222 -- I was going to mention the abbreviation for the Addison Snack Shop but was too afraid to! You gave a very tactful one! Yes, Gordon is now coed. So is my old high school, although it happened the other way around, an all girls school changing a co-ed school. Holy Cross HS closed its doors and Mother Guerin HS became coed and they changed the name to Guerin Prep.
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

It is so sad that fewer and fewer places like Elliot's exist. I know change is inevitable but sometimes wish I could make time stand still. I'll really miss shopping there.
Forum: General Discussion

Thanks so much for the info, "Crow." I often run into dead ends when searching for historical data on Chicago. I know some of the subjects I research are fairly obscure but I think... someone, somewhere must have some knowledge! I will check Google Books out.
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings

Yes, you are correct, Drummer13. Turner Bowl is gone. The building was razed and condos now sit on the old site. The high school I attended offered off-site PE credits and I took advantage of that by taking "bowling" at Turners as it was only 3 blocks from my home. They also had a nice gym and one of my childhood friends took gymnastics there. I really miss the old Will Rogers too...
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

I remember a place called the Addison Snack Shop on the northwest corner of California and Addison and also remember the time before Gordon Tech and Lane went coed! The kids in my neighborhood also called the area along those abandoned tracks "the woods" and we called the empty block (filled in with houses since the 80's) between Roscoe and School, Natoma and Normandy, "the prairie.
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

I've always wondered about the jog in Addison at Oriole and I think you might just have answered my question. Thank you! I love this site! I believe it has to do with the boundary line of the suburb of Elmwood Park as it begins at Oriole Ave. on the south side of Belmont. You'll also notice that the streets west of Oriole and south of Belmont in Elmwood Park are numbered. 76th Ave. instead of Orio
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

222 - Yes, that gate at Mozart and Addison is the one I noticed the other day. And, though I'm not 100% sure, I do believe it has been there since the time of the old track because to the west of there is now a parking lot with no current reason to have a gate there to connect that nice lawn with the parking lot. :) Thanks for the photo and information! I'm still going to get out and about with m
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

222 -- There is still a gate standing at the California/Addison Com Ed facility but it was for the old single track that ran parallel to Addison where a nicely landscaped lawn is now. I can't remember when they pulled up the track and put in the lawn but as I was heading down Addison yesterday I noticed the old gate. Didn't have my camera with me, though. Drat! I'm not sure if this is the old gate
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

I never would have noticed that rail line running down the old Indian Boundary Line, now Forest Preserve Drive! Thanks for the info, Johnny. I've now looked at several maps from the early 1900's and that rail line was definitely there. Very, very cool!
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings

Thanks for the feedback. I know they weren't "pretty" photos and the clues are really difficult to make out but I enjoy the hunting process. I saw those railroad ties you had mentioned, Graylander. Great obsevation! It made me remember that along Roscoe some people had railroad ties placed between their lawns and the street before they put in the cement curbs back in the late 1980's, ear
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

Here are a few photos (not the greatest - so sorry) of streets the old Dunning spur rail line crossed from about Roscoe to Irving Park Road. I'm going to take a walk through the cemetery this weekend and see if I can find any more clues. Even in these photos it is difficult to see the grade change in the landscape but if anyone wants to do a walking tour of the area one day, I'd be happy to show e
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

Vern H... Thanks so much for the information on the Kimball Candy Co. Much appreciated! It's just nice to know that there are others out there with memories of places in this very out-of-the-way Chicago neighborhood. It has changed a lot since I was young but still remains a nice, quiet place to live.
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

Awesome photos, Graylander773! Thank you for posting them. And thanks, Artista. I love this site and would be so happy to be of any help. I'll do some exploring this weekend and see if I can find any other remnants of the tracks. The "Club" area you mention would be great to explore too. I believe there also used to be a golf course where Elliot's now stands.
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings

Artista and 222psm -- If it would help, I can try to take some photos of the track that remains south of Diversey early next week. I live north of Belmont and just west of the old track bed but unfortunately nothing remains of the tracks (that I am aware of) north of Diversey except for some obscure clues to their long-ago existence.
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings

Vern H. -- I had posted a question about the Kimball Candy Co. on another forum here on Forgotten Chicago (under Questions and Answers). I remember going there on Halloween when I was very young. There are only a few references to the company on the net. I'd love to learn more about it!
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings

Thanks, WOW, for finding that newspaper article! I don't remember too much about their candy other than they sold to various Chicago outlets. I believe they made chocolate Easter bunnies and assorted fruity flavored, individually wrapped sweets.
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

Yes, that is the building! I have searched and searched but haven't been able to find much about it.
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

I always thought this building was a ComEd substation but had no idea about the CTA connection! Thanks to all of you for the research on this building that is practically in my backyard. And, yes, those tracks were the "crazy train" tracks. I also believe they used those tracks to service the cemeteries that lie between Addison and Irving and Oak Park and Narragansett. I always hated to
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings

FranCarmen -- Thanks for the link to the postcard! And yes, tseals, I remember Steinber Baum! There was one on North Harlem, I think, near Lawrence? Please correct me if I'm wrong anyone. And I know there was one on Cicero just north of Belmont and also one in Niles.
Forum: General Discussion

Since I grew up on the far Northwest Side, I would have to say the Hub! However, I'd love to see some old photos of any or all of these rinks. There was also the Rainbo Roller Rink at 4812 N. Clark which had a very colorful, no pun intended, history even before it became a roller rink. See link below... Rainbo
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

222 -- There is one remnant of that ComEd spur at Elston and Whipple. Part of the overpass still exists on the north side of Elston. Artista -- Thanks for mentioning the Historic Aerials site. What a great resource!
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

Because of another topic on this Forum my mind went off on about a hundred tangents, one of them being the Kimball Candy Company. It was located on Belmont Avenue at about 6600 west up until the 1970's, I believe. Does anyone know the history of the company or have any other information on it? I remember going there trick-or-treating on Halloween when I was a child. Thanks!
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

I, too, love this site! It is a wonderful place to learn from others about all the great, forgotten places in Chicago. It's so nice to find something that triggers a happy memory and I can't tell you how many times I've read something on here that makes me say "wow!" Thank you to all you Chicago historians official or not! Everyone is a valuable historical resource. To 222psm... I recall
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

Yes it was Dunning and was referred to as the "County Farm." I live in the Dunning neighborhood and when I was a kid the train track spur that lead to the County Farm was still in place. Now there are condos and apartment buildings and homes built on that old railroad right-of-way which is roughly along present day Nashville Ave., between Neenah and Natoma (or approx. 6600 west... which
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

An old friend of mine worked at the Polk Bros. store on Central and Belmont in what she called the "cage" because she handled the cash and tills and was basically locked inside of it during her shift. I too bought my first serious radio at Polk's. A panasonic AM/FM/PSB radio. I still have it. I guess I take after my mom! And yes, I remember those Santas very well. But the Wally Phillips
Forum: General Discussion

Thank you so much, Liz, for the very interesting and informative post on Wieboldt's. My parents shopped at the store at Harlem Irving Plaza and my grandmother shopped at the State Street location. I still even have several books filled with S & H Green Stamps thanks to my mom.... she saved everything! I miss all those stores that I remember from my younger days such as Goldblatt's, Steinberg B
Forum: General Discussion

RE: Carr's/Karr's (sp?) Yes! I do remember Karr's just south of Montrose on Central. Now there is a Walgreen's on the site. There are no more shops like that anywhere now. I also remember Ben Franklin stores. There was one in my neighborhood on Belmont just west of Oak Park Ave. The penny candy selection was the best!
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings

Hi everyone! Thanks so much for the information. My mother-in-law works at the HIP Carson's and she hears a bunch of on again - off again rumors about Costco being built at the old Maurice Lenell site. Does anyone know if the Lerner Publishing Co. still puts out neighborhood newspapers? I really miss reading neighborhood news stories and feel a bit out of the loop at times.... Even in this "i
Forum: General Discussion

I had forgotten all about the overhead structure on Grand/Fullerton @ about Neenah. Wow, what memories! I went to Locke School (on Diversey and Oak Park) and a bunch of us kids would go play after school on top of the garbage "hill" that was on the north side of the Brickyard. We would also play along the railroad tracks just south of Grand Ave. and wonder at the "roadway in the sky
Forum: General Discussion

I remember it well! skated at the Hub when I was in high school.... a VERY loooooong time ago! I had recently heard they were going to tear down the Maurice Lenell Cookie Jar Outlet Store and put up a Costco. So many changes....
Forum: General Discussion