Memories of Buena Memorial Presbyterian Church in Uptown Chicago

Susan and Judy are sisters who attended Buena Memorial Presbyterian Church, which was located at 4247-4301 N. Sheridan Rd., near Montrose and Broadway, on that little peninsula-like piece of land where The Mark condos now stand. They left such wonderful comments to the original post, that we thought we would feature them here:

Judy
I grew up in this church. I loved it so much, and it was a beautiful church to be in and all the people in this church were very loving and caring people. I was thankful to be part of this beautiful church. My sister and I were lucky to be there the day the church was being taken down. We talked to the construction crew and they let us go in to collect some souvenirs. I was so sad to see all the drugs on the ground when we went inside. I could not imagine the church being abused this way,it had so much life inside. I am thankful to have all the great memories of this church. I have the original blueprints as well. I miss this church still today.

Susan
My name is Susan I'm Judy's sister. We had no idea what we were walking into when we visited the site of Buena on it's final demolition day. Our family has a big history there. When our parents moved to Chicago in "62 from Ohio, They lived on Kenmore and montrose, they saw Buena and gave it a try. They loved it immediately. There were so many cool things about how it felt just to walk into the big sanctuary. Giant wooden doors that were from my perspective 50 ft high, which led to a grand staircase into the main sanctuary.
It always felt cold in the church,the way it feels to walk into a museum, yet once settled in Sunday school or main services it was warm and inviting. the overwhelming choking back of tears when Gunther (organist) would play the call to worship and the choir would wail. It really overtook all of your thoughts.
My grandparents actually lived in the church for a while. My grandfather (James Wilson) was the caregiver for many years. When he retired and moved out, it was sad to see the church fall into such a decline. All those years of wealthy members supporting her every need, only to see it demolished still full of contents from the beginning.
Judy and I spent who knows how many hours there going through church records, the precious blueprints (they are spectacular), the Sunday school rosters, Marriage certificate copies, birth announcements, death notices. My grandparents old apartment (in the rear of the church) just destroyed filthy with the remnants of the drug addicts that would sneak in and use it for getting high, the floor littered with used needles empty bottles of booze, feces, reeking of urine. I could almost hear tears falling from the faces on the stained glass windows onto the then busted up cobblestone aisles.
We said our farewells to Buena that day, I took a brick, Judy had the blueprints, we drove home nearly silent.
Thanks for this blog. Thanks for remembering what a grand institution she was to Buena park.

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Thank you, Judy and Susan, for sharing such great memories!

Arcadia Ballroom in Uptown Chicago: Dance Hall, Roller Rink, Boxing Ring

One of our regular readers found a great article on the Arcadia Ballroom, which was built in Uptown in 1910, served some time as a Boxing Ring and a Roller Rink, and burned down in the 1950s. The site is now part of the Wilson Yard project. Here's an excerpt of the article, with link to the rest of the story, which has some photos:

Arcadia Ballroom
4432-4456 North Broadway
Opened 1910

Opened in 1910 as a combination dance hall and skating rink, the Arcadia Ballroom, situated along the west side of Broadway just north of Montrose Avenue, was one of the Uptown district's best known entertainment destinations. During the 1920s, the ballroom became one of the city's most popular dance establishments and stood as one of the few places in the city where white audiences regularly danced to the music of all-black jazz bands. The driving force behind the Arcadia's popularity, particularly during the late 1910s and 1920s, was sports and dance promoter Paddy Harmon, whose interests included the Dreamland Ballroom and Chicago Stadium on the near west side.

At a time when most of the city's ballroom managers drew a strict color line in the hiring of bands to entertain their predominantly white patrons, Harmon willingly hired all-black jazz bands from the south side to play at the Arcadia. This made the ballroom one of only a handful of north side venues...

For complete article, go here: Arcadia.

The Chateau, Sheridan Rd and Clarendon, Uptown Chicago

The Chateau, Sheridan Rd & Clarendon Ave., Uptown Chicago, Illinois.

If you're interested in a reprint or enlargement of this image, drop us an e-mail at blog(a)compassrose.com

Radio Comes to Edgewater

Click on thumbnail image for larger view, or follow this link.

Original caption: They dance to invisible orchestra...The development of the radiophone has made possible dances and concerts by the most famous orchestras in the world. The little radiophone is the medium that provides the tuneful incentive. Miss Catherine Lloyd and Mr. Christy Rodge of Chicago are shown here demonstrating the "Radio Drift," the newest terpsichorean development at the Edgewater Beach Hotel, Chicago.

Edgewater Hotel Sold to Dominick's Finer Foods LLC, Chicago

Dominick’s buys motel next to store

(Crain’s) — Dominick's Finer Foods LLC paid $4 million for a motel property in Edgewater next to one of its stores, setting the stage for a possible redevelopment of a nearly three-acre site near the lakefront.

The acquisition of the 59-room Chicago Lodge, 920 W. Foster Ave., follows Dominick’s purchase in January 2008 of the store, which CoStar Group Inc. says is 45,900 square feet. The store is just west of the motel, which closed after Dominick’s bought it...

Complete article here.

The above image shows an earlier incarnation of the hotel, when it was known as The Sands. In the background is the old Edgewater Beach Hotel.

Man Wearing a Jay's Potato Chip Cannister, Edgewater Beach Hotel, 1948

Just a bit of random silliness at the Edgewater Beach Hotel, circa 1948. Click on the thumbnail or go here for a larger view and the story behind the image.

Wrigley Field Panoramic, 1929

Crowd at Cubs Park, July 27, 1929. You need to click on this image to truly appreciate it. How many buildings in the background can you recognize?

Image courtesy The Library of Congress.

Rainbo Gardens Menu, 1924, Clark and Lawrence, Uptown Chicago

As early as 1894, there was a restaurant at this site. By 1905, there was a two-story beer hall, a bowling alley, and an outdoor dance floor. Generations of Chicagoans from all across the city would come here to be entertained. Jazz Age Chicago has an excellent history of Rainbo Gardens that is a must read for Uptowners.

This is just the cover of the 64-page menu/booklet. We hope to publish more images in the future and, if there is any interest, to release it as an eBook.

Somerset Hotel Matchbook, Sheridan and Argyle, Uptown Chicago

A postcard view of the hotel can be found here. Image courtesy John Chuckman Collection.

The Chicago Landmarks Ordinance and Uptown

The Chicago Landmarks Ordinance provides individual buildings, sites, objects, and even entire districts with legal protection. As of April 2008, 309 Chicago Landmarks have been designated by the City Council, including 259 individual designations and 50 landmark districts. Some 9,000 properties are protected by the ordinance. The Commission is responsible for reviewing any proposed alteration, demolition, or new construction affecting individual landmarks or properties in landmark districts as part of the permit review process.

Last week, a court ruled the ordinance was unconstitutional because it found the seven standards used to determine whether a building qualifies for landmarking are "too vague." Lynn Becker at ArchitecturePlus Chicago discusses this disturbing news in some detail. Read his article and see if you can make sense of the rationale behind the court's decision.

How could this affect the Uptown area? Well, there are a number of buildings and districts in the area that fall under the ordinance. These include the Uptown Theatre, which was designated a Chicago Landmark in 1991. Alta Vista Terrace became a landmark in 1971, The Bryn Mawr and Bell Shore Apartments in 1999, Essanay Movie Studios in 1996, Hutchinson Street in 1997, Immaculata High School in 1983. The very history of the neighborhood is at stake.

We'll keep you up to date on what we learn of the continuing court battle.

Tivoli Theatre vs. Uptown Theatre Football Match, Blondes vs. Brunettes at Wrigley Field

Caption: Fur and hair should fly when a football team composed of blondes from the Tivoli Theatre in Chicago, play a team composed of brunettes from the Uptown Theatre...

Thanks to a local reader for the head's up on these! You can click on each of the thumbnails or follow this link to see the full-size images and complete captions as well as pricing information. (And look closely, the women are wearing heels!)




Update: BWChicago writes in to tell us that these were taken at Wrigley Field, before they installed bleachers and the upper deck.

Northeast Corner of Wilson at Broadway Uptown Chicago

We've featured postcards of this corner before, but in this one you can see more of the buildings north of the intersection. Evanston Avenue was renamed Broadway in 1914.

Image courtesy Compass Rose Cultural Crossroads.