Just sent you the articles. Hope they are helpful.
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

I found two references to your grandfather. The first is a box score from a 1915 Trubune article that was reporting on the various leagues around the city. He is listed as playing for the "Snorky Signs" team. A blurb from the game says, "Lefty Lugan scored with a clean hit inside of third base that sent Meleher home from second." The second is from a 1959 Tribune articl
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

So far the person I asked said the name doesn't ring a bell but he will keep looking. This person literally wrote the book on Summit http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0738552488 So if they don't know not sure who will. Summit is a suburb of Chicago. It seems like from your post you have it as part of Chicago.
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

I passed your question along to some local historians in Summit who work with our group the Clear-Ridge Historical Society. I'll post any response they give me.
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

This book is reprinted with the full permission of the Hill family. After Robert "Moose" Hill passed away in 2010 we were asked to help the family make sense of all of his photo's and other research. What came out of it was this reprint of the book with all of the corresponding photos and the background information that was learned from going through his research. It really turned out
Forum: General Discussion

The Clear-Ridge Historical Society is pleased to announce our next tour, "An Historical Tour of Garfield Ridge." on Sunday June 2nd at 1:00 PM. Join us as we tour the sites that tell the story of Garfield Ridge Neighborhood. See Mud Lake, the site of Long John Wentworth's House, the "House in the Alley", and much more. Learn about the history of the churches in the area
Forum: General Discussion

For anyone interested in the history of the Southwest Side of Chicago, the Clear-Ridge Historical Society has just finished reprinting the book, "A Littile Known Story of a Land Called Clearing." by Robert Hill. This book, originally self published in 1983, tells the story of the Clearing Neighborhood as well as many of the surroundings areas. It contains one of the earliest histories of
Forum: General Discussion

In the Garfield Ridge neighborhood (SW side). There is a small street called W. 57th Place with 6 addresses on it. It is located in between Massassoit and Major and between 57th St and 58th St. Major Avenue, while appearing as a street in Google Maps is actually an alley, so the only access to the houses is through the alley. It's viewable on Google Maps if you search for 5700 S. Major. T
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

Below is a link to an aerial shot of the Clearing Industrial District looking west down 65th St around the same time as the experiment (I believe this is from 1923) and you can see 6600 West 65th. Sorry, I tried to use the built in Flickr tool and it can't find this image. Where the rail yard tracks all meet is about Central Ave. (5600 West), 65th St begins in the lower right of the photo.
Forum: General Discussion

Wentworth's Farmhouse was built in 1868 and stood at the corner of modern day Archer and Harlem. Wentowrth began buying up "canal land" that was originally being sold to finance the building of the I&M Canal. He eventually amassed 4700 acres of land comprising most of modern day Garfield Ridge, Clearing and Summit. He built his farmhouse as the crown jewel of his "Summit Farm
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings

Interestingly enough the 13th Ward Alderman is interested in making Chrysler Village (immediately to the south of the bank) landmark status as well.
Forum: General Discussion

Join the Clear-Ridge Historical Society for their next program, "The History of Clearing" on Wednesday March 20th at 6:00 PM at the Clearing Library, 6423 West 63rd St. Learn about the history of the Clearing neighborhood, once a farming community to its rise to a center of industry and home to the first municipal airport in Chicago. For more information, please call Rob at the Clear
Forum: General Discussion

Thank you for using the rustymuscle 411 service. That will be $1.50 please ;)
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

LOL, I see the wording is the same as this question so I assume that was you that posed the question above. Apparently Northern illinois University holds some archives of the Chicago North and Western historical Society and one box contains information regarding the time capsule (Box 8, Folder 6). Probably some promotional materials: http://archon.lib.niu.edu/index.php?p=collections/finding
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

Found this on the Chicago & Northerwestern Historical Society Site: Q: I found a picture of the 1948 dedication of the C&NW time capsule during the Chicago Railroad Fair. The location was at Chicago's first railroad station at Kinzie and Canal Streets. The site is now highly developed and I didn't see any traces of where the capsule might be buried. Does the capsule remain buried? If so
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

I looked at some later Sanbourn Maps and it shows "various manufacturing buildings" dotting the curve and a 1956 Tribune article speaks of an arrest made in a "abandoned factory building" at 7600 S. Greenwood. So it was obviously used for manufacturing for a while. Being so close to so many railroads it's not uncommon to see strangely layed out streets. I know on the SW
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

I'm not familiar with the area but I took a look at some other resources. The Illinois Sanbourn Maps from 1923 show a A.C. Clark & Co MFG of Dental Supplies as being at the rounded curve of the street. The Maps can be accessed through the Chicago Public Library website, but you do need a card. Maps of Chicago as far back as 1888 show the same configuration. You can check out a 1903 map
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

I know this is last minute but in case anyone is interested: "Chicagoland's Amusement Parks of the Past". Join us on Saturday January 19th at 1:00 PM at the Clearing Library, 6423 West 63rd Place, as the Clear-Ridge Historical Society welcomes local Chicago historian, photographer and internet host Edward Kwiatkowski, host of the popular Chicago area Internet transportation photo sit
Forum: General Discussion

Just as a follow up. Got a copy of the "Master of Light" book from the library and there isn't really anything more than what you can read on Google Books. Thanks for the post. I'll try a little more digging and see if there is any more info on this subject.
Forum: General Discussion

There are a number of Tribune articles on the subject from 1933 and 1934. If you have access to the Chicago Tribune Historical Archives they are easily found. The Chicago Public Library provides free access with a valid library card. Even if you live in the suburbs, you can easily obtain a CPL card. Also many universities and other major public libraries offer access to the Chicago Tribune.
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

Thanks nordsider, I'll see if I can get hold of a copy and I'll let you know what it says. It's interesting you got to talk to Robert Hill. I met him a few times and our Clear-Ridge Historical Society helped his family catalog his stuff after he passed away a few years ago. His brother Art was instrumental in helping us form the society and still attends our programs. We are actually in
Forum: General Discussion

Thanks nordsider. As far as I can tell the experiment took place in what is today Midway Airport property. Only the Southeast corner of the property was being used as a cinder block airstrip in 1924. Of course Clearing was used in a much broader sense at that time, including what is now Bedford Park South of 65th St. and was also used to describe Garfield Ridge as the name had yet to fully catc
Forum: General Discussion

"Chicagoland's Amusement Parks of the Past" Join the Clear-Ridge Historical Society as we welcome local Chicago historian, photographer and internet host Edward Kwiatkowski, Eddie, host of the popular Chicago area Internet transportation photo site known as "Eddie's Railfan Page", as he presents a musical photo slideshow and video presentation, spotlighting Chicago's once nu
Forum: General Discussion

You both may be interested in the photo on our website for the Clear-Ridge Historical Society (it's still very much under construction). Check out the photo, 5th one down left side, it's a late 30's early 40's photo of 51st and Merrimac showing the Clorox Plant. It gives you a good idea of the openess of the area at the time. http://clearridgehistory.weebly.com/garfield-ridge-pictures.html
Forum: General Discussion

My favorite used to be Santucci's which used to be located at about 60th and Cicero, then next was Chesdan's in Brighton Park also gone now (relocated to suburb's). I guess now it would be Danny's Pizza on Archer and Menard or Obbie's also on Archer a little further west.
Forum: General Discussion

You can check out an aerial view from 1938+ on: www.historicaerials.com
Forum: General Discussion

As you may have noticed, we have started the Clear-Ridge Historical Society and are working toward the Gafield Ridge history you are asking about. If you read the Wikipedia article about Garfield Ridge this is something we put together. If you are on Facebook check out our site it has a lot of great pictures. The Clearing Book, written by Robert Hill, is a great history of the area, including s
Forum: General Discussion

Thanks Dave for posting that photo. John Wentworth's farmhouse stood until April of 1968 when it was unceremoniously demolished. The pillars were reused as street markers for many years and all but two are still in use, the other being on the SW corner of Archer and Nordica. There are three posts in the "triangle" of Archer, Naragansett and 55th St. being used as bases for several
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

Out in the Garfield Ridge neighborhood on the SW side there are a couple of similar concrete pillars along Archer Avenue (specifically at Archer and Melvina). After a bit of digging I discovered that they were originally put in by the orginal developer (Frederick Bartlett) to help give the development a "gated community" feel. As time went on these posts were reused as street markers a
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

Dave, According to Wikipedia, The Belt Railway of Chicago is the largest switching terminal railroad in the United States, the vast majority of which is located in the Clearing Yards: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_Railway_of_Chicago And as far as the Clearing Book, the Clear-Ridge Historical Society is putting the final touches on a repint of this wonderful book (with permission from
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings