February 11, 2011

Memories of Graeme Stewart School and Other Uptown Chicago Locations

Editor's Note: Cheryl Peck left these comments on one of the posts, but I didn't want to risk such great memories getting lost, so I'm transferring them to a post of their own. If you have memories of Uptown you'd like to share, e-mail me at editor(a)compassrose.com.

I went to Graeme Stewart School from 1950-1952, 1st-3rd grade. The last time I stopped by the school was 2008 when they had the street torn up. The building looks pretty much the same. I would love to see if I could get in touch with some of the kids I went to school with. That would be wonderful. I have many fond memories of the Uptown area. I lived on Lawrence, Leland and Sheridan Road. I believe my mom had an apartment of Argyle and Sunnyside when I was a baby. The last place my grandma lived was on Kenmore across from St. Thomas of Cantebury Church where my sister and I were baptized. Her building was demolished and replaced with the Salvation Army Building. My grandma lived there until 1964. I remember going to the Lakeside Theatre, the Pantheon Theatre, the Riviera and Uptown Theatre. I even saw Mary Hartline on Sheridan Road, shopping. Sheridan Road and Broadway were such nice shopping areas. It is a shame that all changed for the worse. And of course, the Aragon. I remember seeing the signs out front when Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey were playing there and I was just a kid. Also, it was so cool to see the people going there for shows all dressed up in their fancy attire. I remember getting my Bonnie Braids doll at Ford Hopkins on Wilson and Sheridan across from the church which my girlfriend Ingrid lived in because her father was the person who cleaned and took care of the church. I also remember going to the People's Church on Lawrence of which I lived down the street from, bobbing for apples on Halloween. I actually walked down the street at night at age 5 or 6 and didn't have to be afraid. I remember eating ice cream sundaes at Walgreens on Lawrence and Sheridan and eating hot corned beef sandwiches at Happy Jack's across the street from Walgreen's. Anyone remember Thompson's Cafeteria? On Wilson and Broadway, I believe. I would spend my 12 cents that my mom gave me for lunch there on jello before school. I remember the Kresge's on Sheridan where I got caught stealing playing cards. They were real nice there though. They didn't stop me but waited until my mom and I were shopping together and they pulled my mom aside when I was in the bathroom. Boy did I get it when I got home from my dad. I learned to roller skate in a gangway on Sunnyside with one skate, then two. I have so many happy memories of going to the Jewish Deli on Lawrence before the El Station. I would buy smoked fish and kosher pickles for my grandma and we would eat them together after she took all the bones out for me. So many good memories. As I say my grandma's building is gone and so is the building I lived in on Leland off of Sheridan which was either owned or run by the aunt of Bill Hayes (who is on Days of our Lives). I remember her asking me if I knew of him and that he was her nephew. I was 8 at the time. The memories will always remain unless Alzheimers takes them away. ...
I remember a lady teacher, Miss Goulet - like Robert Goulet. I'm not sure of the spelling. I remember her taking us to the Lincoln Park Zoo and buying us popsicles. Lincoln Park Zoo is still my favorite zoo and my husband and I are members. I took my kids there when they were young and now take my great and great great nieces. I also have a memory of being asked to go to a classroom with another girl for some reason, I think to clean up and instead made one of the biggest messes ever. Does anyone remember powdered paints in black and whatever color was in the container. Well, I went to take the lid off and it spilled all over the floor. There I was trying to clean it up with wet rags. The mess kept getting bigger and bigger. Funny the silly things you hang onto. Also, does anyone remember having the dentist come to school and check your teeth? They would even fix them. Well, my sister was being checked when she decided to run out of the room and I had to chase her up a couple of flights of stairs. She never did get back in the chair. Cheryl Peck

54 comments:

Bill Matteson said...

Cheryl thank you for the great memories,
I graduated from stewart June 1950
my wife graduated from St Thomas the same year.
we lived on the 4700 block of Kenmore
Bill Matteson

Anonymous said...

Bill,
Thank you so much for giving my memories their own post. That was very nice of you. I could have gone on and on as I probably will now. I remember one incident at St. Thomas of Canterbury, I lit all the candles on the alter and got caught. Sister Mary Sullivan, I believe she was the head Nun, took me into her office and scolded me real good. Then she put me in the walkway that joined the church and the school which had locked doors and left me there for the longest time. I didn't think she was ever going to let me out. I was so scared. She taught me a real good lesson and I never did it again.

I also remember Davidson's Bakery, I think that was the name, that was at the El Station on Lawrence. It was on the right side next to the doors that went into the station. My grandma would buy all our holiday pies there. Also, after reading another lady's comments I remember now that Mary Hartline was shopping at Grayson's when I saw her. I remember having to buy a skating skirt that was like the short skirts she would wear. I was able to get pictures of her and Claude Kirsner on Ebay, a real treasure.

My grandma also lived at 842 Lawrence before Kenmore on the 3rd floor that faced Lawrence.I lived 2 buildings to the east of her. She had a front porch that had windows that wrapped around the whole porch. You could see Lake Michigan on the right and the Edgewater Beach Hotel straight ahead and down Lawrence to the left. We would watch the July 4th fireworks from that porch. Wow, as a kid I remember it being a bigger than life experience. I have purchased a couple of pieces of dinnerware from the hotel on Ebay. They are priceless to me. I can stil picture that apartment. She had a kitchen that was smaller than a closet. A tiny sink and a stove. She had a livingroom and a bedroom. The porch had her ice box. It was so cold on the porch in the winter that my stepgrandfather's long underware would freeze out there. At that time, the apartment came furnished and you shared the bathroom with the other people on the floor. You even got your clean sheets from the landlord everyweek and towels. Mr. and Mrs. Huey were her landlords.
Also, does anyone remember the hot dog lady and man on Lawrence just the other side of the viaduck? They were the best hot dogs ever. Also, when she decided to rest, she would take her dress off and lay in her slip in the grass. Also, the Good Humor man riding his bike with the ice cream cart attached to the front. He would go through the park right down from the hot dog stand. I was also around when they built the first high building on Lawrence across from the then Standard gas station just before Marine Dr.. I also remember getting my Bireleys pop out of the Coca Cola refrigerator. That was the best pop - no carbonation. I also remember getting a paper crown hat from the gas station from some promotion. Remember the glass crowns that were on top of the gas pumps?

I use to go shopping with my grandma at Goldblatt's on Broadway. We would go in the basement where they had all kinds of fruit. I would always take some dates out of the wooden boxes. They were the best. I will share one last thought. There use to be a place on Broadway that you bought you chicken. They were all alive in cages and they would kill them right on the spot and clean them. You talk about fresh chicken...

I'm sure I will think of more things but I better close for now. Hope to get some responses.
Cheryl Peck (maiden name)

bill Matteson said...

cheryl
thanks for the kind words. I remember a lot from those days, strange the principal from Stewart school was Named Mary Sullivan, my mom dad and sister lived in a three room furnished apt also during the summer I would camp out on the back porch, we lived on the 2nd floor right behind the Lakeside Theater You are right about the hotdogs they were the best.
write me back wgmatteson1@att.net

Anonymous said...

Hi Bill,
Sister Mary Sullivan was at St. Thomas of Canterbury Church. I'm sorry if I confused you.

Cheryl

Anonymous said...

I have to make a correction. The dentist did not come to Graeme Stewart School when I was there. I had it mixed up with Holmes School where I went to 4th and 5th grade. Sorry for the incorrect information.

Cheryl Peck

Anonymous said...

Hi
I really enjoy all of your stories about Uptown. I also grew up in uptown in a building that five generations of my family lived in.
My family came to Chicago in 1854
and in Uptown since about 1885 and that was my maternal great grandfather who first bought property
which was a small house, the location I'm not sure of.
His second piece of property was a six flat on Kenmore between Irving Park and the Buena circle and that was about 1906. the property that my family still lives in was bought in 1915. Well, enough of that.
It was a real slice of life in this one four block area where I grew up, you had Millionaires, people on welfare and the rest of us all bumping elbows.
I remember walking down Montrose with friends and stopping at Jake's pup in the ruff when it first opened a couple doors down from its current location and buy a burger, fries and a coke for 47 cents and if you wanted a shake instead of coke the bill came out to 63 cents.
My buddies and I would meet up with some guys we knew from Stewart school who lived near Wilson and they would have eaten at Johnie's red hots. We always had the same argument, who had the best fries? Johnie's fat fries or Jake's skinny fries. Johnie's did have bigger fries but Jake gave you more so it was about even. we would hang out and go to the movies. they used to show triple features at the Lakeside.

On an earlier post somebody mentioned Ritchie the retarded kid who spat on their brothers doughnut.
He was renowned for his ability to spit and for a bunch of ten year old boys a highly respected gift. As I recall his real name was Richard Wolfgang and lived with his parents in a six flat in the middle of the block on junior terrace between Clarendon and Marine drive.
Ritchie had downs syndrome and was born in about 1930 to older parents, at least that was the story. One of the older people in the neighborhood said that his father was a renowned attorney in international law. Ritchie was well cared for and lived a long time for somebody with his handicap. He would walk around the neighborhood with his two wheeled cart and run small errands for his mother. His stops included Spiro's deli located on Clarendon at Junior Terrace in the south side of the Ellen courts building. There was a dry cleaners on the north side of the building run by Mr. and Mrs. Sherman and he would stop by there as well.
When he needed a hair cut he would walk up Montrose to Pat's barber shop and he would stand in the middle of the shop and Pat would walk over to him and cut his hair.
I don't think Ritchie liked barber chairs. I knew some of these things because the Wolfgang family was on my delivery rout when I was in my early teens.
There was such a variety of characters in the neighborhood, from richie to frisky a 400 pound guy drove an ice cream truck and you could always tell where he was in the truck by how it was leaning.
I could go on forever.
I just wanted to let Bill M. know that I really enjoy his posts.
thanks much
Al

Anonymous said...

Hi Again,
With acknowledgement to the greasy spoon restaurants that were mentioned by Al, does anyone remember The Ritz on Lawrence? It was a white building trimmed in red, I believe. You could get a huge bag of the greasiest fries for a quarter. I would stop there on my way to the El station and would eat them all the way home to the 63rd St. and Halsted stop. I lived on 57th and Sangamon at that time. I would come to visit my grandma and she would give me the quarter for the fries.
Cheryl Peck

fishing adventures said...

to cheryl peck - i look at this website often. when i saw your name, it sounded familiar. i think we were in the same class. i also remember the name ingrid. i had miss goulet in the second grade and i think the third. my maiden name was marilynne marcos. i believe i have our class pictures in my mother's house. i have to check and would like for them to be viewed. my memories - i lived on junior terr, two bldgs from clarendon from birth til 10yrs, then moved to grace st and lake shore and then went to le moyne, but memories of stewart and junior are more memorable. my sister was five yrs older so she took me around everywhere. we of course went to the movies every weekend like everyone else. my mother took me shopping on broadway to goodblatt's and her favorite food store was hillmans. it was next to woolworths. i took dancing lessons from madam andre. her studio was on wilson, just off of broadway. i took the wilson ave bus to school, but usually walked home. when we went out for lunch i too went to thompson's cafeteria and a place called the squareburger a few doors from thompson's. i think about the wilson ave hotdog stand. it was on wilson and marine dr i think. my class mates at stewart were joellen adler, lynn schwartz, mary rubin and linda odens and do you remember lynn bielick - her parents had a grocery store on clarendon. junior terr was a fun street to live. there were so many kids of all ages and everyone played outside summer or winter. it was fun to go to the big hill in montrose park. to al, who wrote about richard, the, in those days we called them mongoloids, i almost freaked. he scared all of us. i remember what his mother looked like and she was always calling out, richard, richard. i had a cousin on montrose & marine dr and she was more afraid of him. i grew up with livein help. she was black and she used to take my sister and i to her friends all the time. it was the only street where blacks lived at that time. it has to be kennmore, north of wilson. to bill about the movies - the vogue was on broadway between grace and sheridan and the theater that was on sheridan east of broadway was called the essex. thought you would like to know. did you remember the deluxe? you did not mention it. i really love reading all the comments and hope if anyone knows me, i would love to hear from you. to coin a phrase "thanks for the memories" maiden name marilynne marcos

Anonymous said...

Marilynne - If you lived on Junior terr back in the 50's then you would remember what the property looked like before Brennemann school and the imperial towers was built. it was a huge piece of property that stretched from clarendon to marine drive and at one time to the lake untill lake shore drive and marine drive were built. it was a wooded area with a dirt road going up the middle from clarendon with a big house about 2/3 the way in and if i'm not mistaken that dirt road was called robbins terrace after the family that owned the property. I believe they owned that property since the 1800's.
Do you also remember before Cunio hospital was built on the northeast corner of montrose and clarendon there used to be a park with benches and a big drinking fountain that seemed to be 5 or 6 feet high with a bowl that wrapped around with a bunch of spigots. I used to walk by there on my way to the cottages which was a branch of Stewart school.
Al

fishing adventures said...

hi al - i remember everything you talked about. i remember when imperial towers was built. my neighbor on grace moved there. i remember the fountain and concrete benches around it. richard terorized us there too. i remember spiro's and the cleaners, my mother used to have alterations done there. we did not mention cohn's drugstore on clarendon & junior terr - the father was nice, but his son jack was mean to the kids. it is so sad to see half the streets ripped down, because it was our good childhood. getting back to wilson & broadway, i did not mention mr adams and andes candies. when the mints came into the grocery store, i knew where they came from. please keep posting. marilynne

fishing adventures said...

hi cheryl peck - i found our class picture it says 3b 1952 i don't know how to get it posted. please respond marilynne

Joanne said...

marilynne -- You can e-mail me the picture at editor@compassrose.com and I'll get it posted for you.

Anonymous said...

Hi Marilyn,
I can't believe you remember Miss Goulet.Sometimes we have information in our head but you wonder if it is accurate or not. It is so nice to know that I wasn't dreaming. The bottom of my picture says 107 Stewart School 3B-3A Oct 1952. I am on the top row left the third from the end. Joan, I believe is first then a blonde girl then me with the long curls next to Barbara Rosenbrook. Ingrid isn't in this picture, she was in the one before where we were in our halloween costumes. I left Stewart School during third grade. I don't have a class picture. If you have the same picture as I do from Room 107, where are you in the picture?
Cheryl Peck

Anonymous said...

Hi Marilynne,
I can't believe you remember Thompson's Cafeteria. At 66 I still have a good memory. All the girls you named. If you have the picture I mentioned before, can you point out those girls to me? I lived on Lawrence Avenue. The hot dog stand I mentioned was close to Marine Drive and on Lawrence Avenue across from the gas station.
I also had a girlfriend whose last name was Black. I forget her first name. Her father had a jewelry store on Lawrence Avenue. Do you remember Chauncey, David or Jerry Noice not sure of the first name. Or Sandy and Cheryl, they were Oriental Twins. There was also Roxanne, Susan, Sharon, I believe Jane with red hair.
I remember Hillman's as well. Wasn't it in the basement of Goldblatt's? My grandma lived on Kenmore until 1964 so I use to visit her a lot and my girlfriend and I would go to Woolworth's and get our pictures taken in that little booth that they had. I still have the pictures. I am so excited to hear from someone that I went to school with. It is so nice of you to get back to me. Are you stil in the Chicago area? I am on the southside of Chicago.

Cheryl Peck

Anonymous said...

Hi Marilynne,
I just forwarded my secod and third grade pictures to Joanne. I'm looking forward to their being posted. I'm wondering if you are the one in the second row - fourth from the left next to Sandy or Cheryl. I forget which was which. They are the twins.

Cheryl

fishing adventures said...

hi cheryl thanks for getting back to me. i have a picture that says 211 stewart school 3b oct 1952 i also hace a 3rd grade picture, but you said you weren't there anymore. none of the names you mentioned weren't familiar, except roxanne schwartz. her parents had a camp in eagle river wisconsin and i went there when i was 10 yrs. sher also had a younger sister gloria. i have to figure out how to get my pictures in the computer, because joanne said she would post them. i had miss goulet for 2nd and 3rd grades. we can't forget her - she was young and pretty. looking back at those days are fun and exciting. so much is torn down and that it sad. i go on google maps and all the streets are torn down. when i 21 i moved to la and five years later moved to s florida - don't miss the snow. please keep in touch and hope to see all our pictures posted. maybe we will pull others from the woodwork. marilynne

Anonymous said...

Hi Marilynne,
I sent the two pictures I had to Joanne. I'm hoping she will post them soon. I don't remember exactly when I left in third grade but maybe I was in the picture but just didn't get it. I'd love to see it. I've been pulling up old addresses and schools on Google. The apartment I lived in on Lawrence Ave. is now a condo. I was able to see the apartment downstairs from ours as a condo. It is amazing, I could tell you exactly where things were when I lived there.Everything is so vivid in my head. We moved to Leland Ave.(which has since been torn down) when I was 7 and then to Sheridan Road. I use to walk a long ways to go to Stewart School. We go back to the area every now and then. I also check another building I lived in on the southside and the corner is empty. The whole building is gone. I even found another building that has been remodeled and looks great. My parents moved around a lot after we left the uptown area. We didn't settle down until 1955 when they bought a house on the southside of Chicago and I lived there until I got married when I was 19 just shy of 20. I still live in the same town. It is called Alsip, IL. Unfortunately, you and I didn't live in the same neighborhood but frequented the same stores. It is cool to look back.

Keep you eye out for the pictures.
Do you have an account on Facebook?
I do. Maybe we can befriend each other.

Cheryl Peck

fishing adventures said...

hi cheryl - you must have the 2nd grade picture - i am looking forward to seeing it. i got intrigued with the uptown area because of hgtv. so many programs showed house hunting in the uptown area. i couldn't believe it. they gutted everything, made nice kitchens and bathroom but small bedrooms and no closets. when those bldgs were built, people did not have possessions like we all do today. our memories as kids can't be taken away. getting back to thompson's cafeteria, i loved the raised doughnuts with white sugar. hillmans was on broadway next to woolworths. we were at goldblatt's all the time, but don't remember what we bought there. i was on facebook until i opted out. all i did was answer who emailed me. let's keep this going. you were in the uptown area for such a short time and to have your memories is saying something. i was born on junior terr and was there until i was ten. as i stated previously we moved to grace & lake shore. i was there til i moved to calif at 21. my parents moved to florida after the great blizzard in 67. i always was close to the uptown area because we only moved a few blocks south. i used to visit chicago every year until 12 years ago - haveen't been back since, but i see the neighborhood on google. my bldg on grace st is a condo and looks great. lets keep this going marilynne

Anonymous said...

Hi,
AHctually, I was born at Ravenswood Hospital, which is now gone, 5/12/1944. My mom had an apartment on Mauldin then. From there I think she moved to 833 W. Lawrence and we were there until I was 7. Then to Leland and Sheridan as I said but my Grandma lived on 4838 Kenmore until 1964 and we were visiting her there until she moved in with my Mom. My Grandma died August 5, 1964. I wasn't bake to Uptown for a long time after that. My Mom was born at St. Luke's in 1927 and her parents lived at 1020 Leland. So, we were mostly around there when I was young. When my grandma died I was 19. I have watched the same programs on HTV. The area intrigues me as well. I just got finished looking at the apartment at 833 W. Lawrence where I lived. They have a condo up for auction that was downstairs from where I lived. The opening bid is at $72,000. I would love to buy it. How silly is that. My stepfather is probably flipping in his grave right now. He feels he did us a favor getting us out of the neighborhood since it was going down the tubes at that time and he probably did, but I have a lot of good memories and I truly treasure them.
I will definitely keep this going. So nice communicating with you.

Cheryl

fishing adventures said...

cheryl, if joanne didn't post your memories as a feature, we would never have connected. i hope she keeps it, because i wouldn't know to communicate. i do it throught the posts. my birthdate is 5/22/44 you beat me by ten days. marilynne

Anonymous said...

Marilynne,
Actually it was bill who decided to give me my own post. I was so honored for him to do that. Is Joanne his wife?
How close our birthdays are. Unbelieveable. I guess this was suppose to happen. I don't think all I have written is under the post. If you enter Google as gaeme stewart school uptown and then go into the area that states 1918 in it description you will get what I wrote. If something was to happen to my site info., you can reach me on Classmates if you belong to that. Otherwise, I can give you me E-mail address.

Joanne said...

Hi...Joanne here. I've been hosting the Uptown blog since 2007, and am always delighted to have people send in their memories. My parents grew up in Uptown/Andersonville, and I was born here in 1969. Bill Matteson contacted the blog a few months back, and since then has been writing for us regularly. No relation. :-)

So, I'm the one who posts the features. If any readers have images or stories to share, send them to editor@compassrose.com and I'll post them as a main blog post.

We have a main website as well with more Uptown content at Compass Rose Cultural Crossroads.

Anonymous said...

Joanne,
Did you receive the two pictures I sent to you? You mentioned to Marilynne that if pictures were sent to you that you would post them. We are really looking forward to seeing each other's pictures.

Cheryl

Anonymous said...

Hi Joanne,
Thank you so much for posting my two pictures. Also, thank you for giving me my own Post. You really do a great job with this site. I am so happy to be a part of it.

I hope Marilynne will be able to get her picture to you as well.

Again, thank you.
Cheryl

Anonymous said...

Joanne,
Would it be possible to make my two pictures part of my Post site?

Cheryl

Anonymous said...

Marilynne,
The pictures have been posted.

Cheryl

Anonymous said...

Hi Marilynne I do remember Cohn's drug store. when you entered the store you went down about four or five steps and if you turned to the left of the steps over on your right was where the druggist counter was and on your left was a counter with stools and a soda fountain. we used to get cokes there. the guy would put some syrup in a glass and then he would add carbonated water using a water gun on a hose. On the other side of the steps there were shelves with odds and ends. Cheryl - I do not remember ever going to the Ritz but I had heard of it.
Al

Anonymous said...

Hi Al,
What years did you live in Uptown? Did you attend Graeme Stewart School or St. Thomas of Canterbury?
The Ritz was maybe a block before the El Station on Lawrence Avenue. It was on the leftside of the street as you went west on Lawrence.
Cheryl Peck

Anonymous said...

Hi Cheryl
I lived in uptown from time I was Born in 1950 to 1976.
I went to Stewart school and the branch known as the Cottages on Montrose and Marine drive.
The teachers at the cottages were
from K to 3rd Mrs. Winkler, Mrs. Goldman, Mrs. Albert and Mrs. Rogan.
I remember when school started or we had to come in from recess one of the teachers would stand outside the door and swing this big brass bell.

The teachers from the Main school that I can remember were Mrs. Chalacomb, Mrs. Flanagan, Mrs. Jameson, Mrs. Wedding, Mrs. Brorson, Mrs. Bass, Mrs. Willheite, Mr. Conway (gym teacher), Mr. Zimmerman, Mrs. Nelson (principal) and there was the truant officer who I think was Mrs. Hewlett. She couldn't have been more than Five feet tall. She had those round rimmed glasses and wore her hair in a ball on the back of her head. She could talk really fast and clear so you could never get a word in edgewise, all you could say was but but but. She was also the fastest walker I ever saw especially for an old lady.
(At least from a ten year old's point of view)
She had these huge thick soled walking shoes and would go ripping down the street and if it was wet out her shoes would squeak in the school hallway. I remember sitting in my classroom and hearing her whizzing by.

I'm sure that I misspelled most of the teachers names hopefully I got close.
Al

Anonymous said...

Hi Al,
Thank you for getting back to me. Boy, have you got a memory. I just remember Miss Goulet but then I was only there for 2nd and part of 3rd grade. This journey of going back through my memories of Uptown has been a real trip and I just hope more people find this site and are familiar with all of our memories especially mine so they too can write about their thoughts and experiences and maybe get in touch with me as Marilynne Marcos has.


Cheryl Peck

Anonymous said...

I have read over my comments and have found a couple of things that needed to be corrected just because I know they are wrong. My Grandma lived at 841 W. Lawrence and 4838 N. Kenmore and I lived at 833 W. Lawrence. Also, my mother lived on Maulden when I was born not Argile and Sunnyside. Also, I learned to roller skate on Lakeside not Sunnyside in a gangway about 832 Lakeside. It was a gangway where my girlfriend Barbara Rosenbrook lived.

Also, my mother worked as a waitress at the Peter Pan Restaurant and at Kolfield's. Spelling is probably wrong.
Cheryl Peck

Anonymous said...

Me again. After speaking with Fred Rosenbrook, brother of Barbara Rosenbrook I have a correction of their address - it was 838 Lakeside. Thanks Fred for the correction and for the great conversation of our childhood memories in Uptown. Also, since receiving my records from St. Thomas of Canterbury, I now can correct my address to 835 Lawrence from 833 Lawrence.

Cheryl Peck

Anonymous said...

I happened upon your website by accident. After reading all you posts, I have to add my own! I lived in the Uptown as a small child, 1945-1950. My father owned Adam's Jewelry in the Uptown Bank Building. We lived on Lawrence Ave. and I too have many memories of the Uptown District. Although our family moved when I was five, I was always visiting the Uptown to see my father and to "help out" in the store. So many things come to mind: The Green Mill, Weiboldt's, where my mother shopped, the five and dime where I used to love buying trading cards, the hot dog man in the park, the El and the barber shop right next to it where my father used to repair watches in the window, and that fabulous Art Deco Bank with the marble stairs. It was the scene of the opening robbery in Public Enemy! There is even a book we found at the Chicago Architectural Book Store that is a photo essay of the Uptown.

Anonymous said...

Hi,
Where on Lawrence did you live? I lived at 833 Lawrence and my grandma at 841 Lawrece.Which 5 and 10 did you go too? The one on Broadway or on Sheridan Road right off of Lawrence. I also used to buy trading cards. I loved the dogs. The Irish Setter and the German Sherpard. The El you are talking about, was it the Lawrence El or the Wilson El? I had a girlfriend whose dad owned a Jewelry store on Lawrence. There last name was Black. Where was Wielbolt's. I don't remember it. I only remember Goldblatt's.
Cheryl Peck Deters

Anonymous said...

Hi, Cheryl,

I'll have to look for our address on Lawrence. I don't remember it. It was a few blocks from Sheridan Ave. My father's store was in the bank building on Broadway. There's a picture of it in
'Landmarks and Legends of the Uptown'. by Jacki Lyden and Chet Jakus. I still have my trading cards - I loved the dogs the most! As for Weiboldt's, don't remember exactly where it was. The El station was at Lawrence and the barber shop was owned by a friend of our family. I'll post more later, as soon as I
remember!

Anonymous said...

I found it! Now I remember the address after Googling the area. It was 910 Lawrence Ave. and I think we lived
on the 5th floor. The building is still there. My mom used to walk me to the park in the summer and chase me on the grass. The apartment was small with only one bedroom and a living/kitchen area. We lived next door to the Bronsteins. Ethan was my playmate. The barber's name was Rondoni and he and my dad were buddies.

I don't know where the Weiboldt's was.....maybe Milwaukee Ave. not in the Uptown. Anyway, thank you for this great site. Reliving memories seems to
be a major preoccupation for the Boomers.

Anonymous said...

You lived on the other side of the street pretty close to the People's Church. Do you remember Happy Jack's on the corner of Lawrence and Sheridan and the toy store across the street from Happy Jack's? Do you remember the bakery at the El station on Lawrence? Walgreen's and a liquor store were on the other two corners of Lawrence and Sheridan. You are a year younger than I am. I was born in 1944.
Our apartment was the same as yours. There was a Murphy bed in the living room and the kitchen had a running board sink and a pantry. I slept on a rollaway bed in the kitchen and my sister and parents slept in the livingroom. We shared a common bathroom with other tennants.
Cheryl Peck Deters

Anonymous said...

Hi,
My mom also played with me in the park. I have pictures. Did you get hot dogs on Lawrence across from the Standard Gas Station just before the park where the Good Humor guy would be. He rode a bicycle with the refrigerated area in the front. A lady and man whom I believe were Gypsies ran it.
Cheryl

Anonymous said...

Hi,
No, I don't remember the bakery or the toy store. I was only five when we moved so my memories of living there are slim. But I we did get hot dogs from the hot dog man all the time. He even let me borrow his coin changer one time because I loved it so much. That night I played with it in the bath tub and it got all rusty
by the next day. He wasn't happy. When I have time I will try to post pictures if I can find them.
Most of my solid memories are centered around Lawrence and Broadway where I spent time with my father. I remember a lot of the stores inside the Uptown Bank.

Anonymous said...

After all these great posts about Uptown memories, I really must mention there was a very dark side later on. The jewelry store was robbed a number of times, my father being forced to open his safe at gunpoint. He was gun-butted on the head during one robbery, and the store window smashed and looted several other times. All this with the bank guard on duty about ten feet away!
I became afraid to ride the El alone and walking around the neighborhood was depressing.
Glad those days are gone.

bill Matteson said...

to fishing adventures
I do believe the Vogue was on Sheridan. when I wrote the story about the theaters I missed the Deluxe.
Read my memory of the Silver Palm,
I mention the Deluxe, now part of the Truman campus
Winthrop Ave was the Only place black people lived, Winthrop started at Kenmore just north of Wilson and curved around to the north and then ran parallel with Kenmore
Bill Matteson

Anonymous said...

Hi,
This is to the person whose dad owned the Adams Jewelry Store in the Uptown Bank Building. I purchased a book recently off of Amazon called Landmarks and Legends of the Uptown by Jackie Lyden and Chet Jakus. In the very front of the book was a picture of your dad's jewelry store and the next page was a picture of the Uptown Bank Building. I thought you might want to know.
Cheryl Peck Deters

Anonymous said...

Thank you, Cheryl. Yes, I have that book and treasure it. That picture was taken, I think, in '79 and my father closed the store in '82. It was a sad occasion. Many customers came in to say goodbye, crying. He was loved.

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad you have that book. It is a treasure.

Cheryl Peck Deters

Hey Dick said...

To Al,

I remember Richie and his parents. The family name was Fortgang. I spent a lot of time talking to his mom at Clarendon.

I'm having a hard time squaring your account with the Richie I knew. He was pretty inoffensive and it's hard to picture him spooking anyone or spitting on them.

However, I knew him between around 1943 and 1950. I know that Downs Syndrome people can become more problematic with age, so I don't doubt your account at all.

Dick

bill Matteson said...

to hey dick
You're right Richie was an all right kid he really enjoyed being around other kids
I lived at 4737 Kenmore 1942 -1952

fishing adventures said...

i can't believe after almost a year and a half people found our blog about ritchie i was born in 1944 i lived on junior terr until 1954 we were young and ignorant then about ritchie he did scare us because we did not know any better how old was he then? i don't think he was young marilynne marcos jawitz

Anonymous said...

Hi:

I also lived on Jr. Terrace and before that 928 Cullom street across from Presbyterian church and remember "Little Richie" who use to push his cart around the neighborhood. This is an incredible web site and I feel like I've been transported back in time and it is a good place to be. I attended Stewart for most of the 8 years but was whisked out of the area because my mother wanted to live in Missouri around her relatives. It was never the same. I have pictures on my office wall of the corner of Montrose and Sheridan with the old church in the background. I'm sure the area is very different now as everything changes once developers get a hold of everything but I couldn't think of anywhere finer than that area. Things started coming back to me after reading the blogs of all the different people. Some very good memories because that was where my family was and many are no longer here.

Anonymous said...

Hi all, i lived at 027 Wilson till 1958 , 1959 when my mother passed. Remember the Stewart cottages school
were any of you there around 57, 58, 59 ?

Thanks so much

Tom

Lady Ruth 54 said...

I went to the cottages from kindergarten until 2nd grade starting around 1959 and then went to Stewart School for 3rd grade and then went to Brennemann School when it was first built up until 8th grade, and then went to Senn High School. My mom was the crossing guard that stood outside Brennemann School for many years.

We attended Buena Memorial Presbyterian Church for years and years. All of the places mentioned above bring back nice memories for me as well.

I also remember Ritchie walking the streets and I do remember that he would spit at people.

We hung out at Montrose Beach, the Harbor, the Rocks, Clarendon Park, and walked uptown to Goldblatts almost every Saturday stopping at Gigio's Pizzeria to get a slice of pizza and a coke. Spent my childhood playing in the alleys and walkways between the apartment buildings and was gone all day long until it was time for dinner with my parents not having a care in the world as long as we showed up by 5 pm for dinner. What a different world it was back then.

Even after I got married, our first apartment was at the newly constructed Boardwalk (corner of Montrose and Clarendon Road) until my husband and I bought an apartment building further up north west of Ashland between Lawrence and Foster. I can't remember the street. We are no longer in Illinois but my mom and dad are buried in Graceland cemetary to we still get back to the neighborhood every now and then and also to get a hot dog at Byron's.

fishing adventures said...

i answered an email comment from lady ruth 54 and said glad to see somebody else also cares about our childhood glad to see posting again!! thank you bill for all your articles i read them like a little kid they brought back many memories!! most of all i have been in touch with the lady that worked for our family who i was inspired to find after reading about the winthrop families i was in chicago last september for my 50th hs reunion from lakeview and spent 2 days with her what a trip please keep this website going marilynne marcos jawitz

theflech@yahoo.com said...

Yes, I do remember The Ritz Grill on Lawrence. My dad would sip black coffee at the counter. When I would come in there, as a kid with my dad, Orville would toss a handful of oyster crackers at me from behind the counter where he worked as the cook. Great memories, great burgers. Sad it had to go.

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Anonymous said...

I went to kindergarten and first grade in the cottages. I remember Ms Goldman taught me to read. We then moved to the suburbs.

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