Can you I.D. this intersection?
Can you I.D. this intersection?
Posted by: ghidorah2003 ()
Date: September 21, 2010 01:13AM

Hi all. I shot this photograph about 20 years ago. I seem to think it was the intersection of North Ave and OakPark Ave, but I'm wrong as I was just past that intersection on Sunday. For the life of me I can't remember where it is (was). If I do a search for Mr D's I am pointed into the direction of a hot dog /beef stand on Diversey. Anyone know?

Re: Can you I.D. this intersection?
Posted by: SmoothRT ()
Date: September 24, 2010 11:05AM

It looks really familiar. How good of quality is the original photo? It looks like there is a CTA bus stop sign that might give a major hint if you can zoom in that far and read it.

Re: Can you I.D. this intersection?
Posted by: Artista ()
Date: September 24, 2010 12:49PM

Ive got it. That intersection is the northeast corner of BELMONT and NARRAGANSETT. It later became 'Cafe Tacuba' which is now out of business. The huge billboard is gone too. Bring back Mr D's !



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/13/2010 12:55AM by Artista.

Re: Can you I.D. this intersection?
Posted by: ghidorah2003 ()
Date: September 24, 2010 01:42PM

Thanks Artista.

I had a feeling it was in that area. If I zoom into the street sign, I can see a fairly long name like Narragansett, but it's not too clear. I suppose if it were still Mr Dee's we'd see a lot more photos of it on Flickr, etc.

Re: Can you I.D. this intersection?
Posted by: Artista ()
Date: September 24, 2010 01:47PM

Loved the old neon signage ,,too bad their gone..Thanks for snapping the pic

Re: Can you I.D. this intersection?
Posted by: Artista ()
Date: October 13, 2010 12:54AM

Here is a photo i took of the old Mr D's building at Belmont and Narragansett

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/13/2010 12:55AM by Artista.

Re: Can you I.D. this intersection?
Posted by: ghidorah2003 ()
Date: October 15, 2010 02:05PM

Wow. It has lost all its' glamor. Yes bring back Mr. D's...

Re: Can you I.D. this intersection?
Posted by: HOLTANEK ()
Date: December 31, 2010 10:18PM

I'm pretty sure this is the NE corner of Irving and narragansett. This place changes around every 2-3 years with a new owner. I'm pretty positive of the location.

Re: Can you I.D. this intersection?
Posted by: telefrank ()
Date: January 01, 2011 02:31PM

I vote for Irving & Narragansett. Mostly based on the billboard. Plus the corner of Narragansett Belmont the Belmont side doesn't seem wide enough for a newspaper stand. It is at Irving.

Currently there is a A's restaurant. The building had a new front added to it so it looks different.

Re: Can you I.D. this intersection?
Posted by: ghidorah2003 ()
Date: January 02, 2011 09:55PM

Guys, look at the photo Artista provided as of 2010. It's at Belmont and Narragansett. The street sign even says Belmont.

Re: Can you I.D. this intersection?
Posted by: HOLTANEK ()
Date: January 03, 2011 12:41PM

Yes, Aristas pic says Belmont, but I still say it's at Irving. One telling clue is that ghidorahs pic shows a fire hydrant,Aristas does not. Also, the trim on the top of the building seems different on both,and ghids pic shows a yellow sign to the right which I recall as being a long standing Chop Suey joint. I'm going to be in the area this week and will confirm, but either way, trying to track down a particular Chgo intersection out of thousands, you've gotten 2 possible locations only 8 blocks apart.

Re: Can you I.D. this intersection?
Posted by: Berwyn Frank ()
Date: January 03, 2011 01:19PM

I agree with HALTANEK, Mr. D's was on Irving and Narragansett.

Re: Can you I.D. this intersection?
Posted by: HOLTANEK ()
Date: January 03, 2011 02:04PM

I'll post after personnally checking it out.

Re: Can you I.D. this intersection?
Posted by: captain54 ()
Date: January 03, 2011 02:40PM

The fire hydrant missing on the Belmont/Narragansett pic, and the trim above the building, differing between vintage Mr.D's pic and the current Belmont/Narragansett pic are the biggest giveaways to it being Irving and Narragansett.

I blew up the vintage gidorah2003 pix, and lightened it. You can see the street signs with a pretty clear "Narragansett" on one side of the post, and on the other side, while its not clear as to what's the name on the sign, if you zoom in very tight, the name is definitely two words, one longer word followed by one shorter word. Leading me to believe it's "Irving Park"

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20205384@N03/5320848498/" title="Mr. D's chicago by captain54_01, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5249/5320848498_4e2de55b06_b.jpg" width="1024" height="782" alt="Mr. D's chicago" /></a>

Re: Can you I.D. this intersection?
Posted by: ghidorah2003 ()
Date: January 03, 2011 05:04PM

Good observation! I also noticed that in my photo, the glassed wall on the Narragnsett side is a bit longer and the facade above the window areas is a little taller too and is missing the detail near the cornice that is on the Belmont photo.

Re: Can you I.D. this intersection?
Posted by: HOLTANEK ()
Date: January 03, 2011 05:19PM

Yep, you got it. Are you looking to re-shoot it, or are you just curious?

Re: Can you I.D. this intersection?
Posted by: ghidorah2003 ()
Date: January 03, 2011 05:53PM

If Mr D's is still there I'll reshoot it. I completely forgot I had this photo when I went looking though old slides and for the life of me could not place the location, but I figured it was on the NW side. I'll have to get to the vicinity in the near future.

Re: Can you I.D. this intersection?
Posted by: backwardk4501 ()
Date: January 03, 2011 07:06PM

I seem to remember this restaurant on the NE corner of some intersection (I don't remember the cross street) but it was DEFINITLEY on Irving Park Road. Once someone mentioned Belmont I thought I was imaging the place.....I was a geeky kid (I guess I am still a geek)and liked looking at all the cool neon signs...this one I remember when we lived not too far away in the 70's...and whenever we took the "long way home" in the early 80's.

Re: Can you I.D. this intersection?
Posted by: captain54 ()
Date: January 03, 2011 07:32PM

ghidorah2003 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
glassed wall on the Narragnsett side is a bit
> longer and the facade above the window areas is a
> little taller too

the glass frontage looking to the left of the main entrance, and on the Narragensett side, is a perfect match ot the current structure on the NE corner of Irving and Narragansett....the Belmont/Narraganseet window front looking to the left of the main entrance is at least 1/2 the size of the your original Mr D's photo

Re: Can you I.D. this intersection?
Posted by: HOLTANEK ()
Date: January 03, 2011 08:37PM

This location has had a new owner about every year or two,so even though it's open again under a new name, its no longer mr.gs. This is 4 blocks west of the Patio theatre.

Re: Can you I.D. this intersection?
Posted by: shekaago ()
Date: January 05, 2011 03:15PM

Here's a fairly recent Google Earth photo of the corner of Narragansett and Irving with the current A's Restaurant. The Chinese restaurant you mentioned, HOLTANEK, was "Ho Ho Chop Suey" which is gone and another Asian restaurant has taken its place.

[url=http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&expIds=17259,23756,24692,24878,24879,27400,27586&sugexp=ldymls&xhr=t&q=Map+Irving+and+Narragansett&cp=27&wrapid=tljp1294250406812052&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=W+Irving+Park+Rd+%26+N+Narragansett+Ave,+Chicago,+IL+60634&gl=us&ei=ZLIkTeyxJZCqsAPig_H8AQ&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=1&sqi=2&ved=0CBsQ8gEwAA]Irving Park and Narragansett[/url]

My question now is, does anyone remember what the name of the restaurant on the corner of Belmont and Narragansett was before it was Cafe Tacuba? :-)

Re: Can you I.D. this intersection?
Posted by: captain54 ()
Date: January 05, 2011 06:39PM

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20205384@N03/5327775959/" title="Peter Pan - Belmont Narragansett - Chicago by captain54_01, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5285/5327775959_90a5dffb56_b.jpg" width="672" height="483" alt="Peter Pan - Belmont Narragansett - Chicago" /></a>

Re: Can you I.D. this intersection?
Posted by: shekaago ()
Date: January 05, 2011 07:07PM

Many, many thanks, captain54! I could not, for the life of me, remember the name.

Re: Can you I.D. this intersection?
Posted by: HOLTANEK ()
Date: January 05, 2011 07:50PM

capt 54, damn, you got it !!

Re: Can you I.D. this intersection?
Posted by: Artista ()
Date: January 12, 2011 01:27PM

Thank you so much everyone for the CORRECTION.
With those two n/e corners being so near each other I drive past them on a daily basis. Each time that i do drive thru the Irving park intersection I would take notice of that corner thinking that was Mr Dee's. Of course i would correct myself thinking that Mr Dee's was back at Belmont. Now to find out i was completely mistaken..wow. A senior moment maybe ??????? Hey folks ,,im sorry to have been gone so long ~once again! Life gets in the way. 2011 will be a good year. I appreciate the birthday sentiments from all(oct) and will send out my personal thanks asap. I have a lot to add here brothers and sisters. Hey ghidorah2003 may i be able to use your vintage pic of Mr Dee's @ Irving and Narragansett?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/12/2011 01:53PM by Artista.

Re: Can you I.D. this intersection?
Posted by: 222psm ()
Date: January 12, 2011 04:33PM

Hi, Artista, I was wondering what had happened to you, glad your back!

Re: Can you I.D. this intersection?
Posted by: Artista ()
Date: January 12, 2011 06:56PM

Thanks for the concerns 222. All is well now. Im back to STAY. Ive missed being here

Re: Can you I.D. this intersection?
Posted by: shekaago ()
Date: January 13, 2011 01:45PM

Welcome back, Artista! It's great to see you on FC again. Looking forward to reading your new posts.

Re: Can you I.D. this intersection?
Posted by: Artista ()
Date: January 13, 2011 03:18PM

Thank you Shekago I appreciate that. Glad to 'see' all of you again! FC is the BEST site for Chicagoans

Re: Can you I.D. this intersection?
Posted by: HOLTANEK ()
Date: January 14, 2011 02:17AM

Arista, where were you and what's your history here? It'll be nice to converse with like minded souls.

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