Tour number two began in front of the Zoological Society building at the corner of Clark and Armitage, at Noon on Sunday, August 24th, 2008. This intersection was the northeast terminus of Ogden Avenue before it was removed in 1969. From this point we followed the route of the vacated section of Ogden southwest, ending at the intersection of Chicago/Milwaukee/Ogden.
CA
This page is simply an overview of what was covered on the tour. For a detailed account of why Ogden Avenue was extended and eventually vacated, please read our feature The Extension and Removal of Ogden Avenue.
Photographers for this page are Christopher Arnold and Eric Allix Rogers. Their initials are denoted below each image.
Left: CA Right: ER
Right: Just north of the former intersection on the east side of Lincoln are some pieces of the Garrick Theatre. A good portion of the facade was dismantled and re-used on the Second City Theatre, however, we know of at least three other places these busts ended up. In addition to this one, there is one on the St. Ignatius campus, and another on a very similar-looking brick gate on Dearborn just north of Chicago Ave. Perhaps this building and the Dearborn building had the same owner with a penchant for cannibalized ornament?
Left: CA Right: ER
Right: Between Sedgwick and Menominee, this townhouse development was designed to follow the angle of the Ogden right of way.
 ER |
Serhii, standing next to an Old Town Triangle Association marker, talking about the beginnings of urban renewal in Lincoln Park. One of the first initiatives of organizations like OTTA and the Lincoln Park Conservation Association was the advocacy for the removal of Ogden through Lincoln Park. Their efforts were successful, maybe too successful. After all, without a six lane arterial highway in their backyard, NIMBYs in Lincoln Park and Old Town have little to NIMBY about. Rogue dog waste, perhaps. |
ER
Right: This depressed plaza probably owes its existence and its entirely paved-over look to the fact that this parcel of land was the site of a gas station along Ogden.
Left: ER Right: CA
Left: Urban renewal street closure over the Ogden ROW near St. Michael’s. Reminds us of Scott Ogelsby’s definition of ‘traffic calming’ as “The idea that enraging the motorist will prod him to select a different route.”
Right: Staggered frontage shows the hasty way in which Ogden was extended through Lincoln Park.
ER
Old and new housing along tiny Meyer Avenue.
CA
Left: View of North Avenue east from Larrabee. The extra lane on the north side of the street is the result of widening to accommodate the extra traffic from the vacated section of Ogden through Lincoln Park. The intersection of North and Larrabee was the terminus of Ogden between 1969 and 1983.
Right: The reinforced support of the L structure and the angled facade of Terry’s Red Hots evince the former right of way.
Left: ER Right: CA
Right: Townhouses were built over half of the Ogden right of way north of Clybourn, however, some of the street and the sidewalk remains.
Left: Ron Schramm Right: CA
Right: The intersection of Halsted and Division which until 1992, was in the shadow of the viaduct. Compare this view to Ron Schramm’s 1992 image at left.
ER
Left: A sizable patch of Ogden remains just south of Metro North College Prep’s baseball field.
Right: The currently disused Pickens-Kane warehouse building on Goose Island was once pressed against the Ogden viaduct. Remnants of the viaduct’s presence, including the second story door-to-nowhere are clearly visible. On the side of the building, the path of the Hickory Street ramp is also visible.
Left: ER Right: CA
Left: A brief aside, in case you forgot who built this damn city!
Right: Remnants of Ogden’s bridge supports are still visible south of Division Street.
ER
Left: North of the Chicago/Milwaukee intersection, Ogden is a truncated stub, a six-lane Pennsylvania-style parking lot.
Right: Ogden passing under the C&NW tracks.
ER
Left: One of the many odd triangular patches of concrete along the Ogden extension.
Right: The Matchbox bar is one of the most severely truncated buildings along Ogden. This was a result of the way the street was slashed through the existing dense urban fabric.
Left: ER Right: CA
Left: A disused service station just north of Chicago Avenue. Auto-related commercial buildings have dominated the Ogden extension since it was constructed.
Right: The tour ends above the Chicago-Milwaukee L station in front of this former White Tower building. White Tower was an early knock off and competitor of White Castle. As for Ogden Avenue, it effectively begins (ends?) at Chicago Avenue. Will it be truncated further in the future?
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1) Start 2) Garrick heads 3) Ogden mall 4) Filling station 5) Angled housing development 6) Buddhist Temple / Menomonee Mall 7) Cleveland avenue cul-de-sac 8) Corner of Meyer and Eugenie, St. Michaels 9) Terry’s Red Hots / Demolished L Station / Metro North Ballfield 10) Ogden stub remnant 11) North/Clybourn headhouse 12) E.H. Wachs Machine Shop 13) Prima Brewery 14) Yeomans Bros Sewage and Water pumps 15) Begin of viaduct / New development 16) Viaduct path 17) Bridge footing at Halsted 18) Pickens-Kane / Hickory ramp 18.5) Bridge footings 19) Devoe and Raynolds 20) Coachyard 21) Erie Bridge 22) Clothing factory / Ice house (Russakov 1) 23) Viaduct end / Slow sign / Container Corp of America 24) Examples of slashing thru grid / Russakov 2 25) White Tower 26) Matchbox, END |
