General Discussion Forgotten Chicago Forum
Feel free to discuss anything related to the website here.
E 63rd Street
Posted by:
querencia
(---.dsl.chcgil.sbcglobal.net)
Date: September 29, 2009 12:16AM
For a long time in recent years E 63rd Street looked as if it had been bombed out, and now it has new townhouses. It's hard to realize that in the 1950's it was a very very busy and bustling commercial street with a spur of the Red Line EL running over it. You could get on the Red Line at University Avenue and go downtown. I remember so many stores pm 63rd, just crammed in close. For about 30 years I had a teapot that I bought in a hardware store there. There was a supermarket called the HiLo that featured many items for ten cents. I used to buy Apple Bay brand applesauce for ten cents, excellent. Does anyone remember a Chinese restaurant called Tai Sam Yon? Then if you went west to Halsted, there was a big intersection with a Sears store that had a good grocery department. Now I think that intersection has a college.
Re: E 63rd Street
Posted by:
cadelew
(---.om.om.cox.net)
Date: September 29, 2009 12:27AM
My grandmother had a beauty salon on 63rd just east of Cottage Grove for many years. The sign was still up until the building was torn down about 15 years ago!
Re: E 63rd Street
Posted by:
Quartermaine56
(---.dhcp.ftbg.wi.charter.com)
Date: November 16, 2009 01:08AM
I remember East 63rd Street in the past; today I hear there are condos and townhomes and a few new businesses. Some years ago you're right it resembled a war zone. The El used to go as far east as 63rd and Stony Island. Going west there was a Sears and a Wieboldt's Department store at 63rd and Halsted. There was also a Kreges Store.
Re: E 63rd Street
Posted by:
captain54
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: November 16, 2009 03:18PM
"Monkey Hustle" was filmed in Woodlawn in the mid 70's and has many, many looks at E 63 before it was leveled.
Re: E 63rd Street
Posted by:
davey7
(---.dsl.chcgil.ameritech.net)
Date: November 17, 2009 04:10PM
Yes, Kennedy King College is along W. 63rd Street. It used to span the street at Wentworth - I'm not a fan of the anti-street suburban looking brick pile.
I remember when E. 63rd was much livelier (even in the 80's) than now. The city could never get it together there - they tried to redevelop several buildings into lofts, but could never make it work, much like the senior development in the Sutherland Hotel if I remember the name right (Where the Chase at 67th & Stony is now).
I remember when E. 63rd was much livelier (even in the 80's) than now. The city could never get it together there - they tried to redevelop several buildings into lofts, but could never make it work, much like the senior development in the Sutherland Hotel if I remember the name right (Where the Chase at 67th & Stony is now).
Re: E 63rd Street
Posted by:
SuperCFL
(---.dsl.chcgil.sbcglobal.net)
Date: December 09, 2009 11:50AM
About a year ago there was a neat amateur film of East 63rd Street posted on YouTube. It looked like it was made around 1950. Unfortunately, it has since been pulled.
querencia Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> For a long time in recent years E 63rd Street
> looked as if it had been bombed out, and now it
> has new townhouses. It's hard to realize that in
> the 1950's it was a very very busy and bustling
> commercial street with a spur of the Red Line EL
> running over it. You could get on the Red Line at
> University Avenue and go downtown. I remember so
> many stores pm 63rd, just crammed in close. For
> about 30 years I had a teapot that I bought in a
> hardware store there. There was a supermarket
> called the HiLo that featured many items for ten
> cents. I used to buy Apple Bay brand applesauce
> for ten cents, excellent. Does anyone remember a
> Chinese restaurant called Tai Sam Yon? Then if you
> went west to Halsted, there was a big intersection
> with a Sears store that had a good grocery
> department. Now I think that intersection has a
> college.
querencia Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> For a long time in recent years E 63rd Street
> looked as if it had been bombed out, and now it
> has new townhouses. It's hard to realize that in
> the 1950's it was a very very busy and bustling
> commercial street with a spur of the Red Line EL
> running over it. You could get on the Red Line at
> University Avenue and go downtown. I remember so
> many stores pm 63rd, just crammed in close. For
> about 30 years I had a teapot that I bought in a
> hardware store there. There was a supermarket
> called the HiLo that featured many items for ten
> cents. I used to buy Apple Bay brand applesauce
> for ten cents, excellent. Does anyone remember a
> Chinese restaurant called Tai Sam Yon? Then if you
> went west to Halsted, there was a big intersection
> with a Sears store that had a good grocery
> department. Now I think that intersection has a
> college.
Re: E 63rd Street
Posted by:
Richard Stachowski
(---.dsl.chcgil.sbcglobal.net)
Date: December 10, 2009 07:46PM
Does anybody remember "Swing Town" west of Halsted on 63rd and on the East side of the tracts? There were several country music bars with bands there in the 50's.
Re: E 63rd Street
Posted by:
Richard Stachowski
(---.dsl.chcgil.sbcglobal.net)
Date: December 10, 2009 07:46PM
Does anybody remember "Swing Town" west of Halsted on 63rd and on the East side of the tracts? There were several country music bars with bands there in the 50's.
Re: E 63rd Street
Posted by:
captain54
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: December 11, 2009 12:33AM
davey7 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I remember when E. 63rd was much livelier (even in
> the 80's) than now. The city could never get it
> together there - they tried to redevelop several
> buildings into lofts, but could never make it
> work, much like the senior development in the
> Sutherland Hotel if I remember the name right
> (Where the Chase at 67th & Stony is now).
A lot of people blame the elder Daley, Richard J, for the problems with the 63rd and Halsted shopping district, when, back in 1969, all the mom and pop stores were leveled for shopping mall type development that never worked, much like the State Street mall project of Jane Byrne years later.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/11/2009 01:40PM by captain54.
-------------------------------------------------------
> I remember when E. 63rd was much livelier (even in
> the 80's) than now. The city could never get it
> together there - they tried to redevelop several
> buildings into lofts, but could never make it
> work, much like the senior development in the
> Sutherland Hotel if I remember the name right
> (Where the Chase at 67th & Stony is now).
A lot of people blame the elder Daley, Richard J, for the problems with the 63rd and Halsted shopping district, when, back in 1969, all the mom and pop stores were leveled for shopping mall type development that never worked, much like the State Street mall project of Jane Byrne years later.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/11/2009 01:40PM by captain54.
Re: E 63rd Street
Posted by:
davey7
(---.dsl.chcgil.ameritech.net)
Date: January 06, 2010 12:57PM
That's WEST 63rd Street, I was talking about EAST. I always understood that the redevelopment at Halsted was the merchants doing. I still think the new Kennedy-King college is awful - the old one was far more urban in concept, and definitely architecturally superior.
I'm also one of the few people who thinks that the State Street Mall was way better than the faux beaux arts dreck we have now with too narrow sidewalks.
I'm also one of the few people who thinks that the State Street Mall was way better than the faux beaux arts dreck we have now with too narrow sidewalks.
Re: E 63rd Street
Posted by:
captain54
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: January 06, 2010 04:34PM
davey7 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> That's WEST 63rd Street, I was talking about EAST.
> I always understood that the redevelopment at
> Halsted was the merchants doing.
the big retailers from the area, the white merchants..no doubt they had an influence on the Chicago Department of Urban Renewal and Daley...there were hundreds of homes and 150 non residential structures that were displaced by eminent domain. So that means plenty of locally owned businesses.
Chicago in the 60's was still all about segregation. A lawsuit filed by an Englewood community organization at the time, against the Chicago Department of Urban Renewal and Daley claimed that it was a further effort to displace blacks and make the area more attractive to white shoppers.
-------------------------------------------------------
> That's WEST 63rd Street, I was talking about EAST.
> I always understood that the redevelopment at
> Halsted was the merchants doing.
the big retailers from the area, the white merchants..no doubt they had an influence on the Chicago Department of Urban Renewal and Daley...there were hundreds of homes and 150 non residential structures that were displaced by eminent domain. So that means plenty of locally owned businesses.
Chicago in the 60's was still all about segregation. A lawsuit filed by an Englewood community organization at the time, against the Chicago Department of Urban Renewal and Daley claimed that it was a further effort to displace blacks and make the area more attractive to white shoppers.
Re: E 63rd Street
Posted by:
captain54
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: January 06, 2010 08:56PM
davey7 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> I'm also one of the few people who thinks that the
> State Street Mall was way better than the faux
> beaux arts dreck we have now with too narrow
> sidewalks.
the Mall took the charm out of what was a busy, bustling lifeblood of the Loop.. by cutting off traffic they shut off the main artery in and out of the Loop...by widening the sidewalks and taking away the safety of being in a crowd, they further isolated people and drove them away from Loop even further.
the only difference between what is now and what was there pre-Mall is they added one more lane of traffic each way...so $41 million later and it's still basically the same.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/06/2010 09:09PM by captain54.
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> I'm also one of the few people who thinks that the
> State Street Mall was way better than the faux
> beaux arts dreck we have now with too narrow
> sidewalks.
the Mall took the charm out of what was a busy, bustling lifeblood of the Loop.. by cutting off traffic they shut off the main artery in and out of the Loop...by widening the sidewalks and taking away the safety of being in a crowd, they further isolated people and drove them away from Loop even further.
the only difference between what is now and what was there pre-Mall is they added one more lane of traffic each way...so $41 million later and it's still basically the same.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/06/2010 09:09PM by captain54.
Re: E 63rd Street
Posted by:
davey7
(---.dsl.chcgil.ameritech.net)
Date: January 13, 2010 07:39PM
State Street was already near-dead when they proposed the Mall and it kept it from getting worse. The aesthetic was (and construction quality) was better than the new stuff too.
Re: E 63rd Street
Posted by:
querencia
(---.dsl.chcgil.sbcglobal.net)
Date: April 30, 2010 03:55AM
This past week (last week of April 2010) there has been a vintage postcard for sale on eBay that shows the San Souci amusement park at 63rd at Cottage Grove!
Re: E 63rd Street
Posted by:
tomcat630
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: May 10, 2010 01:24AM
The El line that runs on east 63rd was never the Red Line, it was the Jackson Park El. The color coded names for the subway/El was not until the 1990's.
Also, most agree that the State St Mall was a huge flop. Oak Park and a few other towns tried the same thing and have since removed these 'malls'.
Also, most agree that the State St Mall was a huge flop. Oak Park and a few other towns tried the same thing and have since removed these 'malls'.
Re: E 63rd Street
Posted by:
WayOutWardell
(---.dsl.chcgil.sbcglobal.net)
Date: May 15, 2010 01:32PM
There are a couple of remnants of the Jackson Park line; at University, the concrete bases for the station steps are still around, and at 65th and State there's a construction yard that has stubs of the old El support being used as fence posts.
The insulators for the overhead streetcar lines are still mounted to the ICRR viaduct at 63rd and Dorchester on its east side.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/15/2010 01:33PM by WayOutWardell.
The insulators for the overhead streetcar lines are still mounted to the ICRR viaduct at 63rd and Dorchester on its east side.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/15/2010 01:33PM by WayOutWardell.
Re: E 63rd Street
Posted by:
Richard Stachowski
(---.dsl.chcgil.sbcglobal.net)
Date: May 15, 2010 03:25PM
[b]Didn't the same el go west to ashland? I used to get my shoeshine under that el on the east side of ashland under the el.[/b]
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/15/2010 03:26PM by Richard Stachowski.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/15/2010 03:26PM by Richard Stachowski.
Re: E 63rd Street
Posted by:
davey7
(---.dsl.chcgil.ameritech.net)
Date: May 20, 2010 01:06PM
Yes, that's the Englewood Branch.
I think the mall was a partial success, more than people are willing to admit (thanks to the new urbanism gobbledygook which demands tradition everywhere) - other cities have done it very successfully and without it State Street would never have revived at all.
I think the mall was a partial success, more than people are willing to admit (thanks to the new urbanism gobbledygook which demands tradition everywhere) - other cities have done it very successfully and without it State Street would never have revived at all.
Re: E 63rd Street
Posted by:
daveg
(130.36.62.---)
Date: May 20, 2010 02:07PM
A very comprehensive Chicago L site. Answers most if not all L questions.
http://www.chicago-l.org/
http://www.chicago-l.org/
Re: E 63rd Street
Posted by:
captain54
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: May 20, 2010 02:26PM
davey7 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> I think the mall was a partial success, more than
> people are willing to admit (thanks to the new
> urbanism gobbledygook which demands tradition
> everywhere) - other cities have done it very
> successfully and without it State Street would
> never have revived at all.
I'd be interested to hear how and in what ways you think the Jane Byrne plan was successful
The State Street Mall fiasco was a terrible setback for the Loop. It stripped the Loop of what made it a vibrant, bustling area at one time. I think tradition is valuable in terms of urban planning, because it puts back the
perspective of why certain things just simply worked.
This issue comes to mind when I drive by Navy Pier. You look up and see all the twinkling lights and the Ferris Wheel towering in the distance. I can't help but think this scenario is what folks in 1893 were privvy to when they came upon the Midway Plaisance during the Columbian Exposition. Human beings are human beings and their social habits are basically the same throughout the generations.
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> I think the mall was a partial success, more than
> people are willing to admit (thanks to the new
> urbanism gobbledygook which demands tradition
> everywhere) - other cities have done it very
> successfully and without it State Street would
> never have revived at all.
I'd be interested to hear how and in what ways you think the Jane Byrne plan was successful
The State Street Mall fiasco was a terrible setback for the Loop. It stripped the Loop of what made it a vibrant, bustling area at one time. I think tradition is valuable in terms of urban planning, because it puts back the
perspective of why certain things just simply worked.
This issue comes to mind when I drive by Navy Pier. You look up and see all the twinkling lights and the Ferris Wheel towering in the distance. I can't help but think this scenario is what folks in 1893 were privvy to when they came upon the Midway Plaisance during the Columbian Exposition. Human beings are human beings and their social habits are basically the same throughout the generations.
