The deli just South of the Alba was called the Bagel. A great place for really good kosher-style food.
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

I would just add a note to this discussion about the street name battles involving this one street. As Pulaski Road crosses the city line into Lincolnwood north of Devon Avenue it returns to Crawford Avenue and continues with that name through Skokie and Evanston until it ends just north of Central Avenue in Evanston. Whatever motivated the folks in Chicago to go back and forth with name changes
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

I agree that it is possible that a portion of the Bloomingdale is still operable for rail use, although the track looks to be in very rough shape. There are railroad cars standing on the tracks but they are clearly not passenger cars. Actually there is at least one track still visible all the way East to the Kennedy Expressway. If Metra wants to use the West portion of the line to wye cars, so
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

Time for a bit of correction. When the embankment was originally built it was the Chicago Junction (CJ) RR who did it in response to a city ordinance requiring that railroads elevate their tracks and eliminate street crossings. At the same time the embankment was built wide-enough to accommodate a branch line of the Elevated System that was named the Kenwood Branch. The CJ was one of two railro
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

Not sure why I keep coming back to this post to help some of you stay out of trouble. But here goes again,first there is a heavy police presence in this area because as it has changed, the "new residents" demand a safe community. One's chance of being seen by the police or being reported to them is very good; and you will be arrested for what is clear trespassing on private property.
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

Here is a link to an EPA website where there is a listing of all of the Peoples Gas gas manufacturing sites that are currently under review for possible cleanup. http://www.epa.gov/region5/cleanup/peoplesgas/#listofsites The site I mentioned above is not on the list so either it was never a gas manufacturing site, perhaps only a distribution site or it was previously cleaned up wh
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

Once again, to the best of my knowledge the Kenwood Embankment is still the property of the last successor to the Chicago Junction Railroad which is CSX. The embankment is NOT the property of the City of Chicago and an alderman would have nothing to do with any access issues or permissions. I would extremely doubt that any kind of permission to access the Embankment would be forthcoming from CSX
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

Let me add another location where Peoples Gas Light and Coke Company had a gas manufacturing facility. At the corner of Oakton and McCormick Road on the border between Evanston and Skokie there was a plant that was there well into the 1970's. I would speculate that its primary early purpose was to supply gas for Evanston, since Skokie as a real place did not begin to emerge as a residential site
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

I just took a look at Goggle Maps street-level and agree that the site on the west-side of Jefferson between Jackson and Van Buren is a remnant of the Metropolitan EL that connected the loop with the mainline. It is definitely not a station house because that was at Canal Street. Not sure if it was a substation since there was a substation at Franklin just across the river. I will do some furt
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

If you look carefully at the carving that is pictured in this post, you will see the name Studebaker, a major manufacturer of automobiles from South Bend Indiana from the early 1900s until it went out of business in the 1950s.
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings

The street running was an expedient to keep the EL service running during the construction of the eastern part of the Congress Expressway. They effectively put the EL on the street with much the same as it was when elevated, except for traffic light control at the open street crossings. The lights knew when a train was coming, always stopped it and then set the lights to stop cross traffic. Thi
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings

As a note on this question, the Mayfair station and all things related there to are now gone. This was done as part of the streamlining of the Northwest Metra line. The close station that has been improved and modernized is located at Irving Park.
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

There was a significant difference between ordinary street running ahd how the CTA did the temporary street running during the building of the Congress Expressway. The track area was completely fenced on both sides and the street crossings were protected by th same type of anti-walking safeguards used on the ground-level Ravenswood line. The use of ordinary traffic control stop lights was an expe
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings

I see what you mean about making corrections, and I have signed on to do it. But before I apply any changes I want to be absolutely sure I get it right. I will continue to check it out and see what the names were as this line went from Pennsy to Penn Central to Conrail and then on to the current owner NS.
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings

I have to agree that Open Street Map is a great source for information on railroad lines, both active and out of service. My one surprise is the naming of the line in this posting; they do not reference it as the NS River Branch even this the current naming given in the NS reference materials. I wonder if it might be a bit out of date. I will check this out and see what I can find.
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings

What you are looking at is a remaining part of the South Chicago & Southern RR, also once known as the Bernice Cutoff. It started as a Pennsy line they used to connect their Panhandle route with their Fort Wayne mainline; then it went to Conrail and now is owned by Norfolk Southern (NS). It is the middle of the line that still remains, both the South and North ends were abandoned by Conrail.
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings

Related to that shed structure at 40th and Calumet, it is actually on the side of the embankment that was for the Kenwood line tracks. It is made of metal and has a pole sticking out of the roof that has some cutoff wires. It definitely does not relate to the Kenwood line since it sits right in the middle of what would have been the right-of-way for the Kenwood line. It is likely something that
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

That is a very nice picture, but it is not of steam on the EL. The steam engines used on the south-side elevated and the Lake Street elevated were much smaller. Here is a link to the best site online if one wants to know about the EL in Chicago. http://www.chicago-l.org/
Forum: General Discussion

I found the map I think you are referring to; it was produced in 1941 for Armour and Company and shows primarily the hog processing part of the Union Stock Yards. Now, my question is, what is your question or concern about this map.
Forum: General Discussion

I don't know about Art's Fishery, but there was an Al's Fishery on 95th Street just East of the bridge that made the best fried Shrimp and fish chips that I have ever had. It was a tiny place maybe 4 small tables but it was so good that I would drive from the far north-side just to enjoy what they did so well.
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

Actually the first Mayor Daley was pushing a plan in the 60s for an artificial island in Lake Michigan for a third major Chicago airport. Here is an item from a blog that I recently found that tells the story. Mayor Richard J. Daley, the current mayor's late father, tried to get such a scheme going several times in the 1960s. It never took off (ha ha) for a number of reasons. Chief among them i
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

You do indeed have it right Mr Downtown US 41 comes down Cicero Avenue from the North, then on to Lincoln Avenue down to Foster Avenue for the trip to the Outer Drive and so on and so on. I wonder if the curve in Lincoln Avenue right where Catalpa comes in on the East side might be the reason why Catalpa is wider going East than going West. Being wider on that side might make it easier to make
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

US 41 on the North side was at one time routed on Foster Avenue to the Outer Drive until that was extended to Hollywood. Chicago seems to have a history of frequently changing US highway routings for no apparent reason. At least it kept the sign movers busy.
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

The International Amphitheater belonged to Union Stockyards and Transit, they built it in 1934. They also owned all of the land that once was the Union Stockyards. That has all now disappeared into vacant land and redevelopment. The Amphitheater met the same fate and while those long brick buildings may have once been part of the facilities their bricked-up windows and an occasional sign say the
Forum: General Discussion

I can't speak about every site in Chicago that one might want to photograph, but the Union Stockyards Arch now stants in the middle of a public street and can be photographed all you want.
Forum: General Discussion

If you Goggle Maps street-level views you will see A Laurie's Pizza sign and a Pizza By The Slice sign on the original building but not on the corner it is East but still in the same building. The corner is a Currency Exchange. I remember their pizza as quite good, but that was 50 years ago.
Forum: General Discussion

If you would like to know alot more about the Sears operations in North Lawndale and how it was once a city unto itself, please follow this link. http://www.blueprintchicago.org/2012/01/23/the-sears-roebuck-co-complex-north-lawndale/
Forum: General Discussion

Before Sunnyside was actually estended West there was already a railroad line in its projected right-of-way so when the street was actually extended they incorporated the railroad into the street. The railroad was first called Chicago Terminal Transfer and later became the B&O Chicago Terminal. It ceased to be active quite early and was ultimated torn-up leaving Summyside in its wide condit
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

b.a.hoarder has it right, first Dodge to build B-29 engines until the end of the war,then Tucker for his still-born car, and then Ford in 1950 to build their cars but before that happened came Korea and Ford started to build piston aircraft engines but then switched to jet engines when that became the norm.
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings

The Ford engine plant on the current site of Ford City from which it takes its name was a WWII plant that made aircraft engines for many of the planes with which we won the war. At different times during the war you might have different companies with War Department contracts making engines, but it always kept the original name of the Ford plant. It was actually built by the government and Ford
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings