What once stood by these 2 Jewel Stores?


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What once stood by these 2 Jewel Stores?
Posted by: Cragin Spring ()
Date: January 15, 2015 01:35PM

2 Jewel Stores and wondering what occupied the property? The former now closed Jewel on Belmont & Pulaski was it houses or industry?

The other Jewel on Milwaukee Ave. & Ashland when built I remember had many protests about it going up at the time. I believe that Jewel was built around 1985. With people complaining about the Jewel being built on Milwaukee & Ashland, I would presume there were residences on that property with maybe a tavern or grocery. Or did the area residences worry the Jewel would hurt locally owned businesses? Thanks

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Re: What once stood by these 2 Jewel Stores?
Posted by: PKDickman ()
Date: January 15, 2015 02:37PM

Milwaukee Ave. & Ashland was built in '83, but had been going through the motions for years before with a couple different developers.

Eminent domain was used and a couple blocks of small businesses and residences, including these:



Were torn down and one entire street (Bauwans) vanished from the map.

Pretty much everybody was PO'd.

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Re: What once stood by these 2 Jewel Stores?
Posted by: Dunning1 ()
Date: January 16, 2015 01:01PM

There used to be a Polish rock club on the corner of Belmont & Laramie, where the new Jewel, now a health club, sits. It was called the Cardinal Club, and was rather a large place that took several store fronts. If I remember correctly, the building was a yellow brick one story building with white terra cotta trim. I honestly don't remember what was further east on Belmont, although there was an older, smaller Jewel on the block. I found this website mentioning the old Cardinal Club:


https://mediasoundchicago.wordpress.com/2011/06/13/cardinal-club-scena-polskiej-muzyki-w-chicago/

It was kinda interesting as Jewel built that new store to specifically cater to the heavy Polish population in that area, and the store turned out to be a total flop. The Polish people preferred going to the little Polish grocery stores in the neighborhood.

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Re: What once stood by these 2 Jewel Stores?
Posted by: Jeff_Weiner ()
Date: January 17, 2015 12:07AM

I recall an old clothing factory on the east side of Pulaski, across from that Jewel, and a Catholic girl's school immediately west. Drawing a blank on what was south. Oh, and then there was the Florsheim factory on the SE corner of Pulaski and Belmont (my maternal grandfather worked there for years!). I was surprised about the improvements at the store near Laramie and Belmont, and equally surprised that it flopped. I guess you can't beat Gene's Sausage Shop.

We started shopping at the Jewel when the A&P on Springfield was closed. Too bad, it was right next to our apartment building.

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Re: What once stood by these 2 Jewel Stores?
Posted by: Cragin Spring ()
Date: January 17, 2015 06:43PM

I remember the Jewel on Belmont near Laramie. The Jewel was a smaller store compared to the Jewel Stores now. I never realized it was gone and thanks for the comments I know its now gone. I can go one on what was there and it really interests me. Jewel and Dominick's stores took so much land over the years I can think of so much more. The Jewel on Addison & Elston what was there? I know the Dominick's on Belmont & Western use to be I.S. Berlin. I heard the Jewel Grand Bizarre "why is closed?" on Grand & North Ave. was a car dealership. How about the Jewel on Ashland & Wellington? Dominick's on Addison & Central was a Mayflower store.

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Re: What once stood by these 2 Jewel Stores?
Posted by: woodman88 ()
Date: January 17, 2015 08:00PM

The Jewel on Ashland and Wellington was built on a parking lot that was owned by Appleton Electric. The whole block between Ashland and Paulina and Wellington and Nelson was owned by them. Half of it was a parking lot for their employees and half of it was baseball fields for the neighborhood kids and for the 16 inch softball leagues.

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Re: What once stood by these 2 Jewel Stores?
Posted by: atreb26 ()
Date: January 17, 2015 10:34PM

The store at Belmont/Pulaski used to be Madonna High School. They built a new building next door. Which is now a senior home.

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Re: What once stood by these 2 Jewel Stores?
Posted by: Cragin Spring ()
Date: January 19, 2015 10:08PM

Thanks for all the information. But I know this intersection very well since the days the Jewel was open on Belmont & Pulaski. The Jewel Store like the one on Grand & Kostner puzzles me. They were both very busy stores and why they closed I have no idea. I know Florsheim was across the street. My grandfather died on Pulaski & Belmont in 1937. A article is written in the Chicago Tribune archives on September 28, 1937. That is why how I have so much interest this area. I worked in this area of Belmont & Pulaski from 1983 to mid 1990's. I know when the Jewel was open Madonna High School stood next door to the west.

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Re: What once stood by these 2 Jewel Stores?
Posted by: rjmachon ()
Date: January 20, 2015 05:58PM

I thought the Jewel on Milwaukee Ave. & Ashland was built to replace the Jewel/Osco at Milwaukee and Washtenaw that was built around the mid 1960's. I believe the Osco is gone now and a KFC was built and the Jewel is a Bubbleland!

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Re: What once stood by these 2 Jewel Stores?
Posted by: Cragin Spring ()
Date: January 24, 2015 03:49PM

Right at the corner of Milwaukee & Washtenaw across the street from Bubbleland is a closed Family Dollar store that moved north a few blocks. That building sure looks like a former chain grocery.

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Re: What once stood by these 2 Jewel Stores?
Posted by: tomcat630 ()
Date: January 28, 2015 12:20AM

The Jewel at Kedzie and Addison was industrial building, as with most of the retail in that area, including the K Mart near the Kennedy.

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Re: What once stood by these 2 Jewel Stores?
Posted by: Dunning1 ()
Date: January 28, 2015 12:22PM

I used to go by that intersection for years but for the life of me I can't remember what was where the shopping center south of Addison. A friend claims he used to work for a company called Nicor-Corey, that made cookware, that was located there. I do remember, the odd triangular building that was on the NW corner of Elston & Addison. It was a yellow brick building, built in a triangle fashion, and used to house a company called Spra-Con. I did find out however, that it was built as a streetcar barn. I thought it was unusual as Addison Street never had streetcars, but was a Chicago Motor Coach Company route, and I think that the Elston Ave. streetcars were converted to bus relatively early.

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Re: What once stood by these 2 Jewel Stores?
Posted by: rjmachon ()
Date: February 01, 2015 08:17PM

@Cragin, I don't think that was a former grocery store in the 1960's. There was a National Tea just south of California on Milwaukee which is the new Family Dollar now.

By the way, the Cozy Corner, was a gas station in the 60's before becoming a Golden Nugget Pancake House.

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Re: What once stood by these 2 Jewel Stores?
Posted by: tomcat630 ()
Date: February 04, 2015 01:59AM

The Jewel that was once at Kostner and Grand opened in late 1970's as a "Jewel Grand Bazaar", then was a Venture. Now it's Cook Bros.

Maybe in mid 80's switched to Venture?

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Re: What once stood by these 2 Jewel Stores?
Posted by: Cragin Spring ()
Date: February 05, 2015 03:29PM

I remember well the Jewel Grand Bazaar on Kostner & Grand. The store was very busy all the time as well as the Grand Bazaar at the Brickyard Mall. There were probably other Grand Bazaar stores I am unaware of. I can remember the Venture store also at that location. But I was told before building that shopping center at Grand & Kostner it was a car dealer of some sort. Behind the shopping center at Jewel & Kostner was a former Pepsi Bottling plant that was actually on Kolmar Ave. The Pepsi plant moved to 35th St. in the mid 1990's. On Kostner Ave. in front of the Jewel far parking lot was a old firehouse that closed and later became a garage for the city. The old firehouse was demolished in the late 1990's.

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Re: What once stood by these 2 Jewel Stores?
Posted by: Cragin Spring ()
Date: February 06, 2015 12:02AM

Historical Aerials site shows on Kostner & Grand in 1962 shows many big buildings with many cars parked out front. http://www.historicaerials.com/

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Re: What once stood by these 2 Jewel Stores?
Posted by: tomcat630 ()
Date: February 12, 2015 12:05AM

My uncle and aunt had a welding shop on Grand at Kildare, and the Pepsi Bottling plant rings a bell. The Kostner JGB was one of the first industrial to retail developments in that area.

RE: Jewel Grand Bazaar, there was another built around 1977 at Grand and Manheim Rd in Franklin Park, now is just Jewel-Osco.

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Re: What once stood by these 2 Jewel Stores?
Posted by: the_mogra ()
Date: April 21, 2015 06:24PM

It is correct both to say the Jewel store that was on the SW corner of Belmont & Pulaski (now a fitness center w/ parking lot) was right next door to Madonna High School, AND that it takes the place of Madonna High School. The explanation is there're TWO Madonna H.S.'s, the first an old 2-story brick building that was torn down early '60s (for comparison it resembled the old St. Ladislaus grammar school building that's in the 5300 block of W. Roscoe--not the new single-story part but the old 2-story building). It is this older Madonna that the Jewel building sits right on top of, and when it (the 1st Madonna) was town down the Archdiocese replaced it with a new single-story Madonna H.S. but immediately to the west of the Jewel.

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