Apartments on the Southwest Corner of Foster and Sheridan, Uptown Chicago

Today, there is a McDonald's on this corner.


View Larger Map

Foster and Sheridan, 1948

From our new favorite source for images, the IDOT collection at University of Illinois-Chicago.

Foster Avenue Beach, Chicago, 1964

Barbara Malles cools off in the water while reading the morning paper at Foster Ave Beach May 22, 1964.

Original image available (at time of posting) from here: Beach Bunny

Weird Clown Head, Foster and the Lake, 1971

Original photo available for purchase (at time of writing) from here: Foster and the Lake

Sheridan, North from Foster, Edgewater Chicago, 1936

A rare treat! Most images from this decade that I've seen are postcards. Note that only one lane of traffic is going north.

The Sands Motel, 1955, with the Edgewater Beach Hotel in the Background

For perspective, this is where the new Dominick's at Sheridan and Foster is located.

Socialites at the Saddle and Cycle Club, 900 Foster Avenue, 1955

Socialites at the Saddle and Cycle Club, Foster Avenue, Chicago, 1955. Original image available for purchase here: Saddle and Cycle Club .

From the seller's description: Chicago socialites, Mrs. James H. Prentiss Jr., Mrs. Frederick C. Pullman, and Mrs. Edward Gardner III, at the Saddle and Cycle Club in Chicago, May 11, 1955. When built, the main club facilities were downtown and this facility was for cyclists and equestrians riding along the lakefront. Until the Lake Shore Drive was extended north of Foster Avenue in the 1950s, the club had its own private beach. In fact, the beach used to only be 100 feet from the original club verandah and there was a pier and boat house on site.

Foster Avenue Extension, Uptown and Edgewater, Chicago, 1951

Another view of the extension, this one taken in 1951. At time of writing, the original was available for purchase here: Foster Avenue, 1951

Foster Avenue Extension, Uptown and Edgewater, Chicago, 1953

 

Purchase the original here: Foster Avenue, 1953

From the seller's description: Foster Avenue extension in Chicago, August 11, 1953... [The] landfill extension was completed in the 1950s between Foster Avenue and Ardmore Avenue, and the fill included a new beach at Foster Avenue. Planning and design for the extension started in 1947, but construction and fill did not begin until three years later. The fill project continued over the majority of the decade, and it was finally finished in 1958. E.V Buchsbaum designed the beach house for the site, which was constructed between the late 1950s and early 1960s. In the 1990s, a new beach house provided improved amenities, including bathrooms and concessions.

Fredrick's Dining Room, Sheridan and Foster, 1956

Our new favorite seller on eBay has posted another wonderful image of Uptown; this one is of Fredrick's Dining Room at Sheridan and Foster, circa 1956. It's available for sale on eBay (search Fredrick's Dining Room).

Kohler Bath Advertisement featuring Edgewater Beach Hotel

Click for a larger view -- Kohler was the manufacturer responsible for the fixtures at the Edgewater Beach Hotel. From "Good Housekeeping" magazine, 1917.

Matchbook Foswyn Arms Hotel, 5240 Winthrop

The Foswyn Arms Hotel is now the Foswyn Apartments.


View Larger Map

Foster and Kenmore, Uptown / Edgewater, Chicago

Southeast corner of Kenmore and Foster, circa 1910 (above) and as seen on Google Street Views (below).

View Larger Map

Vintage View of Andersonville, Clark at Foster, Chicago

1950s view of Clark Street looking north from Foster Avenue, 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.

Andersonville Chicago, Circa 1914, Foster and Clark

Original Caption: View of Summerdale Saving Bank, 5203 North Clark Street in the Edgewater community area of Chicago, Illinois. The bank lines the street along with several other businesses.

While the original building is still there, it looks like it's lost a lot of its finery--I would not have guessed it was the same building.


Source: DN-0067082, Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Library of Congress American Memories Collection; Google Street Views.

Edgewater Beach Hotel

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

Author of "Lavender and Old Lace" Lived and Died in Uptown

Who would guess that a world-famous author had offed herself in her flat at Foster and Kenmore a century ago? Myrtle Reed was as popular in her day as Stephen King or J.K. Rowling are now. Her most famous work, and one that was even made into a silent movie in 1921, was Lavender and Old Lace. The entire text of the book can be found at CompassRose.org, and a terrific biography of the author, a preview of which is below, was published recently in Chicago Magazine:

Hell in Paradise Flat

Largely forgotten now, Myrtle Reed dazzled as a best-selling romance novelist and Chicago socialite 100 years ago. But in her personal life, a happy ending proved sadly elusive

by Dan Carlinsky

It started with an old book at a yard sale, a book I judged, frankly, by its cover: mauve with a gilt art nouveau floral design. The book was Lavender and Old Lace by Myrtle Reed, copyright 1902. Turn-of-the-century romance, Edwardian chick lit. I figured I'd never read the thing, but it was attractive, and the price was a buck.

At home, I spread the covers, fanned the pages, and caught a folded brown newspaper clipping as it fell loose: Author a Suicide, Puts Blame Upon Model Husband; Myrtle Reed, Who Wrote "Lavender and Old Lace," Takes Poison Dose...

Complete article can be found at Chicago Magazine.