May 18, 2013
Vintage Admission Ticket and Decal from Arcadia Roller Rink, Uptown
Here's another great eBay find we've added to the collection!
April 5, 2013
Bob Hope and Bing Crosby Play Golf in Edgewater, 1942
A full-sized print of this image of Bob and Bing at the Edgewater Golf Club can be purchased from the Chicago Tribune.
Wilson and Broadway, 1958
The Chicago Tribune is selling vintage prints of Uptown.
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In 1958, an accident on the El killed 8 and injured nearly 200.
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In 1958, an accident on the El killed 8 and injured nearly 200.
April 3, 2013
Uptown Re Visited
Bill Matteson
Uptown Correspondent
A friend of mine gave me a book Titled Land marks and Legends of Uptown,
I really loved looking through it, as its always a trip down memory lane for me and my wife
we both grew up in Uptown on Kenmore Ave.. so today it's 10 AM and we're both a little older than our Uptown days..
I just blurted out ,"hey hon lets take a trip to the old neighborhood" She was at the closet getting her jacket, before I finished my statement, we gassed up the car in Harvard Il. where we live, hit the tollway outside of Marengo and headed east, to Lawrence Ave
both of us were reliving our youth as we talked about our old friends, at least the ones we could remember , the things we done, and the old buildings..
The trip east on Lawrence was exciting I had long forgot city driving and pedestrians ,who all seem to have a deathwish as they dart out in front of you in the middle of the street..I slam on my brakes so I won't run into them and they give me the evil eye .. I was thinking they should be thanking me instead.
Lawrence was always a melting pot of diverse ethnic groups, and it still is, really diverse,I do believe we made a world tour just on one street..As we passed Clark St. and St Boniface, things started to really change, the stately high brick wall that used to run down Lawrence was gone, some one dismantled it,took it down or just allowed it to fall into ruin.I wanted to get out of the car and find the person responsible..As we get east of Broadway we start to get into our "hood" The old El station, no Marquis lunch Cafeteria, no National T store, no Watchmakers shop, no pawn shop, progress I guess . I saw the old Ritz grill still standing,empty and dilapidated ,but no one would no, that the best hamburgers and chili were once made there.. The New Lawrence Hotel was almost unrecognizable, Sir James Night club was missing, the Viceroy hotel , well the building is still there, and all the windows of Garys Payless drug store were bricked in,,the empty lot that used to be south of the Viceroy, was in our time built into a single story structure that housed a Laundromat and is now boarded up.. the corner where Happy Jacks Deli was is still there although its something else now. I couldn't tell what.. All the old buildings at Lawrence and Sheridan To the north on both sides of the street were razed and replaced. No C.C. Club. no 21 tap.
we turned south on Clarendon to Leland the turned east..I forgot they blocked off some parts of Leland so we turned around, continued south to Wilson, then East to Kenmore, the Street of our youth,On the southwest corner was a large building, gone were the apt.buildings that used to predominate the neighborhood. Leibermans Drug store,,Ma Skinners diner,the Pretzel Benders Bar, ,the very corner that was so sacred to us for hanging out on ,for playing Pinner, for lagging coins, now all gone. on the opposite corner Barney Tavern is now an Afro something or other....sadly I parked in front on 4734. My wife lived at 4740 and Me at 4737. we got out, I took a picture of her in front of her old building, we couldn't get close because of a large locked Iron fence..the same as in front of the house I lived in..in our day the front doors were rarely locked but privacy was always respected..my wife had to go back to the car , and rest , a young lady walked by and I said HI, could you do me a favor, the look on her face was priceless and a little quizzical.. That depends, I smiled my best grampa smile and asked her to take my picture in front of my old house, I told her we just wanted to see the old neighborhood. she asked both of you..., yes.... ,she lived there and I lived here....,you were childhood sweethearts,..oh how sweet, now we where pals, she took two picture's of me and walked off saying how sweet how sweet..
we went up Kenmore past ST Thomas to Argyle then west, past where the old Agmore used to be , we turned south on Winthrop ave which turns back into Kenmore.
Winthrop Ave from Leland to Kenmore in Our day was all black, an empty lot on Leland used to house the Colliers Chicken shack ,They made the best fried chicken. they even delivered.. in a 1949 Crosley. ..the same empty lot was also home to a traveling carnival once a year, West on Wilson ,then north on Broadway.. our hearts fell as we saw what used to be a very majestic structure ,the Wilson Ave El.. What happened here ? OMG, it's criminal to let this beautiful old building fall into such a state.I'm Blaming Richard Daley for this, him being a southsider, a sox fan and all...Glad to see all the stores on Broadway., even though I wouldn't go in one. no Kresge's, dime store, no Woolworth dime store
and as we passed Leland ave No Majestic Mens store No Goldbaltts, now that is sad..
we drove around becoming more depressed....LOOK WHAT THEY DONE TO OUR SONG MA.. was the tune running through my head. Our movie theaters,all gone. the Uptown our Friday night home, gone, the Rivera, the Lakeside, the Argmore, the Pantheon, the Mode the Sheridan...At Irving and Sheridan the bar on the NE corner, the Berlitz.. featuring the "Dynatones" is now a lot.. then to cap it all they've closed my old school.. the same school that gave us the Exorcist, , Raiders of the Lost Ark and Harrison Ford..we ended up driving west on Montrose.. Refound Hagen's fish Market, ,Glad to see it still in business, we drove home with a bag of shrimp and a bag of Scallops.They advertised Lake perch, I asked which Lake, they said Erie.. I said make that a 1/2 pound
was the trip worth it... yes... will we do it again... no we want to remember our Uptown
the Uptown of our youth, and the Kenmore Ave of our memories ..
To The Residents of Kenmore Ave.. I am glad you are there, you have painstakingly restored Kenmore back to an era in time and made it better, thank you for this
4737/39 looks like its a 6 unit condo now, Instead of the 25 cut up apartments, when I lived there, wish I could have seen the backyard, the scene of many a marble tournament, baseball and football games.. but then maybe it's better this way
Bill Matteson 4737 Kenmore
Eileen Griffin 4740 Kenmore
married 58 years
9 children
21 grandchildren
11 G grand children
LOOK WHAT THEY DONE TO OUR SONG MA
Uptown Correspondent
A friend of mine gave me a book Titled Land marks and Legends of Uptown,
I really loved looking through it, as its always a trip down memory lane for me and my wife
we both grew up in Uptown on Kenmore Ave.. so today it's 10 AM and we're both a little older than our Uptown days..
I just blurted out ,"hey hon lets take a trip to the old neighborhood" She was at the closet getting her jacket, before I finished my statement, we gassed up the car in Harvard Il. where we live, hit the tollway outside of Marengo and headed east, to Lawrence Ave
both of us were reliving our youth as we talked about our old friends, at least the ones we could remember , the things we done, and the old buildings..
The trip east on Lawrence was exciting I had long forgot city driving and pedestrians ,who all seem to have a deathwish as they dart out in front of you in the middle of the street..I slam on my brakes so I won't run into them and they give me the evil eye .. I was thinking they should be thanking me instead.
Lawrence was always a melting pot of diverse ethnic groups, and it still is, really diverse,I do believe we made a world tour just on one street..As we passed Clark St. and St Boniface, things started to really change, the stately high brick wall that used to run down Lawrence was gone, some one dismantled it,took it down or just allowed it to fall into ruin.I wanted to get out of the car and find the person responsible..As we get east of Broadway we start to get into our "hood" The old El station, no Marquis lunch Cafeteria, no National T store, no Watchmakers shop, no pawn shop, progress I guess . I saw the old Ritz grill still standing,empty and dilapidated ,but no one would no, that the best hamburgers and chili were once made there.. The New Lawrence Hotel was almost unrecognizable, Sir James Night club was missing, the Viceroy hotel , well the building is still there, and all the windows of Garys Payless drug store were bricked in,,the empty lot that used to be south of the Viceroy, was in our time built into a single story structure that housed a Laundromat and is now boarded up.. the corner where Happy Jacks Deli was is still there although its something else now. I couldn't tell what.. All the old buildings at Lawrence and Sheridan To the north on both sides of the street were razed and replaced. No C.C. Club. no 21 tap.
we turned south on Clarendon to Leland the turned east..I forgot they blocked off some parts of Leland so we turned around, continued south to Wilson, then East to Kenmore, the Street of our youth,On the southwest corner was a large building, gone were the apt.buildings that used to predominate the neighborhood. Leibermans Drug store,,Ma Skinners diner,the Pretzel Benders Bar, ,the very corner that was so sacred to us for hanging out on ,for playing Pinner, for lagging coins, now all gone. on the opposite corner Barney Tavern is now an Afro something or other....sadly I parked in front on 4734. My wife lived at 4740 and Me at 4737. we got out, I took a picture of her in front of her old building, we couldn't get close because of a large locked Iron fence..the same as in front of the house I lived in..in our day the front doors were rarely locked but privacy was always respected..my wife had to go back to the car , and rest , a young lady walked by and I said HI, could you do me a favor, the look on her face was priceless and a little quizzical.. That depends, I smiled my best grampa smile and asked her to take my picture in front of my old house, I told her we just wanted to see the old neighborhood. she asked both of you..., yes.... ,she lived there and I lived here....,you were childhood sweethearts,..oh how sweet, now we where pals, she took two picture's of me and walked off saying how sweet how sweet..
we went up Kenmore past ST Thomas to Argyle then west, past where the old Agmore used to be , we turned south on Winthrop ave which turns back into Kenmore.
Winthrop Ave from Leland to Kenmore in Our day was all black, an empty lot on Leland used to house the Colliers Chicken shack ,They made the best fried chicken. they even delivered.. in a 1949 Crosley. ..the same empty lot was also home to a traveling carnival once a year, West on Wilson ,then north on Broadway.. our hearts fell as we saw what used to be a very majestic structure ,the Wilson Ave El.. What happened here ? OMG, it's criminal to let this beautiful old building fall into such a state.I'm Blaming Richard Daley for this, him being a southsider, a sox fan and all...Glad to see all the stores on Broadway., even though I wouldn't go in one. no Kresge's, dime store, no Woolworth dime store
and as we passed Leland ave No Majestic Mens store No Goldbaltts, now that is sad..
we drove around becoming more depressed....LOOK WHAT THEY DONE TO OUR SONG MA.. was the tune running through my head. Our movie theaters,all gone. the Uptown our Friday night home, gone, the Rivera, the Lakeside, the Argmore, the Pantheon, the Mode the Sheridan...At Irving and Sheridan the bar on the NE corner, the Berlitz.. featuring the "Dynatones" is now a lot.. then to cap it all they've closed my old school.. the same school that gave us the Exorcist, , Raiders of the Lost Ark and Harrison Ford..we ended up driving west on Montrose.. Refound Hagen's fish Market, ,Glad to see it still in business, we drove home with a bag of shrimp and a bag of Scallops.They advertised Lake perch, I asked which Lake, they said Erie.. I said make that a 1/2 pound
was the trip worth it... yes... will we do it again... no we want to remember our Uptown
the Uptown of our youth, and the Kenmore Ave of our memories ..
To The Residents of Kenmore Ave.. I am glad you are there, you have painstakingly restored Kenmore back to an era in time and made it better, thank you for this
4737/39 looks like its a 6 unit condo now, Instead of the 25 cut up apartments, when I lived there, wish I could have seen the backyard, the scene of many a marble tournament, baseball and football games.. but then maybe it's better this way
Bill Matteson 4737 Kenmore
Eileen Griffin 4740 Kenmore
married 58 years
9 children
21 grandchildren
11 G grand children
LOOK WHAT THEY DONE TO OUR SONG MA
October 28, 2012
Tonight on Radio or streaming web
Bill Matteson
Uptown Chicago Corespondent
Tonight On the Radio is the MotherShip Connection, "your Cosmic link to the other side"
Broadcasting live fron Kenosha WI. From 8:PM Until Mid-Night, the witching hour
AM 1050 on your Radio Dial Or Streaming on your Computer WLIP.com,
You can call in with comments and or questions 262-694-1050.
Topic for the evening is Ouija Boards ..Richard Crowe World Famous Ghost Hunter
and a few quips about Uptown
The MotherShip Connection is a Talk friendly program about strange occurrences,happenings and unexplained phenomenon.
Moderated by Dobie Maxwell, a well known Chicagoland D.J., Stand up Comedian and all around good guy.
I will be popping in and out with a few comments about Uptown
I lived at 4737 Kenmore went to Stewart School
my wife Eileen Griffin lived at 4740 across the street she went to St. Thomas
We've been hanging out a long time
Uptown Chicago Corespondent
Tonight On the Radio is the MotherShip Connection, "your Cosmic link to the other side"
Broadcasting live fron Kenosha WI. From 8:PM Until Mid-Night, the witching hour
AM 1050 on your Radio Dial Or Streaming on your Computer WLIP.com,
You can call in with comments and or questions 262-694-1050.
Topic for the evening is Ouija Boards ..Richard Crowe World Famous Ghost Hunter
and a few quips about Uptown
The MotherShip Connection is a Talk friendly program about strange occurrences,happenings and unexplained phenomenon.
Moderated by Dobie Maxwell, a well known Chicagoland D.J., Stand up Comedian and all around good guy.
I will be popping in and out with a few comments about Uptown
I lived at 4737 Kenmore went to Stewart School
my wife Eileen Griffin lived at 4740 across the street she went to St. Thomas
We've been hanging out a long time
October 2, 2012
4875 N. Magnolia Fades to Gray
I was happy when I heard that this vintage Uptown building across from the Bezazian branch of the Chicago Public Library was to be rehabbed for market rate apartments. With its griffins and gargoyles, it has some of the most interesting architecture in the neighborhood (photo comes from the real estate listing):
Unfortunately, when I walked by last weekend, this is what I discovered:
Flats, the owners of the new building, are in the process of painting it gray. Apparently, this is their signature look, and a number of buildings they have recently purchased are to get the same treatment.
Here's a closeup of the original red brick from one of the few sections left to be painted.
I scanned the exterior of the building, and it doesn't look like any facade work has actually been done prior to painting. Gray paint covers sections that should have been regrouted. Other damage has been covered. At the very least, I would think that the owners would remove the trees growing out of it and secure all the terra cotta before painting:
Once a building has been painted, you can't really go back. It's permanent. There are all kinds of masonry sites on the web that say you shouldn't paint brick, as it can cause even more damage to the structure. I wonder what this building will look like in the coming years.
Unfortunately, when I walked by last weekend, this is what I discovered:
Flats, the owners of the new building, are in the process of painting it gray. Apparently, this is their signature look, and a number of buildings they have recently purchased are to get the same treatment.
Here's a closeup of the original red brick from one of the few sections left to be painted.
I scanned the exterior of the building, and it doesn't look like any facade work has actually been done prior to painting. Gray paint covers sections that should have been regrouted. Other damage has been covered. At the very least, I would think that the owners would remove the trees growing out of it and secure all the terra cotta before painting:
Once a building has been painted, you can't really go back. It's permanent. There are all kinds of masonry sites on the web that say you shouldn't paint brick, as it can cause even more damage to the structure. I wonder what this building will look like in the coming years.
September 17, 2012
MY TEAM THE CHICAGO BEARS 1946
Bill Matteson
Uptown Chicago History Correspondent
As a kid. we lived around the corner from the Sheridan Plaza Hotel where all the sports figures stayed when in town , My Dad being the drinker he was, got around and would drink with various sports celebrities and they would usually end up at our place on Kenmore Ave
.
One of the dirtiest football players of the era was Ed Sprinkle, he taught us kids how to play dirty and not get caught, another was Joe Osmanski, who with his brother, "Bullet Bill" Osmanski were on the Championship Chicago Bears.
I went to a Bears game only once, they Played at Wrigley Field then and met most of the rest of the team, I got to say hello to Sid Luckman, which in the day, was like talking to God.
I was 10 years old then, after Bill retired from football, he became a dentist and actually filled one of my teeth, I seem to remember he had an Office in the Uptown Bank building, The tooth finally had to be pulled. but that was 60 years later, At One point in time. Bill Osmanski ran for Cook County coroner at the same time Chuck Percy was running for Senator. We were at a get aquatinted dinner at a VFW hall in Norwood Park, I approached Bullet Bill and asked if he remembered me, he didn't, but he remembered My Father Chuck Percy Won, Bill didn't
Sid Luckman was the greatest Quarterback of all time (according to me) followed by Johnny Lujack, after that So Long Bears
This was back in the day when footballers were tough, they played the whole game, there were no offense or defense teams, the Quarterback played both sides and did all the Kicking. does any one remember what a drop kick is,? thats how field goals were made back in the day
Lets look at todays player
game time 1 hour
lets say if it were divided equally offense plays 30 mins and defense plays 30 min
With each play lasting only a few seconds and the balance of the time is used up before the next play, well, the Player only averages about 10 minutes worth of playing time. per Game
With 18 games thats 180 minutes or 3 hours for several million dollars per year.
Uptown Chicago History Correspondent
As a kid. we lived around the corner from the Sheridan Plaza Hotel where all the sports figures stayed when in town , My Dad being the drinker he was, got around and would drink with various sports celebrities and they would usually end up at our place on Kenmore Ave
.
One of the dirtiest football players of the era was Ed Sprinkle, he taught us kids how to play dirty and not get caught, another was Joe Osmanski, who with his brother, "Bullet Bill" Osmanski were on the Championship Chicago Bears.
I went to a Bears game only once, they Played at Wrigley Field then and met most of the rest of the team, I got to say hello to Sid Luckman, which in the day, was like talking to God.
I was 10 years old then, after Bill retired from football, he became a dentist and actually filled one of my teeth, I seem to remember he had an Office in the Uptown Bank building, The tooth finally had to be pulled. but that was 60 years later, At One point in time. Bill Osmanski ran for Cook County coroner at the same time Chuck Percy was running for Senator. We were at a get aquatinted dinner at a VFW hall in Norwood Park, I approached Bullet Bill and asked if he remembered me, he didn't, but he remembered My Father Chuck Percy Won, Bill didn't
Sid Luckman was the greatest Quarterback of all time (according to me) followed by Johnny Lujack, after that So Long Bears
This was back in the day when footballers were tough, they played the whole game, there were no offense or defense teams, the Quarterback played both sides and did all the Kicking. does any one remember what a drop kick is,? thats how field goals were made back in the day
Lets look at todays player
game time 1 hour
lets say if it were divided equally offense plays 30 mins and defense plays 30 min
With each play lasting only a few seconds and the balance of the time is used up before the next play, well, the Player only averages about 10 minutes worth of playing time. per Game
With 18 games thats 180 minutes or 3 hours for several million dollars per year.
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