After Central Community Hospital closed, the building was re-purposed by a non-profit organization called 'Interventions'. It was one of several alcohol and substance abuse inpatient facilities the company ran - all of which were housed in shuttered hospitals. The facility is called 'Southwood Interventions' today and I believe is still operating as a drug & alcohol rehab center.
Forum: General Discussion

And the hamburger stand "John & Sons" is also barely visible on the SW corner.
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Marcy, There is a collection of vintage Western Electric products in a museum at Morton College in Cicero, IL. When the same materials were on display in Morton East High School years ago, they included some observations and anecdotes by Western employees. The CSA Museum in Oakbrook, IL may also have some useful material.
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

Many - but not all - Internet sites are 'archived'. Jazz Age Chicago happens to be one that has some archival copies. You first go to the Internet Archive Wayback Machine page (a tribute to Mr. Peabody & Sherman's Wayback Machine, no doubt) at: http://archive.org/web/web.php Then in the address bar, enter the URL for the page you'd like to see, then click the 'Take Me Back' button.
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

The Civic Center/Daley Center 'tree' used to be a much larger assemblage of smaller trees. I have some old photos of the 'tree' from the late '70s, showing it much larger. I'm not certain when they switched to the individual tree.
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

Yep, that's the place. Ogden Avenue is on the right side of the photo. I was driving east on Ogden every morning and saw the sign appear after the siding came down. I think it was the summer of 1995.
Forum: General Discussion

I didn't know that about that location! If I recall, it was a bowling alley when I lived in the area. The opposite corner across Kedzie was a hot dog stand, and across 25th (on the east side of Kedzie) was Krametbauer Shoes. They had an Adrian foot X-ray machine and a foot doctor (known as a chiropodist back then) had his office inside the store. I recall Western Avenue having a lot of car
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About 15 years ago, a Brookfield tavern owner tore down the building's existing siding to replace it. Under the siding was a 'ghost' billboard for Monarch Beer. Monarch's brewery was at 21st & Western - it was formerly the Joseph Hladovec Brewing Company, built in 1890 during the period when Czech immigrants moved to the area. I managed to get some pictures of the old Monarch billboard be
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I thought about the possibility that Fivek rented an office there, too, but the folder says, "Sales and Service", which at least implies there was a showroom and a shop at that address. It will be interesting to see if anything turns up.
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I found a Web site which has pages from the 1923 Chicago directory. http://georgekrejci.com/HTML/1923-Residents-Of-Chicago.html Rusy Brothers (Chas & James) are listed as 'cigar makers' at my old address.
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Yeah, Berwyn Frank, you have a genuine mystery there. Chevrolet was started in 1911, the same time your records show the school being built, so it' not too likely the dealership was on that site before the school began. I suppose it's possible the building housed the dealership for a time, then the school took it over when Fivek moved. Does any of your research indicate the school had moved t
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I do have the original photo in a 11 x 17 inch size. I picked it up at a flea market many years ago. After joining this group, I decided to scan it and put it up on Flickr, along with some of my own photos of Berwyn's Troy Store. I appreciate your help identifying the exact location, Berwyn Frank! Now I'm trying to picture what was at 2546 S. Homan (Fivek's original location). I'll have t
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I believe this photo was taken in the 2400 block of south Kedzie in Little Village. You can see a sign in the second floor window which says, "22nd Ward Democratic Organization". The date would have been in 1930 or 1931 as Anton Cermak challenged "Big Bill" Thompson for Mayor of Chicago. There's a Chevrolet dealer in the background, but only part of the name is visible.
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Pixley & Ehlers used to have a couple of restaurants in the Loop. The last one I remember was on Wells near Lake Street. P&E seemed to always be open. They sort of defined the phrase 'greasy spoon' with their cafeteria-style service.
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My parents always bought furniture from District Furniture on south Cicero Avenue. IIRC, it was near the old Bargain Town toy store. Whenever they'd go furniture shopping, I'd try to wheedle a visit to BT.
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This site isn't an archive of old phone books, but it does list all the old phone exchange names from back in the day when your number was BIshop7-2447, or HUdson3-2700. http://ourwebhome.com/TENP/TENproject.html
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The brothers were distant relatives on my mother's side, and we rented the apartment above the store until 1963. During the summer, my friends and I would walk around the original Farragut building and pick up empty soda bottles left by summer school students. We'd usually find enough bottles after lunch to return for deposit that we could buy some candy at the store on 25th & Spaulding.
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There were two Czech brothers, James and Charles Rusy, who owned and ran a cigar store and tobacco shop at 2411 S. Spaulding in Little Village. Rusy Brothers remained in business until Charles passed away sometime around 1954. The front of the building has since been bricked over and a front entrance to the second floor apartment has been added.
Forum: General Discussion