sonny72 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I've tried just about everywhere---all to no > avail. I was hoping that someone out there just > might have some family or personal photos of > buildings (or people) which would show just what > life was like there; or even know some people who > lived there---say in the 1930's. Goose Island was >
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

nordsider Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > My first home, from the late 30s, to the late 40s, > was within a block in the Lincoln Park area > bounded by the streets: Burling, Armitage, Orchard > and Willow. The homes within it were not > expensive, and the people who in them were not > rich. The only notable buildings within it, or > nea
Forum: General Discussion

CrazyIvan25 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > And for posterity's sake, I am not some yahoo that > wants to vandalize, steal, or act like an idiot > and get hurt trying to do this. Last thing I want > to do is to ruin a chance to explore something > that few if any have seen in over 50 years and > give urban explorers another black eye. >
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

markjosol Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Either the building was torn down and rebuilt or > they did a major remodel. Whatever it was, it is > curious. I decided to take a "sentilmental journey" down Harlem via Google Maps, and from what I remember of Starks, relative to the railroad tracks. I suspect everything was torn down. I think the
Forum: General Discussion

Sit and Stew Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > The U of C is unstoppable when they want > something. One name comes to mind, Julian Levi. > > Can't these properties get expedited to the > Chicago save list, maybe get on the orange list at > least? HP is such a vulnerable community, I'd > suggest that perhaps U of C start looking at >
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings

Another thing I should mention is that the owners may have a lawsuit or three on their hands if the buildin really is rat infested. The City Building and Health Departments should force them to have an eradication done before demolition, otherwise the little "darlings" would move in to the surrounding buildings in search of new digs.
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings

WayOutWardell Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Meant to add...always funny when developers claim > a building is beyond reuse and needs demolition, > when it would somehow seem less patronizing if > they just came out and said they wanted to tear it > down without the extra justification. > > I drove by these buildings yesterday and t
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings

davey7 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Did they use trolley poles/pantographs like the > swift did? Nope! Third rail all the way.
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings

trainutlen Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Also don't forget that as part of a WPA project, > the Shore Line Route was relocated through > Winnetka,Glencoe and such,along with the North > Western tracks to a recessed private right of way, > which is now a bike trail. Quite true, but the grade separation was predated by the Skokie Valley Line
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

The NSL ran mostly in the street where it paralleled the C&NW, so they had more apparent stops, and more frequent service. Problem was, they ran in the streets, so they had to deal with increasing interference from auto traffic. This was one of the incentives for thr North Shore to build the Skokie Valley Route, which also paralleled a C&NW freight line, but eliminated street running (exce
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

rjmachon Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > @ Jeff, that swing bridge was completely removed > before 1976. You can see that by a 1976 aerial > photo by the East Bank Club. > > http://www.eastbankclub.com/club-info/about-ebc/ > > Here is some more info on that bridge. > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/uicdigital/6813354752 >
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

Mornac Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Very cool. Historic Aerials shows it still > operating in 1962 and in 1973 the base of it was > still in the river although the bridge itself had > apparently been detached by then. Well, I admit I may have been a little fuzzy on when the bridge was removed, but I wish I could find that picture of all thr
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

Well, here is one I found, after posting this thread: But I'm sure I've seen another picture that takes in all three bridges.
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

I remember seeing a picture of the two still-existing bridges at Kinzie and the North Branch, and a third bridge. It was an asymetrical swing span built by the Milwaukee Road, and I vaguely remember that it was removed in the 1940's. Has anyone come across such a picture online?
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

The south end of the bridge was blocked off, an demolition begining, when I worked at the the corner of Clinton, Milwaukee, and Fulton, back in 1982. There was a push by one engineer in Public Works, John LaPlante, to eliminate the diagonal streets, and this probably was part of that. When LaPlante lost his job as Commissioner during the Loop flood, that concept got shelved. Practically all of are
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

The City has about 500 intersections that still have electromechanical controllers, mainly due to budget constraints and the low priority rating for those intersections for modernization. To correct Mr. Downtown, the City stopped installing this type of controller in the mid-1970's, and they are not exactly reliable, being prone to problems in cold weather. Parts are scarce, especially latch re
Forum: General Discussion

Prior to the Walgreens, there was an Exxon-Mobil gas station there for a long time.
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

PKDickman Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > On the plat map the section was annexed by the > city in '56 > The lots that face newland, new castle and busse > were resubdivided about the same time into 50x100 > parcels (typical city lot is 25x125). this seems > to have been done with complete disregard to the > existing city streets. >
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings

As a retired CDOT employee, I'm not surprised. Some neighbor hoods would kill to get a big bulb-out like that, but Rahmbo is only interested in reducing staff to save money. Like my old haunt, down to two traffic engineers to deal with timing and coordination of 2,905 signalized intersections!
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

I was just thinking of our trips to the North Side to visit my grandparents in the Lakeview neighborhood. When we took the el, we would see the red and green cars of the North Shore Line stored for the evening rush south of Roosevelt Road as we entered the south portal of the State Street Subway. Then, one day, the big interurban cars were gone. My mother told me that they had abandonned the No
Forum: General Discussion

zorchvalve Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I didn't remember the tracks carrying current for > the streetcars.They had an electric line overhead. The tracks served as the current return. On routes where the streetcars were replaced with trolley buses, the second wire was connected to the rails, which continued to carry current even after being covered o
Forum: General Discussion

zorchvalve Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I remember that the streetcars had a conductor and > you would enter at the rear door. I liked watching > the engineer turn the controls. As I remember the > seats were straw woven and you could reverse the > seats at the end of the line. When the end of the > electrical pole hit a cross connection
Forum: General Discussion

There were no street lights like the ones in the night scene in Chicago at the time the Knight Rider episode was produced, so I suspect that this was shot somewhere other than Chicago.
Forum: General Discussion

Mornac Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Jeff_Weiner Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Does anyone remember the art project, started > back > > in the 1960's, to repaint all the roof water > tanks > > in bright colors, and number them consecutively? > I > > remember some were d
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

Does anyone remember the art project, started back in the 1960's, to repaint all the roof water tanks in bright colors, and number them consecutively? I remember some were done in/around Old Town, but wonder if any have survived.
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

Lance Grey Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Re: McInerney > When I started as a Mechanic doing Parts Running & > Tow Truck Driver for a small shop > I pronounced it, "Mick Eye nernee" but the boss > said "Mack 'N Ernie" > > Can't recall anyone at the Dealer or a commercial > settling it. Your boss has the
Forum: General Discussion

Probably the last word on this subject, Peoples Energy got back to me about any plans they might have of these old tanks. Answer was they're all gone. Drat! :-(
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

jak378 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I don't thnk anyone has mentioned the Hi-Way > which, if memory serves me correctly, was at 63rd > and Western. In later years it existed by showing > XXX stuff. Oh, yeah! The last movie I saw at the Hi-Way was theSound of Music. A few years later, they were showing porn.
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

Mornac Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > The prize goes to WayOutWardell. But since you > brought Bert Weinman into the discussion Lance, > does anyone remember the actual name of his > pitchman? Linn Burton, for certain: http://chicagotelevision.com/linn.htm
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings

Some of that display was a science project, by my cousin, Joan Bledig. She still volunteers with the Academy.
Forum: General Discussion