Sheridan and Carmen, 1937

From the IDOT collection. In the third picture, you can see the back of Agudas Achim synagogue.

Source: Illinois Department of Transportation Chicago Traffic photographs
Collection: IDOT Chicago Traffic Photographs (University of Illinois at Chicago)
Repository: Special Collections and University Archives, University of Illinois at Chicago Library

Carmen and Broadway, Uptown Chicago, 1960

Another great find from our favorite eBay seller. We've purchased a number of digital images from this seller's collection, and we hope to eventually find another spot in Uptown to display them. (If you haven't seen the historic images displayed at Fat Cat, it's worth a visit. Many of the enlargements of old postcards and other images of Uptown were made from our collection.)

This image shows the intersection of Carmen and Broadway in Uptown in 1960. 

While today it's a rather non-descript building (as seen on Google)...


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...it once housed the 5100 Club.

The 5100 Club was a forerunner of today's standup comedy club. It's also where Danny Thomas got his start. He was working a three-year contract gig at the 5100 in the late 1940s when he was discovered by the head of the William Morris Agency. He later went on to star in the very popular Make Room for Daddy / The Danny Thomas Show.

Bachman House

Bachman House
Originally uploaded by jojolae

Bachman House
1244 W. Carmen Ave.

From Chicago Landmarks:
Architect Bruce Goff created a neighborhood sensation in 1948, when he remodeled a modest wood house (built in 1889) into the home and studio for recording engineer Myron Bachman. The window openings were changed and an exterior cladding of brick and corrugated aluminum was added.

It remains a local attraction, as well as a nationally recognized example of work by one of architecture's most unique figures.

Much of Goff's architectural career was spent in Oklahoma, although he maintained a practice in Chicago from 1934 to 1942. Goff also designed the Turzak House, another Chicago Landmark.