North Lawndale


General Discussion Forgotten Chicago Forum
Explore Forgotten Chicago
Feel free to discuss anything related to the website here. 
Pages: Previous1234567891011Next
Current Page: 10 of 11
Re: North Lawndale
Posted by: Berwyn Frank (---.lightspeed.cicril.sbcglobal.net)
Date: June 18, 2012 03:35AM

"In the modern Douglas/Spaulding photo, are those newer two-story mansard-roof buildings some sort of infill low-income housing units?"

EXACTLY Wardell!

Options: ReplyQuote

AD:

Re: North Lawndale
Posted by: 222psm (---.br.br.cox.net)
Date: June 20, 2012 09:46AM

Excellent before and after pics Frank, I just love these comparison shots. It give you a very good idea just how much things have changed, or sometimes not changed over the years.

Options: ReplyQuote

AD:

Re: North Lawndale
Posted by: Berwyn Frank (---.lightspeed.cicril.sbcglobal.net)
Date: July 05, 2012 03:17AM

So I went to take some better pictures of this ghost sign that I showed a few pages back in this thread. Pilsen Br'g Co's. Beers. In the old picture there was a for sale sign over a couple of the letters, now it's gone but I got a shadow from the pole. Darn...



Kind of neat, I have this ink blotter card in my collection which dates to the 1920s. Charles Vesley was a Chicago Bohemian that owned a business in the building.



This building at 4007 W. Ogden has always caught my interst as well. I would love to go into the Skylark Lounge but I have to admit, I would be a bit nervous!



Cool surviving detail.....



Options: ReplyQuote

AD:

Re: North Lawndale
Posted by: cmysli (---.dsl.emhril.sbcglobal.net)
Date: October 24, 2012 06:43PM

Hi Frank,

I am also trying to find out more information on North Lawndale. My dad lived in this neighborhood as a young man. His mom is Bohemian. Although my dad was Catholic, he had many rich stories to tell about Jewish life and culture. Living in the North Lawndale neighborhood, 16th and Pulaski, affected my dad for the rest of his life. Even on his deathbed, he continued to talk about the wonderful people who lived in this neighborhood. I remember the name of one man he used to talk about: Mr. Modell. I don't remember if he was a pharmacist or a store owner, but obviously the children loved him. I might not be spelling his name correctly. I would love to find out more information about Mr. Modell or any other information about the North Lawndale neighborhood.

Options: ReplyQuote

AD:

Re: North Lawndale
Posted by: Dunning1 (216.81.94.---)
Date: October 26, 2012 12:59PM

This is slightly off topic, and I am not sure if it also relates to South Lawndale, but I have often wondered why there is no 1700 South block in Berwyn and Cicero. Does this anomaly extend into Chicago? I used to run om the West Loop, Southwest Loop years ago when I worked downtown, and when you got out toward Halsted St. most of the 1700 block was taken over by the Burlington main line. But to this day, the addresses go from the 1600's to the 1800's in Berwyn and Cicero, with no 1700's.

Options: ReplyQuote

AD:

Re: North Lawndale
Posted by: Berwyn Frank (---.lightspeed.cicril.sbcglobal.net)
Date: October 26, 2012 01:38PM

cmyski, I tried to figure out your mystery but had no luck. There was a Frank Mercl (I think that's how it was spelled) was was an undertaker in 1929 at 1610 S. Crawford (Pulaski) but that doesn't sound like Morell.


Dunning, the no 17th St. phenomenon extends from Western Ave. (2400 W.) all the way through to Harlem Ave. (7200 W.) in Berwyn. I too have always wonderd why this is.

Options: ReplyQuote

AD:

Re: North Lawndale
Posted by: 222psm (---.no.no.cox.net)
Date: October 29, 2012 11:06AM

there is a small stretch of 17th st between S. kostner and S. Kildare (4300 W.);)
<iframe width="425" height="350" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&amp;ll=41.857903,-87.732369&amp;spn=0.002257,0.005284&amp;t=h&amp;z=18&amp;output=embed"></iframe><br /><small><a href="http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&amp;ll=41.857903,-87.732369&amp;spn=0.002257,0.005284&amp;t=h&amp;z=18&amp;source=embed" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left">View Larger Map</a></small>
Even at 4200 W. between S. Kildare and S. Keeler there is a small fragment that looks like at one time went all the way across.

Options: ReplyQuote

AD:

Re: North Lawndale
Posted by: adgorn (---.dsl.emhril.sbcglobal.net)
Date: November 08, 2012 05:38PM

I thought this Lawndale photo link might be of interest:
http://calumet412.tumblr.com/post/30874669374/boys-lined-up-on-the-first-day-of-school-in-the

Alan

Options: ReplyQuote

AD:

Re: North Lawndale
Posted by: Berwyn Frank (---.lightspeed.cicril.sbcglobal.net)
Date: November 08, 2012 08:21PM

Thanks Alan, I saw that one! Cool.

I am still amazed at how many hits this thread has gotten, almost 32,000!

Here are a few more pics to add. Poster frworksonpaper and I went out one day and shot some photos, the first one is of a building with an old porcelain babrer pole sign on the outside of a building near Roosevelt & Pulaski Rd's.





This one on a building at 3935 W. Roosevelt is for a beer who's name I can't quite read. The store was Bernard Guttman Hats in 1929.



This is a very cool mosaic sign for I.S. Spirio & Co. on a building that was being torn down at 3010 W. Roosevelt Rd. Who was Spirio?



Options: ReplyQuote

AD:

Re: North Lawndale
Posted by: Tom B (---.pools.spcsdns.net)
Date: August 04, 2013 12:43PM

I grew up at 22nd/23rd and Drake in the late late 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. I found this thread AMAZING!!! I know I have some photos of the old neighborhood. If I recall early in the thread there was mention of a book being published. Can someone tell me if it was and if it was, where I could purchase it? Thanks

Pictures may include some neighborhood but also Blessed Sacrament on the corner of 22nd and Central Park. I went back to the old neighborhood where I grew up and was saddened to see the house I grew up in is virtually destroyed, boarded up. All the stain glass windows and doors are gone.

Thinking about it, when we first moved to Chicago (I was maybe 4 years old) we lived in a flat on Cermack just down the street from Blessed Sacrament. There was a Pontiac dealership across the street that had a fire which I know I have photos of. It would have been the early 60’s.

Let me know if I should look for them and post them.

Options: ReplyQuote

AD:

Re: North Lawndale
Posted by: 222psm (---.br.br.cox.net)
Date: August 04, 2013 08:37PM

Please do!

Options: ReplyQuote

AD:

Re: North Lawndale
Posted by: daveg (130.36.62.---)
Date: August 05, 2013 03:10PM

Tom B Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I grew up at 22nd/23rd and Drake in the late late
> 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. I found this thread
> AMAZING!!! I know I have some photos of the old
> neighborhood. If I recall early in the thread
> there was mention of a book being published. Can
> someone tell me if it was and if it was, where I
> could purchase it? Thanks
>
> Pictures may include some neighborhood but also
> Blessed Sacrament on the corner of 22nd and
> Central Park. I went back to the old neighborhood
> where I grew up and was saddened to see the house
> I grew up in is virtually destroyed, boarded up.
> All the stain glass windows and doors are gone.
>
> Thinking about it, when we first moved to Chicago
> (I was maybe 4 years old) we lived in a flat on
> Cermack just down the street from Blessed
> Sacrament. There was a Pontiac dealership across
> the street that had a fire which I know I have
> photos of. It would have been the early 60’s.
>
> Let me know if I should look for them and post
> them.


Tom,

My old neighborhood too - 24th and St Louis in the 50s. Went to BA. I recall a car dealership on Ogden (close to Central Park?) with a rocket that would "launch" as the lights marched up from bottom to top.

Please post your photos. If you have a Flickr account that works great here.

Frank's book is a must have BTW.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/05/2013 03:13PM by daveg.

Options: ReplyQuote

AD:

Re: North Lawndale
Posted by: Sit and Stew (---.dsl.emhril.sbcglobal.net)
Date: August 08, 2013 09:45PM

Good Afternoon,

I went on a brief walking tour through a part of K-Town today and the Cullerton Strip and I have to say that it was not as bad as I envisioned it. Sure, the neighborhood and it's residents often have some hard times, but this is a gold mine of history! The people here are proud of their neighborhood. I didn't hear anyone selling drugs or anything, just a quiet day and a few guys painting a house off 14th. I walked for a good hour, relocated eastward, and I didn't get any conflict or issue from anyone. I did bring a pack of Newports with me and this made a few of the locals happy who were walking to/from 16th st..

My Grandmother grew up in South Lawndale and virtually all of her cousins and extended family lived nearby or in Cicero. Her cousins lived in a greystone cottage near Cullerton and Pulaski, and after taking a look at the homes, I am going to guess between 1905 and 1910 on these. She told me that the entire street at one time was Czech with a few exceptions.

I was also told that you could walk from Cicero Avenue at 16th St to Pulaski at 2am and not be bothered, and that people slept with their doors unlocked!

I was hoping to take some pictures on my phone but since I stayed up late on it surfing the web and not checking the juice level, it ended up dying on me around 15th and Kolin. Imagine if I needed it! I will try again next time.

Options: ReplyQuote

AD:

Re: North Lawndale
Posted by: Berwyn Frank (---.lightspeed.cicril.sbcglobal.net)
Date: August 10, 2013 01:40PM

Tom, please note that there are two different neighborhoods, North Lawndale and South Lawndale. The neighborhood you were from is SOUTH Lawndale. That is the neighborhood my book Chicago's Little Village Lawndale-Crawford is about. http://www.amazon.com/Chicagos-Little-Village-Lawndale-Crawford-Publishing/dp/0738577375/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345181761&sr=8-1&keywords=frank+magallon

I started this thread about North Lawndale because you only usually hear about the Jewish history of the neighborhood and not much else. With almost 40,000 hits on this thread I should REALLY think about writing a book about THIS side of the neighborhood! And YES, I would LOVE to see the pics as well.

Sit and Stew, North of 16th is pretty rough no matter how you slice it. The east-west strip streets, Cullerton to Cermak from Pulaski to Kostner are nicer and much more preserved due to the many old Czech hold outs lived there for a while, some even till the 1970s.

Options: ReplyQuote

AD:

Re: North Lawndale
Posted by: Berwyn Frank (---.lightspeed.cicril.sbcglobal.net)
Date: August 21, 2013 05:26PM

I went and took these pictures of the former location of Fried's dry goods store which was located at 1455 S. Pulaski in North Lawndale's "Merigold" Bohemian section. The building was probably built in about 1905 or so and was originally a store owned by H. Lurie. (I have an absolutely AMAZING 1909 era photo of the block). Bohemian immigrants Arnold & Laura Fried took over the space in about 1921 or so. They ran the store for decades with their son Roy who was born in 1920. They later had locations on 26th St. in Little Village and on Cermak Rd. in Cicero. Arnold Fried died in 1975 at 80 years old, I am not sure how long this particular store lasted, also, I am not sure when the building was torn down. Also attached is a 1937 ad from an anniversary program book in my collection celebrating the anniversary of a Bohemian school that was located on the corner of 28th & Karlov. This building and its long time owners are definitely part of "Forgotten Chicago." I am glad that I did this research and brought them back to life at least in cyberspace.







Options: ReplyQuote

AD:

Re: North Lawndale
Posted by: matejcek (---.dyn.centurytel.net)
Date: September 01, 2013 11:23AM

Frank,

I've been reading through this topic, and wishing there were such a detailed discussion of SOUTH Lawndale somewhere. Do you know of one?

Paul
3043 S. Keeler, 1949 - 1967

Options: ReplyQuote

AD:

Re: North Lawndale
Posted by: Sit and Stew (---.dsl.emhril.sbcglobal.net)
Date: September 02, 2013 12:27AM

Nice remnants. It reminds me of the Babka building mosaic off 22nd st.

Options: ReplyQuote

AD:

Re: North Lawndale
Posted by: rjacobs (---.lightspeed.cicril.sbcglobal.net)
Date: March 22, 2014 09:41PM

"Here is another example of the poverty stricken landscape of the North Lawndale neighborhood. This rare image from my collection shows two members of the Conservative Vice Lords street gang in 1968. I believe that the man on the right is Bobby Gore who was an influential high ranking member of the gang."

I found out that the address is 1438 s Ridgeway

Options: ReplyQuote

AD:

Re: North Lawndale
Posted by: matejcek (---.dyn.centurytel.net)
Date: March 23, 2014 09:27AM

> My old neighborhood too - 24th and St Louis in the
> 50s. Went to BA. I recall a car dealership on
> Ogden (close to Central Park?) with a rocket that
> would "launch" as the lights marched up from
> bottom to top.

Wasn't that Tony Piet's?

Options: ReplyQuote

AD:

Re: North Lawndale
Posted by: Berwyn Frank (---.lightspeed.cicril.sbcglobal.net)
Date: March 27, 2014 02:04PM

Tony Piet's Pontiac store was on 66th & Western.

Options: ReplyQuote

AD:

Current Page: 10 of 11


Home | Columns | Articles | Features | Links | Forum | Mission Statement | Staff | Media & Press | Maps | FAQ | Contact