Artista, what do you want to use the photo for?

Lets just say that Life can get in the way~like minded souls-that we are

Some interesting history of the Irving/Narragansett intersection...currently Merrimac Park


<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20205384@N03/5408303019/" title="Kolze's Electric Park by captain54_01, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5176/5408303019_be376ff667_z.jpg" width="598" height="431" alt="Kolze's Electric Park" /></a>


<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20205384@N03/5408304593/" title="Kolze's Grove by captain54_01, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5219/5408304593_ae9e739638_z.jpg" width="598" height="436" alt="Kolze's Grove" /></a>

Btt.

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It is shorthand for when someone appends a essentially blank post to move an on topic thread above the sea of spam posts

A couple of years ago, I picked up a pamphlet issued by the Red Cross, detailing the relief efforts involved in the 1920 Melrose Park Tornado. Evidently the tornado touched down in Melrose Park, then worked its way up north and east, and tore up most of Nottingham Avenue up to Irving Park Road. At Irving, it turned east, and took most of the second floor off of the building that is now Northwest Youth Outreach, just west of Narragansett on the south side of Irving. The post office has been the same location for years, and I remember when it was a much smaller stone front building before being remodeled into its current form. As far as the restaurant at the NE corner of Irving and Narragansett, I remember it mainly as the Festival. It was run by a father and son, the son named Jimmy. The father died, and the son didn't want to be in the restaurant business, so it went through another owner shortly before becoming Mr. A's. I have only been in there a few times. By the way, evidently someone is trying to get a permit issued to tear down Ralph Frese's old Chicago Canoe Base, just to the north of the restaurant, to put in a drive through Dunkin Donuts! What a civic improvement! Losing a company that restores and sells historic canoes for a drive through donut shop! More progress from our city administration.

Crud. I remember reading somewhere that Ralph's place was once an old movie theater before becoming CCB.

Ralph was a nice guy. I knew him from the old Festival Restaurant, we would wind up having dinner there quite often at the same time. He wanted to take me on a canoe trip with him sometime, but I didn't want to until I learned how to swim better. I finally did get a lifeguard certification (at age 47!) and felt confident enough to try it, as I was really nervous about a canoe trip. Unfortunately it never happened.