Here's the business card of Sam Gordon, who ran the concessions at Riverview. This was sent to me by a man whose mother worked for Gordon in the '30s. Sam J. Gordon's Business Card by WayOutWardell, on Flickr
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This site has a lot of good info on the Mill in the '30s: http://www.myalcaponemuseum.com/id153.htm I think the current layout dates to the late '30s or very early '40s; there's very similar decor in a few other bars around town, such as Rainbo, which opened in the late '30s, and the bar at the upstairs restaurant at Italian Village. I've seen a photo of the long-demolished Crown Propeller
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

Boydston's Chapel shows up in books at that address at least as far back as 1904. A book that came up in a Google search mentioned a funeral of Iroquois Theater fire victims. The building obviously was mixed-use since it also shows up as Freemasons Hall in labor organization directories from the Teens. In fact, the Freemasons Hall is still visible in stone on the cornice of the building.
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Interesting name-changes. My father lived near Division & Orleans, and would have gone to Cooley (fmr. Lane). Somehow, he instead ended up at (new) Lane, but also took a few classes at Washburne on Division.
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My favorite was the clock tower on the Stewart-Warner factory. You could see it from the Kennedy and they kept it in working order up until the end. I didn't have a clock in my car so that was a useful landmark for me.
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This was recently uncovered in the work currently being done to restore Jackson Park. It was obscured by trees and brush which were cleared a couple of weeks ago. There's a base for another one of these posts nearby. <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/29821940@N00/16961509820" title="1893 Columbian Expositon Light Post by WayOutWardell, on Flickr"><img src=&qu
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings

Also, the unknown house in Menominee, Michigan might be the John Welles residence.
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings

frworksonpaper Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I own a former exchange building on Western Ave. > Pond & Pond Architects, 1904.The following book > has some great exterior and interior photos of the > exchanges Irving Pond designed: > http://hyoogenpress.com/irving-k-pond-book.htm The one just north of LeMoyne, by chance?
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To the mods: The Robert Michels home designed by James Eppenstein in Pt. 3 of the feature is located at 160 Sheridan Rd. There is no good Google Street View because the house does not face the road but is situated 'lengthwise' to the property.
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings

The paint has been completely removed and all the original lettering is intact underneath. Untitled by WayOutWardell, on Flickr It's pretty much ready for the electrical work but that of course is pending the funds to do so. I've talked to a couple of musicians who played there, including one who said he'd have never made it as a professional musician if not for McKie Fitzhugh, as wel
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings

Another good book on the pre-project Black Belt is 'Building The South Side', which has an extensive history on the 35th Street 'main stem' through the Black Belt ca. 1910. Considering the eventual fate of the neighborhood, there are a surprising number of buildings still standing on 35th which date from that era.
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The Blue Angel was the only club in the US that regularly featured calypso music and entertainers, long before Belafonte had his first hit and the craze took off. In February 1955, the Calypso Follies was presented at the club, including a violinst and singer calling himself The Charmer. The Charmer was actually born Louis Wolcott. While in town with the act, he attended a speech given by
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'Making The Second Ghetto' is a really good book on the history of those areas. There was also a WPA photography project that documented life in the Black Belt ca. 1941, and many photos show living conditions along State or Federal at that time. I know that many of the buildings that were later demolished along Federal had long been abandoned before the housing shortage during the Great Mig
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Thanks all. Interestingly, the Wikipedia page (!) for the Pui Tak Center also has some history of this building. Mr. Downtown, lo and behold, the lion heads are right there in the photo on p. 56. Thanks for pointing me in that direction. Also - the Polks Directory shows a shop in the building with the Ming name. I assume this is related to the Ming's Enterprise sign that's currently h
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It's obviously overshadowed by the On Leong building around the corner, but the building that makes up several addresses at about 241 W. Cermak obviously has some significance. There are bands of terra cotta shaped like a dragon surrounding the windows and the cornice has more terra cotta with what looks like cypress tress on it. One part of the facade has lion heads that look like they used to
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There's a current central office at 61st & Dorchester and an older one a block over on Kenwood that has been converted into a U of C building. I worked for Ameritech for a time in Glenview/Northbrook and we used to visit two central offices fairly regularly. It was around the time when a lot of the switching equipment was being changed, so in one part of the building, the floor would be
Forum: General Discussion

There's a short film from '62 called 'Dance Craze' which was filmed at Flo's Kit-Kat Lounge, which was across the street from the Oriental Theater. It features the band The Millionaires with Ral Donner ( and also stars Sig Sakowicz and was produced by Jim Lounsbury.
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I'd bet either the North American or the South American. History on both vessels say that each received a second stack ca. 1923-25 during conversion to oil-fired boilers. The Alabama only had one stack but it looks significantly different than the one in the photo.
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Tony Paris' Show Lounge was at 44 E. Walton, and so was part of the Walton Gardens building that has been covered at length by FC in the articles about Bertrand Goldberg. Anyone have any photos of the club itself (or its predecessor club the Rumpus Room)? In most of the photos of Walton Gardens, there's a barely-visible marquee above the sidewalk which I assume was the club entrance.
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Was Flo's the same place as the Kit Kat Club? If so, there's a short film about the Twist from 1962 which was filmed there, called 'Dance Craze'. It's on YouTube.
Forum: General Discussion

Here's a really cool photo of a wooden minesweeper (which was sunk by a mine in '45) being launched from Grebe in '43, with Riverview in the background: YMS-1 Launch, 1942
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings

Holy cow, if you do a Street View of that address, you can see inside Elvis Press.
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings

Also, Ellis Ave. from 43rd - 47th has quite a few with original exteriors (and even interiors).
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This building is now being demolished, in case anyone wants to stop by and take some photos...
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hardwareman Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I grew up in River Grove in the 60's and 70's It > became the 'Thirsty Whale' in the early 70's. > Before that it was called 'The Red Steer'. It had > a big fiberglass steer on the canopy over the > enterance. I have seen a photo of it in the > 1920's, it was then called 'Ottos'. Awesome, thank
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Was it always known as the Thirsty Whale or was it known under a different name before that?
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I just remembered that there was one inside the Healthy Food Restaurant on Halsted before Gina retired. In fact, if that storefront is still vacant, the phone booth might still be in there.
Forum: General Discussion

Bought my first record with my own money at the Rose on Wabash!
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My folks met in Old Town, at a bar on the corner of North and Wells, and they hung out at the Plugged Nickel quite a bit. Quite the hip pair, they were. I remember going to the Ripley museum with them a few times, and then in college visiting Bizarre Bazaar and the Up Down Tobacco Shop.
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I wish I knew what the colors originally were. The only photo I've ever seen of the club is the one I posted above from '63 (which is how I ended up discovering that the sign was still hanging on the building all these years later). I have been talking with a neon shop and it's been an education, for sure. They were telling me that most of the neon in the city back in the day was red or orang
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings