tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7001924811604371562024-03-18T22:13:07.224-05:00Uptown Chicago HistoryCelebrating the Unique History and Culture of Chicago's Uptown CommunityUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1025125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700192481160437156.post-27333390343543814072014-02-16T16:39:00.000-06:002014-02-16T16:39:16.540-06:00Senn 60th year grauation class of 1954Uptowners ..we will be holding a three day reunion this September 12th through the 14th<br />
Location:<br />
At the Embassy Suites Hotel in Deerfield IL 60015<br />
phone 847-945-4500 online embassysuitesnothshore.com<br />
<br />
Friday Sept. 12<br />
meet and greet cocktail party, free to hotel guests,cash bar for all others<br />
from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM <br />
<br />
Saturday Sept 13 <br />
Reunion Dinner 6:30 PM<br />
Photographer will take a group picture and deliver to Hotel by 11:pm<br />
price is $10 to $15<br />
<br />
Sunday Sept 14th free breakfast for those staying at the hotel<br />
$15 for guests <br />
Make Reservations Before Aug 12th <br />
<br />
Hotel cost:<br />
double beds $109<br />
king size $99<br />
Use special room rate code 60S<br />
Call Carol Hamer Glass-desk@earthlink.net<br />
or 847-432-2920<br />
<br />bill Mattesonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08591638174669878249noreply@blogger.com176tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700192481160437156.post-32674878190679496552013-11-14T00:36:00.002-06:002013-11-14T00:38:15.075-06:00Uptown: Portraits of a Chicago Neighborhood<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BnFiL_1_zjg/UoRvb-hxebI/AAAAAAAAJOU/qllx7leNzJE/s1600/uptown-bob-rehak.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BnFiL_1_zjg/UoRvb-hxebI/AAAAAAAAJOU/qllx7leNzJE/s320/uptown-bob-rehak.jpg" width="233" /></a></div>
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It's been a while since we've posted, but we're back and thrilled to announce that Bob Rehak's book of Uptown Chicago images is now available! If you recall, we stumbled across Bob's photos of Uptown in the 1970s this past summer; since then, they have gone viral, prompting the photographer to publisher a book of the best of the best images. You can get your copy from Amazon here: <a href="http://redirect.viglink.com/?key=6ee82cedf903767fa099b118433724ed&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FUptown-Portrait-Chicago-Neighborhood-mid-1970s%2Fdp%2F098527333X" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Uptown: Portrait of a Chicago Neighborhood in the mid-1970s</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com412tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700192481160437156.post-88175643826092099102013-08-10T17:37:00.000-05:002013-08-10T17:37:49.890-05:00Stewart School Fourth Grade Class (Room 204), 1970<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-osHDUnpD2UM/Uga_q-wd_cI/AAAAAAAAJKA/j6vR4jPfuJQ/s1600/stewart-school.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-osHDUnpD2UM/Uga_q-wd_cI/AAAAAAAAJKA/j6vR4jPfuJQ/s400/stewart-school.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Thanks to Doug for sending this fourth-grade class photo. Does anyone remember the teacher's name?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com109tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700192481160437156.post-34127347488309229382013-08-09T00:43:00.001-05:002013-08-09T00:44:06.601-05:00Another View of the Cheetah Lounge (aka Aragon Ballroom) Chicago<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hqf9BvQfh3E/UgSBXdivs2I/AAAAAAAAJJw/vUk2HdHjzXw/s1600/cheeth-loung-2.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hqf9BvQfh3E/UgSBXdivs2I/AAAAAAAAJJw/vUk2HdHjzXw/s640/cheeth-loung-2.jpg" width="480" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com92tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700192481160437156.post-41058082889020121202013-08-08T21:35:00.001-05:002013-08-08T21:35:46.917-05:00Cheetah Lounge, 1967<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-18vgVwshf6o/UgRVIZTf_iI/AAAAAAAAJJg/NSkU1-W0Rqs/s1600/cheetah-lounge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-18vgVwshf6o/UgRVIZTf_iI/AAAAAAAAJJg/NSkU1-W0Rqs/s640/cheetah-lounge.jpg" width="416" /></a></div>
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Thanks to a reader for sending this one in! For a brief time in the late sixties, the Aragon Ballroom was transformed into the uber-hip Cheetah Lounge.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com214tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700192481160437156.post-4760127791294220562013-08-05T17:01:00.001-05:002013-08-05T17:01:17.762-05:00Andersonville Swedish Bakery, 1992<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LHuItAgGsB8/UgAepW3-XLI/AAAAAAAAJJI/cvoJtZbbhwQ/s1600/swedish-bakery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LHuItAgGsB8/UgAepW3-XLI/AAAAAAAAJJI/cvoJtZbbhwQ/s400/swedish-bakery.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div>
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My father grew up in Andersonville, and for him, Christmas included a visit to the Swedish Bakery. Customers came from all across the Midwest to purchase cardamon-laced coffee cakes and pastries, and the lines there were always long. You would pick a number and then go shopping for an hour or so, perhaps sample some glogg, before coming back to place your order.</div>
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This image of the bakery is from 1992, and is currently available on eBay: <a class="url" href="http://bit.ly/15BstRC">http://bit.ly/15BstRC</a></div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com184tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700192481160437156.post-18842423156381616522013-08-05T16:29:00.003-05:002013-08-05T16:29:58.417-05:00Children of Dover Street, Uptown Chicago, 1976<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ub42Cl5fnJQ/UgAYPtGJZOI/AAAAAAAAJI4/So20tGvJ8Hg/s1600/Dover-Kids-1976.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="286" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ub42Cl5fnJQ/UgAYPtGJZOI/AAAAAAAAJI4/So20tGvJ8Hg/s400/Dover-Kids-1976.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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What a fun photo! The firemen of the local Uptown station at Wilson and Racine let the neighborhood kids climb aboard the truck.<br />
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Original caption reads: The children of Dover St. scramble for seats on a live engine at a street festival organized by the neighborhood association. Firemen from the station at Wilson and Racine avenues gave the kids rides.<br />
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Image available from eBay at time of writing <a class="url" href="http://bit.ly/15BkLaj">http://bit.ly/15BkLaj</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com79tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700192481160437156.post-35890845352607179552013-08-03T20:14:00.003-05:002013-08-03T20:14:40.615-05:00Do We Need More Parking in the Uptown Historic District?by Steven Vance<br />
<br />
Appearing on WGN/CLTV in May, 46th Ward Alderman James Cappleman said that “we’re doing everything we can to create more parking spaces.” Cappleman was talking about the renovation of the Uptown Theater at 4816 N Broadway and its parking requirements. His boast about adding more parking caught me off-guard, and I wasn’t alone.<br />
<br />
Jerry Michaelson, CEO of JAM Productions, was on the show with Cappleman and didn’t seem to agree with him. After mentioning all of the places people can already park near the theater, which is on the verge of re-opening after sitting dormant since 1981, he said, “I don’t know if people have had a problem parking coming to our shows and we’ve been doing shows in the Uptown neighborhood since 1973.” ...<br />
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Read the rest of the article and neighborhood commentary here: <a href="http://chi.streetsblog.org/2013/07/23/lets-be-clear-uptown-doesnt-need-more-parking/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://chi.streetsblog.org</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com150tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700192481160437156.post-11318955278389336902013-08-03T19:05:00.000-05:002013-08-03T19:05:50.233-05:00Gangster Roger Touhy Arrested in UptownView of the apartment house located at 5114 Kenmore Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, where Special Agents of the FBI arrested Roger "Terrible" Touhy, Basil "The Owl" Banghart, and Edward Darlak on December 29, 1942.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zZpkHHdWx28/Uf2WO6XDDuI/AAAAAAAAJIY/6a8bzTjjahU/s1600/5114-Kenmore.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zZpkHHdWx28/Uf2WO6XDDuI/AAAAAAAAJIY/6a8bzTjjahU/s400/5114-Kenmore.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image available at time of writing from eBay: <a href="http://bit.ly/1bXQDJy">http://bit.ly/1bXQDJy</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Roger Touhy was an Irish-American mob boss and prohibition-era bootlegger from Chicago, Illinois. He is best remembered for having been framed for the 1933 faked kidnapping of gangster John "Jake the Barber" Factor, a brother of cosmetics manufacturer Max Factor, Sr.<br />
<br />
The Factor kidnapping was a frame-up. Factor and Al Capone had arranged to fake the kidnapping and produce evidence implicating Touhy in order to eliminate him, so as to assume control over his organization. Despite unreliable testimony, a jury convicted Touhy and his associates; Touhy was sentenced to 99 years in prison and was incarcerated at Stateville Correctional Center.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--OIGWExdfKk/Uf2aBUMTbpI/AAAAAAAAJIo/8wR536bwpNc/s1600/roger-touhy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--OIGWExdfKk/Uf2aBUMTbpI/AAAAAAAAJIo/8wR536bwpNc/s1600/roger-touhy.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roger Touhy's FBI mugshot</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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On October 9, 1942, Touhy and six other men escaped from Stateville. Eventually, they were discovered living in an Uptown Chicago boarding house. Touhy and three of those with him surrendered peacefully; the others were killed while trying to fight their way out. Touhy re-entered Stateville on December 31, 1942, and was sentenced to an additional 199 years in prison for the escape. A later court acknowledged the hoax, and Touhy was released from prison in 1959. Just three weeks later, Roger Touhy and his bodyguard were killed in a mob hit.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com92tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700192481160437156.post-35084408756235167992013-08-02T22:54:00.001-05:002013-08-02T22:54:12.699-05:00Isham Jones Orchestra - "Do You Ever Think of Me" (1921)One more for the night, you say? Absolutely! Here is the Isham Jones orchestra. Jones, born in Ohio and raised in Saginaw, Michigan, moved to Chicago in 1915 and used it as his home base until the 1930s. I have a number of Isham Jones 78s that I inherited from my grandfather, so hearing the band always makes me a bit nostalgic. You can listen to many of Jones' recordings with the Rainbo Orchestra on YouTube.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/YgTPR7BedZ4" width="459"></iframe><br />
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The member who uploaded it to YouTube and put together this excellent video had this to say: <br />
<br />
The video features tuba/Sousaphone player John Kuhn. also known as "Chief Red Cloud." Kuhn was born on the Sioux Reservation in Montana, and by 1920 was considered one of the very finest performers on this instrument. While attending the Haskell Institute in Kansas he studied modern music and had lessons on the tuba. He later joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show and toured with the band in Europe. After returning to the United States, he joined the Dennison Wheelock Indian Band and then was discovered by John Philip Sousa who recruited him for the famous Sousa Band. Kuhn was with the Sousa Band from 1915 to 1919. In 1920 he joined Isham Jones' Rainbo Orchestra in Chicago and played the Sousaphone for Isham Jones during the early 1920s. Tom Lord's jazz discography credits Kuhn with 41 recordings between 1920 and 1929. He was also noted for authoring music instruction methods for the tuba, some which are still being sold. I could not find any biographical information beyond 1930.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com99tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700192481160437156.post-77478772460386625432013-08-02T22:42:00.001-05:002013-08-03T02:09:04.205-05:00Ralph Williams and His Rainbo Orchestra "Prince of Wails," 1924It's Friday night, so let's get the party going with another group that performed at Rainbo Gardens (Clark at Lawrence) in the 1920s...<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/CE11Fxn5Q1A" width="459"></iframe>
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I've been looking for a photo of this band, so if you have one, let me know!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com40tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700192481160437156.post-50513873522541022013-08-02T22:21:00.001-05:002013-08-02T22:31:20.801-05:00Frank Westphal and His Rainbo Orchestra "Don't Bring Me Posies" (1922)<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/fFKF3w7KRlE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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In 1921, Frank Westphal became established with his own dance orchestra at the newly opened Rainbo Gardens in Chicago at Lawrence and Clark. The open-air entertainment venue had a revolving stage to allow for continuous entertainment, table seating for 2,000 patrons, and space on the dance floor for an additional 1,500 guests. Westphal's band became popular for its "crisp, clever arrangements and superb musicianship."[5] Westphal's musicians included, at various times, Charles Burns and Austyn Edwards (trumpets), Herb Winfield (trombone), Bill and Jack Richards (saxophones), John Jensen (tuba) and Earl Roberts (banjo). The band recorded in Chicago for Columbia Records regularly between 1922 and 1924, recording over 50 tracks of which 34 were issued. These included "Bugle Call Rag", "Two Time Dan", and "Oh! Sister, Ain't That Hot!", as well as novelty piano pieces played by Westphal in the style of Zez Confrey and Edward Claypoole such as "Pianola" and "Dusting The Keys", which are "testimonies to his immense skill at the keyboard".
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Information from Wikipedia.</span><br />
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A collection of Westphal's recordings can be purchased on Amazon: <a class="url" href="http://bit.ly/14PrGGk">http://bit.ly/14PrGGk</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700192481160437156.post-80466623273847234022013-08-02T01:03:00.002-05:002013-08-02T01:03:43.745-05:00Our Lady of Lourdes, 1928A photograph of the beautiful Our Lady of Lourdes Church on Ashland at Lawrence before it was moved across the street.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_vYVhsDihc0/UftLetWA_4I/AAAAAAAAJII/ED5L4MwITfQ/s1600/our-lady-lourdes-1928.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_vYVhsDihc0/UftLetWA_4I/AAAAAAAAJII/ED5L4MwITfQ/s400/our-lady-lourdes-1928.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Original available on eBay: <a class="url" href="http://bit.ly/14Ky5mh">http://bit.ly/14Ky5mh</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700192481160437156.post-89201686772896318152013-08-02T00:54:00.001-05:002013-08-02T00:54:26.397-05:00Southeast Asian Procession, Uptown Chicago, 1985<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uVIbubvk9S0/UftJW8TWNKI/AAAAAAAAJH4/ZZbPCG6CKr4/s1600/vietnamese-procession.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uVIbubvk9S0/UftJW8TWNKI/AAAAAAAAJH4/ZZbPCG6CKr4/s400/vietnamese-procession.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Original caption in the <i>Daily News</i> reads: Southeast Asians escort a float with a statue of the Virgin Mary from St. Thomas of Canterbury Church [4827 N. Kenmore] to Our Lady of Lourdes [4641 N. Ashland] in the annual May procession and mass honoring their martyrs. <br />
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I imagine the route took them right down Lawrence Avenue. Original image available on eBay at time of writing: <a class="url" href="http://bit.ly/1bQTYKB">http://bit.ly/1bQTYKB</a><br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700192481160437156.post-72020964970536499412013-08-02T00:39:00.003-05:002013-08-02T00:39:25.474-05:00Young Chippewa Girl at Uptown Wedding<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kqc8hrpM1gI/UftF63ziocI/AAAAAAAAJHo/vYGgSpaFBB4/s1600/native-american-girl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kqc8hrpM1gI/UftF63ziocI/AAAAAAAAJHo/vYGgSpaFBB4/s400/native-american-girl.jpg" width="325" /></a></div>
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This photo originally ran in the <i>Daily News</i> in 1970. The young girl was attending a wedding of Julie Margaret York of Hong Kong and Ronald Joseph Winters, a member of the Chippewa nation, at 1354 W. Wilson in Uptown.<br />
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Original photo available for purchase (at time of writing) on eBay: <a class="url" href="http://bit.ly/14Ku29u">http://bit.ly/14Ku29u</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700192481160437156.post-43247257981247092092013-08-02T00:32:00.001-05:002013-08-02T02:02:07.281-05:00Native American Community Organizational Center, Chicago, 1974<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9c0QHQZFtU8/UftEXRjkS8I/AAAAAAAAJHY/mfoFXWAEtpk/s1600/native-americans-uptown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="312" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9c0QHQZFtU8/UftEXRjkS8I/AAAAAAAAJHY/mfoFXWAEtpk/s400/native-americans-uptown.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Image originally ran in the Daily News with the following caption: "Walking Thunder, Kuno Bird, and Nathan Bird (from left) practice for the Native American Community Organizational Center power wow to be held Saturday at De Paul Settlement." The NACOC was located at 1043 W. Berwyn. You can purchase the original image on eBay (at time of writing): <a class="url" href="http://bit.ly/1bQRH1T">http://bit.ly/1bQRH1T</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700192481160437156.post-75344426245735651522013-08-01T14:13:00.000-05:002013-08-01T16:12:50.228-05:00Uptown Notables <br />
Bill Matteson<br />
Uptown Chicago History Correspondent <br />
<br />
Uptown always was and always is in my mind. It is hard to believe what our Uptown area and Chicago has given to the world. Just looking at the entertainment genre: movie stars,writers, directors.<br />
<br />
I was so close to the area where they came from.<br />
<br />
Writer Ben Hecht wrote about Uptown.<br />
Dan Greenberg from Stewart School, a very proficient writer, director, actor, and classmate.<br />
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Phil Kaufman, also a classmate, writer, director, gave us pod people from outer space, Josy Wales, Han Solo, and Indiana Jones.<br />
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Classmate Billy Friedkin also from Stewart gave us the French Connection and The Exorcist.<br />
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As a 8th grade patrol boy, I would help younger kids cross the street. Kids like second grader Harrison Ford. Harrison Ford, well, I don't need to tell you his movie accomplishments. But he with some other kids used to watch me and a couple of my buddies work out with our bull whips in the school yard. We wore leather jackets.<br />
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Actor Robert Ryan who lived his pre-Hollywood days on the 4800 block of Kenmore across from St Thomas of Canterbury.<br />
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Clayton Moore the real Lone Ranger went to Senn High School about 20 or so years before I did. Clayton lived on the north side of Edgewater and attended the Stephen Hayt Elementary School.<br />
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Johnny Weismiller the real Tarzan, lived for awhile at 226 West North Ave. His father and brother were brewers and worked at the Fullerton and Elston Brewery. He attended LaSalle Elementary<br />
school. I lived around the corner at 1964 Linclon Ave and went to the same school, many years later.<br />
Clayton Moore was a circus acrobat at age 8, he would learn tumbling and swimming from Johnny Weismiller at the Illinois Atheltic club where Wiessmiller worked so he could get swimming instructions from the coach there.<br />
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Put yourself back in time for a minute. Could you ever imagine watching this only to find out they would become Tarzan and the Lone Ranger?<br />
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Uptown has a Legacy that was passed on to the world.<br />
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Uptown, I miss you<br />
<br />bill Mattesonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08591638174669878249noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700192481160437156.post-22684555129489905502013-07-29T21:27:00.000-05:002013-07-29T21:33:10.718-05:00Aerial View of Uptown and Edgewater Chicago, 1955Wowza! Although not in color, here is another terrific view of Uptown from the sky, with perhaps even more detail than the previous image we showed from 1928. You can clearly see the Edgewater Beach Hotel and Apartments, now cut off from the lake by the Lake Shore Drive extension. Other landmarks to look for are the Aragon Ballroom, the Uptown Theatre, and way to the north the Granada. (I can even catch a glimpse of the house that once stood near Argyle and Winthrop, where my condo is now.) Click on image, and then right-click "View Image" to get the full-size photo.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0N4H4nkkekc/UfckUG-YLjI/AAAAAAAAJHI/iGn2u4-85oQ/s1600/uptown-aerial-1955.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0N4H4nkkekc/UfckUG-YLjI/AAAAAAAAJHI/iGn2u4-85oQ/s400/uptown-aerial-1955.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Source: CHM ICHi-37277</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700192481160437156.post-59623399556804635802013-07-29T15:55:00.001-05:002013-07-29T15:55:48.207-05:00Vintage Ad for Concerts at Riviera and Aragon, 1975<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-xY7AR4pSoBE/UfbUTQVbbPI/AAAAAAAAJG4/yAfxUFZ7doQ/s1600/aragon-riviera-ad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-xY7AR4pSoBE/UfbUTQVbbPI/AAAAAAAAJG4/yAfxUFZ7doQ/s640/aragon-riviera-ad.jpg" width="278" /></a></div>
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My upstair's neighbor is the coolest mom. She and her eleven-year-old son go to concerts on the weekend, hang out at jazz, rock, and reggae clubs when they allow all ages in, and peruse record stores--yes, record stores--looking for that perfect album.<br />
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I was never that lucky as a kid. I never went to concerts. In fact, it wasn't until I was 16 that I saw my first performer on stage--Corey Hart. (He had only a couple of hits that I can remember, "Sunglasses at Night" and "Never Surrender," but he sure was cute.) I had to beg and beg my parents to let me go with my friends; we were suburbanites, and I was pretty sheltered and oblivious to the "dangers" of the city. I snuck into town more often than I was allowed to go.<br />
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I wonder what my musical education would have been like if I grew up near such fabulous concert venues as the Riviera, Aragon, and Uptown. I'm sure I would have been scraping my allowance together and standing in line at the Ticketron to see shows more often.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700192481160437156.post-9583465871221807942013-07-29T14:58:00.000-05:002013-07-29T15:06:03.291-05:00Construction at Leland and Broadway, 1920sConstruction on Leland looking toward Broadway; you can see the rooftop marquee of the Uptown Hotel. The Uptown Hotel, aka the Plymouth, was torn down as part of the redevelopment of the Goldblatt's-to-Borders project. To view a bit of the terracotta that once graced it, you can peek into the lobby of the current condo building on the site.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700192481160437156.post-44837280936017223222013-07-27T23:40:00.000-05:002013-07-27T20:06:50.560-05:00Edgewater Beach Hotel, Sheridan Looking North from Foster, 1948Today, a Dominick's grocery store stands on this corner—while practical, it's far less glamorous than the Edgewater Beach Hotel that once graced this stretch of Sheridan Road. It was the go-to place for the rich and famous, and among its guests were Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Charlie Chaplin, Bette Davis, Tallulah Bankhead, Nat King Cole, and U.S. Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Dwight D. Eisenhower. There was even a seaplane service that could take you downtown, in case you didn't want to mix with the peasants and drive the few miles.<br />
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The hotel closed in 1967, just a couple of years before I was born, but I always feel an intense wave of nostalgia when I look at photos of it. How pretty it must have looked, painted a soft butter yellow to represent dawn, just as the accompanying Edgewater Beach Apartments, which still exist at Sheridan at Bryn Mawr, were painted a pale pink to represent sunset.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700192481160437156.post-19765324535950904132013-07-27T21:17:00.000-05:002013-08-03T18:36:28.628-05:00Leland at Broadway<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm not sure of the exact date of this photo, but it appears to be 1920s. You can see the very top of the Uptown Hotel's marquee at the top. This is looking toward the stretch of Broadway between the Wilson El stop and Lawrence, where the tracks go across the road.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700192481160437156.post-55963980856524522722013-07-27T20:30:00.002-05:002013-07-27T20:30:22.564-05:00The Outdoor Dance Floor, Edgewater Beach Hotel<a href="http://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ILRVdNFF5cs/UfRyqNQc1rI/AAAAAAAAJCs/nAoWLotDrDg/s1600/Phoenix-Marble-1926.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ILRVdNFF5cs/UfRyqNQc1rI/AAAAAAAAJCs/nAoWLotDrDg/s400/Phoenix-Marble-1926.jpg" width="310" /></a>I recently received a letter from a reader who was a dancer at the Edgewater Beach Hotel; she took part in some of the elaborate floor shows performed under the summer stars along the lakefront. She plans on sending in some photos, so I'll post them as soon as they arrive!<br />
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For now, you might enjoy this image of the outdoor marble dance floor itself. Many manufacturers of quality building materials at the time would use images of the finished product in their advertising. (I guess that's really no different from today, is it?)<br />
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This advertisement for Phenix Marble appeared in <i>Through the Ages</i>, January 1926, p. 50.) It claims that the Edgewater Beach Hotel had the only outdoor marble dance floor in the entire country. The dance floor was directly on the beach, just a few feet from the water — how disappointing it must have been when Lake Shore Drive was extended and the hotel's access to the lake was cut off.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700192481160437156.post-8576512113384394912013-07-27T20:00:00.000-05:002013-07-27T20:08:54.524-05:00Eddie Waitkus...The NaturalBill Matteson<br />
Uptown Chicago History Correspondent <br />
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Eddie Waitkus was a born baseball player. He was so good that when he played minor league with a small town in Maine, they called him a Natural. He was born of immigrant Lithuanian parents on Sept. 4th 1919.<br />
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He signed with the Chicago Cubs in about the1939/1940 time bracket, playing full time in 1941. Then the war broke out and most able-bodied ball players signed on to serve their country.<br />
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Eddie went with the Army and fought many a bloody battle in the Philippines, winning 4 bronze stars.<br />
He returned to the Cubs in 1946 playing 1st base, replacing Phil Caveretta, who moved to left field.<br />
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Eddie was a highly educated sportsman and everyone liked him. He could speak five languages and was the poster boy of sportsmanship for the media. Yes, everyone loved him; maybe a little too much.<br />
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In 1948 he was traded to the Philles for three players, including Dutch Leonard, a great knuckleballer.<br />
Now the Phillies had been scheduled to play 11 games over the 1949 season.<br />
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Arriving in Chicago June 14th, 1949, he registered at one of Uptown's finest hotels, the Edgewater Beach. A lot of out of town sports figures stayed there, while most of Chicago's players stayed at the Sheridan Plaza.<br />
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Unbeknownst to Eddie, he was being stalked. He had an admirer.<br />
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Ruth Ann Steinhagen was uncontrollably infatuated with Eddie. She registered at the hotel under the name of an old classmate of Eddie's and sent him an urgent message to meet her in her room.<br />
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When he walked in, she shot him in the chest with a 22 cal. rifle; she then called the desk and explained what happened. When help arrived, she was cradling Eddie's head in her lap. Eddie almost died several times, but they were successful in removing the bullet, which narrowly missed his heart.<br />
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On Aug.19., 1949, just 2 months after being shot, Eddie suited up and played at Shibes Park for Eddie Waitkus Night.<br />
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Today, our highly paid athletes get a hang nail or a sprained finger, they sit out the season. <br />
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Ruth Ann Steinhagen never went to trial. She spent a long time in a mental institution and died of natural causes last December 2012.<br />
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Sometime in 1952, a book was published, written by Bernard Malamud, inspired by these events. Malamud took parts of the Eddie Waitkus story and then borrowed from the life of Shoeless Joe Jackson, a few more baseball role models, including Christy Mathewson, the greatest pitcher of his day and the inventor of the fade-a-away, the present day screwball, a reverse curve, so to speak.<br />
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Christy was a role model for all young boys, not ever drinking or smoking and going to church. Christy even became the role model for the Frank Merriwell adventure series with over 800 books, movies, and radio programs<br />
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(I like to mention this part about Christy because his family changed their name from Matteson to Mathewson while living in Pennsylvania.) <br />
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Bernard Malamud wrote The Natural. Roy Hobbs was molded after all players mentioned.<br />
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A lot of good things come out of Uptown, or at least Uptown played a major part in them.<br />
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Editor's note: Bill Matteson grew up in Uptown in the forties and fifties. You can read more of his recollections by clicking the link "Bill Matteson" below. <br />
<br />bill Mattesonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08591638174669878249noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700192481160437156.post-76973982438461373402013-07-26T23:00:00.000-05:002013-07-27T20:08:10.428-05:00The Annual Alewife Die-Off, Montrose Pier, Uptown Chicago, 1970<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I came across a reference to the Lake Michigan Alewife recently, and how they used to be a huge nuisance to the neighborhoods along the lake.<br />
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An alewife—not to be confused with the medieval profession of beer brewing—is a type of fish. They are common in the waters off New England, but around the 1930s they invaded the Great Lakes, using the Welland Canal and bypassing Niagra Falls. They were feasted upon by lake trout, and so were not much of a nuisance, until overfishing and the invasion of the sea lamprey wiped out much of the trout population.<br />
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Alewife numbers grew and grew, and their population began to peak in the sixties. They are an edible fish, so this doesn't sound like a bad thing, does it?<br />
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The problem with them was their annual die-off. Hundreds of <i>millions </i>of fish would turn belly up in the water each year (there is even a report of a forty-mile-long flotilla of dead fish stretching across the lake). <i>Hundreds of thousands</i> would suddenly wash up on Chicago's beaches. And from what I've heard, they <i>stank</i>. Just imagine what thousands of rotting fish would smell like! There were so many that the city needed bulldozers to clean up the mess.<br />
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So, how did the city fight back? Salmon were added to the lake to eat the alewifes, and voila! No more problem.<br />
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Or is there? At present, the lake's salmon populations are being threatened by another fish species...the Asian carp.<br />
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Editor's note: I found this note on Wikipedia about declining Alewife populations.<br />
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"Alewife populations have exhibited drastic declines throughout much of their range. Several threats have most likely contributed to their decline, including loss of habitat due to decreased access to spawning areas from the construction of dams
and other impediments to migration, habitat degradation, fishing, and
increased predation due to recovering striped bass populations. In response to the declining trend for alewife, the states of
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Virginia, and North Carolina
have instituted moratoriums on taking and possession.
The alewife is a US National Marine Fisheries Service Species of Concern."Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5