It's a neat building and would have made cool apartments. A note to Bruce - Britain demolished more in the 60's than was destroyed during WWII.
Forum: General Discussion

I've never heard of them (and I'm a native Hyde Parker). You might try the book, "Hyde Park Houses" by the late Jean Block which has a large historic text section, though she didn't focus very much on developer projects but on custom houses.
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

Do you have insurance on that couch? (sorry, I couldn't resist)
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

Yeah, this was a big topic over at (dare I say it) curbed...
Forum: General Discussion

I assume some people are already familiar with this, but the University of Chicago is looking on demolishing the Harry Weese designed dormitory, Pierce Tower.
Forum: General Discussion

daveg is totally right. The LPTS (Lincoln Park Trixie Society) had some good suggestions for improving the experience, such as Starbucks and branches of Armitage Avenue boutiques in the park.
Forum: General Discussion

I can't imagine that IDPH (Illinois Department of Public Health) would allow that, unless there was an alternate filtration system, which do exist.
Forum: General Discussion

I had to do a survey of small clinics a few years back and many were obviously the downstairs of the docs home - the upstairs apartment, which was often pretty snazzy, were often local showplaces, total mid-century and are used for offices or storage now. But there were also cases like this, where they lived and worked in the same space (which is still common in Europe) - friends of mine had a gre
Forum: General Discussion

This warm winter will have been great, along with this crazy hot spring, for bugs.
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings

Hopefully no Lyme disease in the city?
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings

I still miss the Amoco/Standard Oil sign, that one was the best.
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

When did Courtesy go under? I remember seeing cars with their stickers maybe into the 80's/90's. That sign sounds great, but by the 70's neon was going out of fashion, not just for energy reasons (and neon is pretty efficient, or can be).
Forum: General Discussion

I'm surprised that people from outside the US would have come (or been able to) to Chicago for the Sokol. Jak - I wouldn't be surprised if there was some kind of chemical plant off Taylor, depending upon where it was...
Forum: General Discussion

A lot of stores on the lakefront still offer delivery today - more people without cars and elderly who expect SERVICE with all caps.
Forum: General Discussion

Mornac - that sounds kinda like the Jewel in Lakeview (on B'way just south of Addison). Chitownlioness - the Jewel's still there (and there's a new Dominick's at Sheridan and Foster).
Forum: General Discussion

Great pics Rusty! I think the Eagle is still there as the fabric store (or is it the "Chicago's Discount Cleaners/Walgreen's" building just to the north which that canopy implies. Or is it where the current Dominick's is? Not quite in the same league, but Michael's Fresh Market in Kenwood just closed- we can record it here now for all times posterity!
Forum: General Discussion

Maybe, since it was a siding business, "they came to you"? A coffee shop or something impulse food related would do well in the middle of an intersection where people got out of the wind and rain or traffic (though how much pedestrian traffic there was here I can't say). I'm eager to hear what it started out as. I hate this intersection now though (although I love American Science an
Forum: General Discussion

You guys have seen that the yards by Englewood are going to be massively expanded, right?
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings

We used to go to Palos to toboggan all the time when I was a kid (we had our own toboggan too). The area around there is popular for geology field trips cos' that's where the continental divide is, as well as the outflow from Lake Chicago - the quarry across the street was always a big destination for trips. I think my parents even met on one of those field trips.
Forum: General Discussion

Rusty - St. Stephens in Hyde Park has only been called that since the early/mid 70's - it was a Christ Science (16th or 17th I think) Church before that. I doubt that there is much, well, anything, actually, historical under the St. Stephens name for it (def. not RC either).
Forum: General Discussion

You wouldn't hare dared to say that on the South Side back in the day.
Forum: Forgotten Chicago Sightings

Also contact the Art Deco Society of Chicago (CADS) - they are and have been involved in preservation as well.
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

I suspect part of it is also that Skokie and points north never developed as densely as they'd expected - it's always fun to see the three flats from the 20's interspersed with the post-war bungalows in Skokie. I suspect they were banking on much higher density and hence, ridership, which would have happened had the depression not interfered.
Forum: General Discussion

This is totally fascinating. I had no idea this had been here (though not surprised).
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

So was this just buried beneath the streets (much like what was done in London for pneumatic/hydraulic systems, which provided power for lifts, etc) or did it run in part in the freight tunnel system?
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

The Old Navy building was sold this summer and the scuttlebutt is that it may be eventually torn down for something taller, much like what was originally on the site.
Forum: General Discussion

It was open for Open House Chicago - sounds like a hotel is going to be the new use. The Chicago Art Deco Society has put a lot of work into preserving it.
Forum: General Discussion

I'll have to scan the pictures I took there in the late 80's - the remnants of the oxbow in the river and old railroad embankments are still really prominent. My pictures were taken on a cloudy day with fog and you could forget that you were in the heart of one of North America's largest cities. I'd hope when the site gets developed that it'll make use of those features, but I'm not holding my bre
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

Not sure if this is "off topic" but Open House Chicago is coming up and a lot of the buildings which will be open look like they might be of interest to a lot of the people who read and post on the forum. http://www.openhousechicago.org/
Forum: General Discussion

Thanks shekago, I hadn't read that article before. I especially liked the staff being forced to pick apples.... Local papers often, from what I hear, especially the smaller ones, have lots of shenanigans from their publishers.
Forum: General Discussion