On the west side of the street in the 5900 block of N. Western, there is a single, thin pole standing in the parkway. It is visible on Google Streetview - it is between the red pickup and the silver car parked along the west side of the street.
It is not a light pole (too thin). It does not appear in real life to be connected to any wires (on Streetview it does kind of look like it is connected to wires, but in reality it is not).
Is it an old trolley pole? Is it a pole for a now-defunct eruv? Is there some other explanation?
It's possible it may be a pole the car dealership used to hang those muti-color triangle flags from. I seem to remember some other Western dealerships back in the day had those poles in the sidewalk further south.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/01/2010 11:01PM by 222psm.
I just drove up the stretch north of here and could have sworn I saw another just past (north) of Devon... I think I'd just forgotten this was south of Peterson across from the cemetery, not Warren Park.
In 1964, there's a listing for Commonwealth Plumbing at 5910 N. Western. Wonder if it has something to do with that.
Is that a finial on top of the pole or is it part of the tree?
Thanks for reminding me WayOutWardell about the plumbing company there. This company put up a flag pole and was flying a US flag in the mid to late 1970's before the car dealer ship brought the property.
I was curious about the car dealership, so some digging led me to find that 5940 N. Western was once Dick Johnson Pontiac. Mr. Johnson's 1988 obituary says he owned it until 1955, so a dealership has been there at least 60 years.
The dealership was there, just north of the houses on Western Avenue. You can see the houses in the 1972 Historic Aerial photo. In the 1988 photo you can see that the dealership added on to the south, to Thorndale. The dealership at 5940 North Western, Dick Johnston Pontiac owned the property from 5928 to 5940 North Western according to city records. So the property at 5910 North Western was there in 1972. I am sure those houses were there in 1976, but I can't recall when they were torn down.
There was Northwestern Chrysler Plymouth dealership there around 1982. I believe they added on to the property to the south. My friend work there around 1989.
According to Cook County Assessor's Office, the car dealership now at 5916 North Western, Napleton has only been there 16 years. They own the whole side of the block from Peterson to Thorndale.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/28/2014 08:48PM by rjmachon.