Frank Zappa, Uptown Theatre, 1980 Concert Tour T-Shirt

Happy Halloween, Uptown!

Uptown's Native American Population

American Indians Leave Uptown Behind

Originally published in The Chicago Reporter
by Stephanie Williams

Marilyn Miller was 12 when she and her family arrived in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood during the hot and muggy summer of 1967. Looking for better job opportunities, they moved from the Lac du Flambeau Chippewa reservation in northern Wisconsin under a federal program known as relocation that offered stipends to American Indians who wanted to move from reservations into cities starting in 1952.

The family moved into an apartment at 4939 N. Broadway St. But Miller was disappointed with her new home.

"The quality, the area, the look didn't match the idea of what I had. Everything was dirty and cluttered. The big city didn't seem so pretty anymore," Miller recalled. "I choked back the tears."

She debated whether to tell her dad, a loving but stern man, how she felt. When she did finally muster up the courage, he told her they were staying in Chicago.

"'You never go back, you always move forward,'" Miller said he told her.

Except for a year and a half in the early 1990s, she has lived in Chicago ever since.

Her story is a common one: Thousands of Native Americans moved to Chicago from reservations and other rural areas in the second half of the 20th century. As community and social service organizations were established in or near Uptown, the area soon became the anchor of the city's American Indian community...

To read the complete article, go to: LookSmart.

Viceroy Hotel Key Fob

Here's one of my new favorite pieces, which I recently acquired at auction. It is a room key fob from the Viceroy Hotel (now the Lorali). Built in 1926 and located at the southwest corner of Kenmore and Lawrence, the Viceroy was designed by architects Huszagh and Hill, who also left their stamp on the neighborhood with the beautiful Aragon Ballroom and the New Lawrence Hotel, kitty corner from the Viceroy.

The thumbnail image is of the Viceroy in 1926. To see the full size version, go here.

Today the Viceroy is known as the Lorali, a retirement and care facility. A few years ago, the building owners stripped away much of the elaborate terra cotta. I'm not sure if they sold the pieces or threw them away.

4152 Sheridan

Image Courtesy HAARGIS.

This beautiful mansion was located at 4152 Sheridan Rd. It was once the Coombs (Rowland) Funeral Home, and in the 1940s it was purchased by St. Mary's for use as a parish clubhouse. The first parish carnival was held on the grounds. What's located there today? You guessed it, condos. The below image was captured from Google street views. You can see the top of the tower at St. Mary's at the far upper right.

Ghost Busted?

UPTOWN'S GRACELAND CEMETERY | If you're hankering for the truth behind a legendary Chicago haunting—have I got a story for you.

October 26, 2007

If you want to be spooked, Chicago's your town.

We've got the phantoms of Fort Dearborn, the spirits of Montrose Point and ol' Resurrection Mary, the ghostly hitchhiker who supposedly stalks Archer Avenue.

Clarence Darrow's ghost is said to show up at a bridge near the Museum of Science and Industry. The owner of the Red Lion Pub, Joseph Heinen, swears he's heard footsteps and a woman screaming, "Help me," on the Lincoln Park tavern's second floor. And there's plenty more ghost stories to go around.

In fact, I'm almost convinced something supernatural locked my cat in the upstairs bathroom with a bag of sea shells the night I moved in to my house in Pullman.

How much you believe any of that is really up to you. But if you're hankering for the truth behind a legendary Chicago haunting—have I got a story for you.

It starts, of course, on a dark and stormy night, Aug. 1, 1880...

See Complete Story at Chicago Sun-Times.

Opening Day Advertisement, Uptown Theatre

Uptown Theatre opening day advertisment from the Chicago Herald Examiner, August 18th, 1925. Image courtesy CRCC collection.

Today at High Noon, at 12 o'clock sharp, the Uptown Theatre OPENS ITS DOORS. Drop everything and come! The Uptown Theatre's opening is too magnificent a moment to miss. Come for the most awe-inspiring sight of your life. There's An Acre of Seats. Balaban & Katz Uptown Theatre Broadway and Lawrence Avenue.

Come for the most enjoyment you ever had in a theatre. A stage show of enough splenor to match the startling grandeur of the theatre itself—floods of gypsies, habanera dancers, court processional, love-lorn serenaders out of Old Spain—the Edgewater Beach Hotel Oriole Orchestra—and the world premiere of First National's "The Lady Who Lied" with Lewis Stone and Virginia Valli.

Drop Everything and Be There!


*The Lady Who Lied is presumed lost, as no remaining copies have surfaced, according to SilentEra.Com

News from Friends of the Uptown 10/24/2007

Important art photographs include UPTOWN

The art of photographer Jan Theun van Rees, of Amsterdam, is featured in a new book and two current exhibits. You can see his installation of recent work in Chicago at the Museum of Contemporary Photography, 600 S. Michigan Ave., and in the office of Metropolitan Capital Bank, 9 E. Ontario St., in the remodeled space of what was the historic Judge Lambert Tree Studios building.

Jan Theun van Rees will sign books and discuss his works on view, which offer a privileged view of the often unseen structural components of some of Chicago's grand buildings from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2007 at the Museum of Contemporary Photography. The book was produced by and for U.S. Equities. There are limited number of copies available for the public.

The UPTOWN THEATRE, Chicago, is featured in the MetCap exhibit and in one photo in the book. The theatre is not featured in the Museum of Contemporary Photography show.

The museum's opening reception begins at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 25, and the curator's tour will be at noon Tuesday, Nov. 6.

Museum of Contemporary Photography
http://www.mocp.org/

Metropolitan Capital Bank
http://www.metcapbank.com/site/about_location.html

Jan Theun van Rees
http://www.onewallaway.com

UPTOWN ADVISER is a volunteer service of
Friends of the Uptown, all rights reserved.
Friends of the Uptown is an outreach activity
of Landmark Uptown Theatre Corp., an Illinois
not-for-profit corporation.

Uptown Adviser: uptownadviser@yahoogroups.com
View: http://www.uptowntheatre.com
Email: uptown1925@hotmail.com

###

Additional resources:

CoSo Art Current Sales
http://www.cosoart.com/sale_art_detail.php?pid=4

Photos of the Uptown
http://onewallaway.com/loc_upt.html#wat

Montrose East of Sheridan

Interior Images of the Aragon Ballroom

The top image is available as a poster.

Cuckoo Club, 5138 Broadway, Chicago

This one kind of cracks me up. It's an old matchbook for the Cuckoo Club, once located at 5138 Broadway in Chicago. The outside graphic shows happy children playing with a dog. Good, wholesome family stuff. The interior image is of a nude girl with feathers ala Sally Rand.

The address puts it approximately where the former Burger King (soon to be a Dunkin Donuts) and Marathon gas station now stand.

Howey's 5120 Broadway at Winona

Neither one of these images of 5120 Broadway show the building as it is today. The first one shows it as a single story! The second one, circa 1983, shows a tower quite different from what is seen now:
Today, the building houses the South-East Asia Center. I have to admit, a small part of me wishes that the building still served as an entertainment destination. It would make a fabulous beer garden today, wouldn't it?

Four Boys in Uptown, 1965

Four Boys, Uptown, Chicago, 1965

If you click on the thumbnail image above, you will be taken directly to the George Eastman House online archives. The vast digital collection includes several images by well-known photographer Danny Lyon, who photographed people in Uptown, such as this group of boys, in the mid sixties. Another image can be found at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Born in 1942, Danny Lyon grew up in Queens, New York. Inspired by the novel On the Road, he hitchhiked across the U.S. when he was 20. He first spent time in Chicago as a student of the University of Chicago, studying history, and returned in 1964, when he joined the Chicago Outlaw Motorcycle Club. He rode with the club for two years, and published his photos in the book The Bikeriders. Other books include Conversations with the Dead, a series of photos from the Texas prison system. Today, Lyon lives in New York, where he continues his photography and filmwork.

Skooglund's Cafeteria on Wilson, near Clifton and Racine

Skooglund's Cafeteria "The Place Where Things Taste So Good" was located on Wilson, between Clifton and Racine. The back of this image, circa 1932, reads: "During your visit to Chicago DINE and STOP at Skooglund's Cafeteria and Hotel Lafayette. 1138 Wilson Ave. Near Routes W. S. #12 and #14 at 4600 North. At the above address over 25 years."

The below image of the building was captured from Google maps using their new street view feature. Today the building houses Nick's on Wilson and a bunch of empty storefronts. It's one building I wish I could afford to buy!

Parking Problems in Uptown, 1928

Anyone who lives near Broadway and Lawrence knows that parking can be tough when there is a concert at the Riv or Aragon. But parking problems are nothing new in Uptown, as this article from the October 18, 1928 edition of the Chicago Daily Tribune attests:

Ban Parking on Uptown Streets, Alderman's Plea

Aims Blast at Drivers from Farther North

Directing a broadside at automobile drivers of Evanston, Rogers Park, and North Edgewater, who, it is claimed, park their cars in the Uptown Chicago business district and then take the Wilson avenue elevated to the loop, Ald. Jobe A. Massen (49th) is seeking an ordinance to abolish parking in specified streets of the Uptown district. This measure, which is the first of its kind ever attempted, expresses the [unclear] of the Uptown businessmen.

Ald. Massen proposes to end this menance by precuring the [unclear] of the council of an ordinance prohibiting parking on Broadway between Montrose Avenue and Ainslie street, on Lawrence avenue between Magnolia and Hazel avenues, and Leland avenue between Broadway and Sheridan road, and on Wilson avenue between Magnolia and Hazel avenues, and would have the parking ban in effect between the hours of 7 and 10 am.

Ald. to Business Men

Enforcement of such an ordinance would, Ald. Massen determines, break up the current all day parking practice and would restore to the use of customers of Uptown Chicago business a tremendous amount of curb space during the course of every business day. At present, it is explained, this space is now used only for dead storage purposes.

"It must be remembered," Ald. Massen says, "that curb space used by an automobile parked all day is used only once during the day while curb space devoted to customers is used by many persons during the course of a day."

According to Ald. Massen, a recent [survey] of the automobiles parked on one side of Broadway in a block of Uptown Chicago established the fact that out of 20 cars found parked there early in the forenoon 14 were owned in Evanston and remained parked all day. He says there is no doubt drivers from Evanston, Rogers Park and North Edgewater are using the Wilson ave vicinity as a storage center.

Calls it a Difficult Problem

The traffic and parking problem is the most difficult local problem with which I am compelled to deal," declares Ald. Massen. "Scarcely a day goes by without some busines man urging me to procure the enactment of a no parking ordinance covering the stret immediately in front of his place of business.

"If I had acceded to every request of this sort, there would be no spot in the central Uptown business district where anyone could park. The average business man wants no one to park in front of his place of business, but seems to expect that parking be permitted everywhere in the vicinity of his place as long as it is in front of establishments conducted by other business men."

The Monterey Hotel, Junior Terrace at Clarendon

The Monterey Hotel. 808 Junior Terrace, Corner Clarendon Ave. (4300 North) Chicago 13, Illinois. The back of the card reads: The North Shore's finest Residential Hotel. Catering to transient and Residential Guests. Located on the exclusive North Side, Overlooking Lake Michigan, Lincoln Park and the Outer Drive. 15 minutes to Downtown Shopping and Theatre Center. Motor bus at door. 808 Junior Terrace, Chicago 13, IL.

Image courtesy Brian M.

Malden and Wilson

Malden North of Wilson.

Image courtesy John Chuckman.

Polynesian Village / Edgewater Beach Hotel

Polynesian Villiage /The Edgewater Beach Hotel. Polynesian and Cantonese Food and Drink in a Setting of Tropical Splendor.

Club Waikiki

Club Waikiki, 804 Wilson Ave., Chicago. LOngbeach 1-3446. Hawaiian Food and Cocktails Served in Authentic Atmosphere.

Magnolia Apartments

Corner of Magnolia and Wilson Avenue.

Image courtesy John Chuckman.

900 Block of Sunnyside

Image courtesy John Chuckman.

Matchbook from Uptown National Bank

Thanks to B., who once worked as a building engineer at Bridgeview Bank, for this item. She found it in one of the old desks in the bank building.

Little Johnny Brown, Ella Jenkins, and the Girls and Boys from Uptown Chicago

I found this record at a garage sale: Little Johnny Brown and Other Songs and Other Sounds with Ella Jenkins and the Girls and Boys from "Uptown" (Chicago). It was originally released in 1970 for Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, and is still available, although with new cover art, from Amazon.

Ella Jenkins is a Grammy-award-winning artist who has performed children's music for more than 50 years. The following biography is courtesy of Wikipedia:

Ella Jenkins (born August 6, 1924)

Dubbed “The First Lady of the Children’s Folk Song” by the Wisconsin State Journal, Ella Jenkins has been a leading performer of children’s music for fifty years.

Ella Jenkins was born in St. Louis, Missouri and grew up in predominantly lower middle-class neighborhoods in the south side of Chicago. Although she received no formal musical training, she benefited from her rich musical surroundings. Ella’s brother brought home Boy Scout songs, and her Uncle Flood introduced her to the harmonica and the blues of such renowned musicians as T-Bone Walker, Memphis Slim and Big Bill Broonzy. Ella’s family frequently moved around the south side and, as she moved to different neighborhoods, Ella learned new children’s rhythms, rhymes and games. As neighborhood churches broadcast their services onto the street, Gospel music was a part of Ella’s soundscape. She also enjoyed tap dancing lessons at the local theater and was able to go to the Regal Theater to see such performers as Cab Calloway, Count Basie, and Peg-Leg Bates. While attending Wilson Junior College, she became interested in the music of other cultures through her Mexican, Cuban and Puerto Rican friends. In 1951, Ella earned a Bachelor’s of Arts in Sociology with minors in Child Psychology and Recreation from San Francisco State University. She began writing songs for children while working in recreation centers and as a song leader for camp groups.

Career
After graduating from San Francisco State University, Ella moved back to Chicago and was hired as a Teenage Program Director for the YWCA in 1952. While working at the YWCA, Ella was invited to perform on the Chicago public television show, “The Totem Club.” She was soon offered a regular job as the host of “The Totem Club’s” Thursday program, which she entitled “This is Rhythm.” Ella invited guests from diverse cultures to share their music’s rhythms on her show.

In 1956, Ella decided to become a full-time freelance musician, a vocation she has pursued for over 50 years. She began her career as a children’s musician touring school assemblies in the United States, often sleeping in a different place each night and encountering racial discrimination. As she performed in more varied venues, Ella began to write music about her experiences. Later that year, a friend recommended that she bring a demo tape to Moses Asch, the founder of Folkways Records. Asch was receptive to her music and in 1957, Ella’s first album, Call-And-Response: Rhythmic Group Singing, was released by Folkways. Since then, she has recorded 29 other albums for Folkways Records and, more recently, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, including the popular You’ll Sing a Song and I’ll Sing a Song. Ella has not only been an important force in children’s lives, but also has taught her approach to working with children to parents and fellow music educators. She has participated in many conferences on music education, and has offered workshops for music educators, parents, and caregivers all over the world.

As a performer and educator, Ella has traveled extensively, performing her songs on all seven continents (even Antarctica). As she travels, Ella not only shares her music and experiences but also learns about the cultures of the people she is visiting, taking with her musical traditions and language that she then shares with her audiences. Ella has also made television appearances on shows including NBC’s “Today Show,” CNN’s “Showbiz Today,” and PBS programs such as “Barney and Friends,” “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” “The Me Too Show,” “Look At Me,” and in films shown on “Sesame Street.” Ella performed at America’s Reunion on the Mall in 1993, America’s Millennium Celebration in 2000, and at Smithsonian’s 150th Birthday Party on the Mall in Washington, DC in 1996. In collaboration with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Ella has acted as a U.S. delegate to Hong Kong, the People’s Republic of China, and the former Soviet Union.10

As a recording artist, Ella has gained extensive recognition. Her recordings have received Parents’ Choice awards and GRAMMY nominations in the category of Best Musical Album for Children. In 2004, she was recognized with a GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award.

As an Educator
Ella’s favorite people are children. She sees them as genuine, down to earth people who should be listened to and recognized as having much to offer. Fellow music educator, Patricia Sheehan Campbell, lauds Ella Jenkins as “a pioneer in her early and continuing realization that children have something to sing about, that the essence of who they are may be expressed through song, and that much of what they need to know of their language, heritage, and current cultural concepts may be communicated to them through song.” Through her songs, Ella hopes to develop greater intercultural understanding and rhythmic-consciousness, and to help people discover the joy of singing and communicating through active participation in songs.

Her repertoire includes nursery rhymes, holiday songs, bilingual songs, African-American folk songs, international songs, rhythmic chants, and original songs. Drawing from cultures all over the world, Ella sings in many languages, exposing her audiences to diverse cultures and promoting greater cultural awareness.

Through her style of call-and-response singing, Ella promotes group participation. Found in cultures worldwide, from Greece to the Middle East to West Africa, call-and-response singing involves a leader or leaders singing a phrase and the rest of the participants commenting or responding with another phrase.Using this technique, Ella breaks the barrier between audience and performer, and turns everyone into a performer. By encouraging active participation, Ella promotes the development of a warm group feeling, cooperation among the participants, greater attentiveness, an enjoyment of singing, and a desire to sing. She also encourages children to lead songs, make up their own variations of songs, and experiment with fun and silly sounds. This allows children to think independently, develop leadership skills, and improvise, resulting in increased self-confidence.

In helping children discover music and participate in its creation, Ella provides them with a new tool of communication that they can use and enjoy for the rest of their lives.

Whatever Happened to the Uptown's Organ?

There are a few vintage photos of the interior of the Uptown Theatre at the Chicago Area Theatre Organ Enthusiasts site, along with a brief history of what happened to the organ's original console—including its installation in a California pizza parlor.

CATOE is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of theatre pipe organs. Visit their Web site for a calendar of events and a list of Chicago-area venues that have working organ installations.

Sheridan Road South from Lawrence, the Old Kemper Building

Does the old Kemper Building look strange to you? That's because it's actually shorter in this image than it is now. Four more stories were added some time after its initial construction.

It was built by Harry Emmerman in 1925 and housed the Mutual Insurance company. It was one of Uptown's best and most modern office buildings, with air conditioning and stunning views of Lake Michigan (the shore was closer in those days). In 1928, Kemper insurance moved into the top floors, and eventually bought and took over the building. It would be its headquarters for forty years, until the company moved out to Long Grove. They donated the building to Chicago Ecumenical Institute in 1971. Today, it houses a variety of non-profit groups.

I have a personal connection to this building (one generation removed). When my mom was young and single, she worked for Kemper Insurance. This was in the mid-sixties. She became good friends with two women who also worked there, Marsha and Herma. (Herma is now my godmother.)

When Marsha got engaged, she had a bridal shower, and my mom attended. Someone there took home movies, which Marsha later subjected her youngest brother Ron to. Being a good brother, he humored her, but he made her stop the film and back it up when this pretty blonde—my mom—appeared on the screen. "Who is that? Can you fix me up with her?" he asked.

Marsha went to work the following day, and told my mom what happened. "You don't have to go out with the guy if you don't want to, Donna," she said. "He is my brother." But my mom was game, and agreed to the blind date. A week later they were engaged.

And that's how my parents met.

Zoom In On Uptown

You can now search Uptown at the street level on Google. Simply type in an address and click on "Street View." It's fun to zip up and down the neighborhood streets--I think I even spotted a few people I know! I was even able to find a disturbingly detailed image of the six-flat I live in--you can practically see inside the windows.

Go to www.Maps.Google.com to try it out yourself.

View of the McJunkin Building

The McJunkin Building was designed by Arthur Gerber, who also designed the Wilson El Station across the street. It was built on the former site of the Lower Wilson station.

Update: I originally thought this photo was from the 80s, based on the date listed for it, but Irish Pirate pointed out that the cars are older, so perhaps it's from the early 70s.
Image courtesy HAARGIS.

4365 Sheridan Chicago

This deco-looking building was located at Montrose and Sheridan, where the parking lot of the Jewel is now located. It housed several small businesses, including Top This Italian Beef, and a 30-lane bowling alley. At the far right, you can see the Buena Memorial Presbyterian Church.

Image courtesy HAARGIS.

Carlton Terrace

I found this advertisement for Fenestra Casements in the July 1927 issue of The Architectural Record. The image is of Carlton Terrace, now the Carlton Terrace Apartments at 4626 N. Magnolia. The text reads: "In the beautiful Carlton Terrace, Chicago, the windows are an important factor in the architectural design. Here, as in many of the country's finest apartments, Fenestra Casements have proved to be an adaptable medium in the hands of the architect. Their delicate lines and attractive panes are in full harmony with the structural details of the building. And these Fenestra advantages of design and construction are invariably augmented by real window convenience and comforts for the occupants of the building. The latest Fenestra catalog provides the architect with all information required for accurate detailing, together with illustrations of many attractive installations. Send for a copy."

Click on the image to get a larger version.

Vintage Glasses from Aragon Ballroom, Edgewater Beach Hotel

These glasses were tricky to photograph, so I apologize for the quality of the image. They are probably from the forties.

The one in the middle is from the Edgewater Beach Hotel. The one on the far left is from the Aragon Ballroom, and the one on the far right says Trianon/Aragon.

The Trianon, once located at 62nd and Cottage Grove, was the most expensive ballroom ever built when it opened in 1922. It closed in the fifties, and was torn down to make way for public housing in the late sixties.

Sister to the Trianon, the Aragon Ballroom was built in 1926 by Andrew Karzas, who also owned the Trianon. Karzas built the Aragon, according to historian Scott Newman, to "silence those who criticized the city's commonplace dance halls as unhealthy, immoral venues for the seduction of women, the practice of prostitution, and the then-illegal distribution of alcohol."

I have them packed away at the moment, but in the near future I'll post some vintage blueprints and black and white images of the Aragon that I have in the collection.

Tunnels of Uptown Video Tour with Fox News Chicago

Fox News Chicago visited the tunnels below Uptown Chicago in 2006. Dave Jemilo, owner of the Green Mill Jazz Club, and Brian Durack, building engineer of the Aragon Ballroom, are featured.

To play video, click on arrow in the center of the image.

Tunnels of Uptown Video Tour by Ric Addy

A series of tunnels can be found below the streets of the Uptown Entertainment District at Lawrence and Broadway. Ric Addy, owner of Shake Rattle and Read / The Book Box, takes the viewer on a tour of Uptown’s underside.

To play video, click on arrow in the center of the image.

Weird and Haunted Chicago: The Green Mill

I'm a sucker for Chicago walking and bus tours, but one group I haven't toured with yet is Weird and Haunted Chicago, which has an interesting story on the history of the Green Mill on their Web site.

I'm pretty busy this month, so I don't think I'll have time to hop on the bus and see some ghosts, but if any of you get the chance, I'd love to hear about it. A number of their tours are still available.

Wilson Avenue Beach, North Shore of Lake Michigan

I think my favorite postcards of Uptown are those with people. They're not too common. Most show buildings, or crowds at a distance. There are very few where you can actually make out individual faces.

Wilson Avenue Beach was located at 4600 North, and was a privately owned beach. In 1915, the City of Chicago opened Clarendon Beach (now Montrose Avenue Beach) immediately to the south, at 4400 North, to serve as a public beach.

Click on the thumbnail photo below to see a larger version of the black and white image of Wilson Avenue Beach, housed at the Library of Congress.

Menu, Aragon Ballroom