An Uptown Congregation Helps Out

Preston Bradley would be proud. Here's an article from this week's Chicago Tribune.

Christmas meal at the Peoples Church in Chicago gets Jewish synagogue's help
Volunteers from Temple Sholom serve food and holiday spirit to the needy

By Bonnie Miller Rubin | Tribune reporter
December 26, 2008

At 7:45 a.m., more than four hours before the doors opened, the line for a Christmas dinner snaked along Lawrence Avenue in Chicago.

On any other day, that might be a bit early to contemplate turkey and all the trimmings, but that didn't stop a muted crowd from queuing up at The Peoples Church, determined not to miss out on what might be their only yuletide gift.

"These are hard times . . . and a lot of folks just have nowhere else to go," said Isaac Barrantine, the meal coordinator at the church in the rapidly gentrifying Uptown neighborhood.

A few years ago, four or five shelters in the area fed the homeless, but now "we're the only place serving a meal within 35 blocks," he said...

Continue reading here.

Wright Hydroaeroplane Flies from Clarendon Beach to Grant Park, 1913

Original Caption: View of Wright hydroaeroplane owned by P. C. Davis that Harry Powers flew at Clarendon Beach at Lake Michigan, in the Uptown community area of Chicago, Illinois. This image shows the plane parked in the water at the beach.

Original Caption: Portrait of aviator Harry Powers, and mechanic Tony Stadduman belted inside a hydroaeroplane at the Lake Michigan lakefront in Chicago, Illinois. Harry Powers flew the Wright hydroaeroplane that was owned by P. C. Davis from Clarendon Beach to Grant Park.

Original Caption: Portrait of aviator Harry Powers, belted inside a hydroaeroplane, shaking hands with Theo Daves and mechanic Tony Stadduman at the Lake Michigan lakefront in Chicago, Illinois. Harry Powers flew the Wright hydroaeroplane that was owned by P. C. Davis from Clarendon Beach to Grant Park.

Source: DN-0009645, Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Library of Congress; DN-0009646, Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Library of Congress; DN-0009643, Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Library of Congress.

When You Could Still Hunt in Edgewater Chicago

Image of a hunter standing near the Edgewater railroad station in Chicago, Illinois.

Source: DN-0002454, Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Library of Congress.

4436 Clifton, Uptown, Chicago

4436 Clifton, Uptown, Chicago.

Source: DN-0009608, Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Library of Congress American Memory Collection.

Wilson Avenue Train Station, Uptown Chicago

Way back in November 2007, we posted this image of the Wilson Avenue Station from our own postcard collection:

Well, we found another image of it, taken from behind, where you can see more of Broadway (then Evanston Avenue) in front of it.

Original Caption: View of the curve in the train tracks at the Northwestern elevated railroad terminal near West Wilson Avenue in the Uptown community area in Chicago, Illinois. Image shows the terminal building and a stretch of curved track with building materials nearby.

This next one, I believe, is from the station platform.

Original Caption: Image of a Northwestern line elevated train going around a curve in the track at the new terminal near West Wilson Avenue in the Uptown community area in Chicago, Illinois. A train is crossing a trestle in the background.

Source: DN-0004736, Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Chicago Historical Society; DN-0004739, Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Chicago Historical Society.

Wilson Avenue Beach with NIght Bathing Pier, Uptown Chicago

Bath house at the end of Wilson Avenue, at the Bathing Beach. In the distance, you can see a pier for night bathing. C.R. Childs post card showing Lake Michigan a hundred years ago.

New Auditorium, Arcadia Ballroom, Broadway Between Montrose and Wilson, Uptown Chicago

Interior view of the auditorium of the Arcadia Ballroom, once located at 4450 Broadway (previously Evanston Avenue) between Wilson and Montrose. The spot currently is home to Wilson Yard. Thanks to Ben B. for the image.

Plank Room, Sheridan Plaza Hotel, Chicago, Illinois

The Sheridan Plaza Hotel at Wilson and Sheridan in Uptown Chicago once housed the Plank Dining Room.

Sheridan and Leland, Uptown, Chicago

Sheridan Road at Leland, you can see the church on Wilson in the far distance. Image courtesy Ben B.

Graeme Stewart School, Uptown, Chicago

An early image of Graeme Stewart School in Uptown, Chicago. Image courtesy John Chuckman.

Sheridan Park Station, Uptown, Chicago

Image courtesy John Chuckman.

Back Stage Burlesk, 935 Wilson Avenue, Uptown Chicago

We recently learned that speakeasy type murals were discovered in the basement of 935 Wilson during renovation. No word on whether or not the building's owners plan to preserve them or not. Image courtesy John Chuckman.

Cubs Tavern, 3800 N. Clark, Just south of Irving Park in Chicago

Bring the family? Really? The Cubs Tavern was located just south of Irving Park, near Wunders Cemetery, at 3800 N. Clark.

Edgewater Beach Hotel

Edgewater Beach Hotel, Sheridan at Foster. Image courtesy John C.

Where is Beer Funday? Uptown Chicago Businessman

In real estate you should invest
And wear a white bloom on your chest
Go in for cheer Monday
(But where is beer funday?)
For those are his wishes expressed.

It looks like J.F. Cornelius was an Uptown Chicago real estate mogul. I wonder if any of our famous neighborhood landmarks passed through his hands? Thanks to Ben B. for finding this one.

Hotel Holloway, 4611 Racine in Uptown Chicago

Hotel Holloway, 4611 Racine at Wilson, Uptown, Chicago. Below is the location today, courtesy Google Streetview:

Educating Uptown, Senn High School, Chicago

My mom graduated from Senn High School in 1963. While looking up information in the school, I came across this short video called "Educating Uptown". The description on YouTube says: "Uptown, like many ethnically and economically diverse neighborhoods, is a community of contradictions. Gangs hang out on decrepit street corners in the shadow of million-dollar townhouses. For some Uptown youth, education is merely an afterthought. In recent years, schools and community organizations have established many programs to combat this problem and bring educational opportunities to Uptown students. We explore some of the obstacles facing young people in Uptown as well as the opportunities available to aid in the continuation of their education."

The video features Kuumba Lynx, Uplift Community High School, and Senn Achievement Academy, a school within Senn.

The Street Gypsies, Uptown Novel by Glendell Latham

The Street Gypsies by Glendell Latham is set in Uptown Chicago in the 1970s and is based on the life of the author. Many familiar Uptown instituions, like the Aragon Ballroom, The Green Mill, and even Gigio's Pizza, are mentioned within its pages.

Here's a summary from the back cover:

The Street Gypsies is about the urban underclass of street characters who lived in Chicago’s Uptown Community during the 1970’s. They were a society of free spirits. They were sometimes unsavory but, almost always, colorful characters who were street hustlers surviving on the streets by wit and whim; invariably, getting caught-up in the addictive nature of the lifestyle. The culture was probably a manifestation of the times. During those years, there was rampant unemployment and inflation in America.

It was also a time of social unrest and rebellion that spawned a number of radical groups. There was an anti-establishment climate that was fueled by the drop-out drug culture that carried over with its hippie influences from the 1960’s. Add to that, the elements of the sexual revolution, the civil rights and women’s movements. It was the glory days of Rock and R&B. All of this was the foundation for the mind-set that prevailed within this Street Gypsy culture. Survival was made an art form by these resourceful and spirited characters.

Listen to Glendell Latham discuss his book:



In this next short video, Glendell Latham takes us on a tour of Uptown Chicago. People interviewed include Gigio's Pizza owner Maria Rizzo, who shares memories of the neighborbood, and Jimmy, a current resident of the Malden Arms, where Latham once lived:





About the Author: Glen Latham is a proud graduate of Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, Illinois. Glen, who works in the real estate industry, lived in the Uptown Community for 8 years between 1975 and 1983. His book titled The Street Gypsies tells of his harrowing adventures and exploits of a life and culture that very few have survived.

Appalachian Migrants in Uptown Chicago

From Diversity to Unity is a community study of settlement and adaptation of Southern and Appalachian migrants to the neighborhood of Uptown Chicago. Oral histories, community newspapers, and secondary sources reveal the human experince of urban migration.

To order your copy, go here.