead lots" in the village - lots where utilities had been laid but no buildings constructed, some sitting vacant for more than 20 years. Join Forgotten Chicago this Sunday for a tour examining the overlooked built environment of the north suburbs, including a drive past the ruins of the fabled Purple Hotel in Lincolnwood, currently being demolished. Details:
http://forgottenchicago.com/events/september-29-corporate-kings-north-bus-tour/
http://forgottenchicago.com/events/september-29-corporate-kings-north-bus-tour/
Re: Roaring Twenties, Skokie Style
Posted by:
davey7
(---.dsl.chcgil.ameritech.net)
Date: September 25, 2013 06:33PM
I always wondered what Chicago would have been like had the depression not occurred. I'm guessing Skokie would look like much of the north side.
Re: Roaring Twenties, Skokie Style
Posted by:
Mr Downtown
(---.c3-0.drb-ubr1.chi-drb.il.cable.rcn.com)
Date: September 26, 2013 11:47PM
The developers of Niles Center (as Skokie was known in the 1920s) wanted purchasers of lots in their subdivision to think it was just on the verge of rapid development, so they "seeded" many of the blocks with one bungalow or three-flat that would look right at home in Rogers Park. Then came the Depression and the war, and for two decades Skokie looked like this:
Drive through the area between Dempster and Oakton and on every block you'll see one or two buildings from the 1920s...surrounded by 1950s ranchburgers.
Drive through the area between Dempster and Oakton and on every block you'll see one or two buildings from the 1920s...surrounded by 1950s ranchburgers.
Re: Roaring Twenties, Skokie Style
Posted by:
davey7
(---.dsl.chcgil.ameritech.net)
Date: September 27, 2013 02:50PM
Yeah, you've got quintessential three-flats next to post-war bungalows. Great view btw.
Re: Roaring Twenties, Skokie Style
Posted by:
QlassiQue
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: September 27, 2013 08:39PM
That is an awesome photo - thanks for posting. We will included it in the book we pass around on Sunday's bus tour.
Re: Roaring Twenties, Skokie Style
Posted by:
tomcat630
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: October 03, 2013 03:40AM
The SW side of city was similar, empty lots with a few 20's bungalows and apt buildings. Streets and sidewalks laid out, already.
Too bad city didn't annex more land in the 40's, thinking "no one will ever move that far". Could have gotten Bedford Park, Burbank, and other thriving commercial areas.
Too bad city didn't annex more land in the 40's, thinking "no one will ever move that far". Could have gotten Bedford Park, Burbank, and other thriving commercial areas.
