Arcadia Ballroom, 4450 Broadway at Montrose

The Arcadia Ballroom on Broadway at Montrose opened in 1910. During the 1920s, it was one of the most popular dance halls in the city and one of the few establishments were white audiences danced to all-black jazz bands. You can read up on its history at Jazz Age Chicago, which also has an exterior shot of the building.

The Arcadia suffered a bad fire in the 1950s and was demolished.

Somerset Hotel, 5009 Sheridan at Argyle

The Somerset Hotel, on Sheridan at Argyle, looking north. What a great image! I wish the terracotta buildings just to the south were still there, instead of the mid-rise.

This is how the hotel looks today. Now known as Somerset Place, it functions as a nursing care facility. Image from Google street views.

The Somerset was designed by Samuel N. Crowen and opened in 1920. It originally had 441 furnished rooms arranged in 205 suites of one to four rooms. It was described as "the ideal dwelling place for those desiring the homelike atmosphere and privacy of an apartment combined with all the modern conveniences of a hotel." Jazz Age Chicago has an excellent history of the hotel.

Dover Street Historic District

From today's Sun-Times:

Dover Street residents have been successful in making their street a historic district. From left to right are block president John Holden and residents Tim Hamilton and Nancy Polich.
John Stewart / Sun-Times

Dover Street blocks get landmark status

February 22, 2008

BY BONNIE MCGRATH Special to the Sun-Times

In 1891, Graceland Cemetery Corporation decided to sell some land adjacent to what is now the celebrated eternal resting place of rich and famous Chicagoans.

The area became known as Sheridan Park -- bordered by West Montrose and West Lawrence avenues, North Broadway and North Clark, with Wilson Avenue running down the middle -- and was built to create an eight-square block suburban-style haven for the well-to-do in Uptown.

The streets and lots were laid out by landscape architect Ossian Simonds, who also had a hand in the design of Graceland Cemetery across the street...

For rest of story, go to Sun Times.

Wilson Yard, 1961

My guess is that this picture was taken from a top floor in the Uptown Bank Building, looking south toward Wilson Yard. You can spot the Broadway Building in the foreground, the distinctive tower of St. Mary's Church at the top of the photo, and the McJunkin Building just below that. It is one of the many fabulous photos that appear in The Chicago "L" by Greg Borzo.

Caption reads: "In 1908, the 'L' extended service to Howard and beyond to Evanston at ground level. In 1914-1922, it elevated the track from Wilson to Howard on an embankment rather than a steel structure. This was done to support the weight of freight cars that the 'L' handled from 1920 to 1973 between Church Street in Evanston and Irving Park Road in Chicago. A huge yard was built at Wilson in 1900. Much later, a massive four-track repair and maintennce building, seen in the center background of the view south in 1961, was added. A continuous four-track main line had just been completed here, replacing a two-track bottleneck."

Greg Borzo is a co-author of The Windies' City: Chicago's Historical Hidden Treasures.

My birthday is coming up on Thursday (hint-hint), and this would make a terrific addition to my book collection. :-)

Interview with Bob Balaban

Yesterday's Chicagoist had an interview with Bob Balaban, the well-known actor whose father was one of the Balaban Brothers responsible for the Uptown Theatre. If only he would be an active voice for the Uptown! (His cousin, David Balaban, has written a book about the Balaban and Katz theatre chain in Chicago.)

Interview: Bob Balaban

A native Chicagoan, it's no wonder that Bob Balaban was bitten early on by the movie bug, since his family is the Balaban of the Balaban & Katz movie threater chain. What's more surprising is how many hats he's worn. He's a character actor royale, appearing in films by everyone from Woody Allen and Christopher Guest to Terry Zwigoff and Robert Altman. (But he's probably best known for playing the NBC exec who's obsessed with Elaine in five episodes of "Seinfeld"). He's also a children's book author and a filmmaker.
Since his feature directorial debut, the jet black cannibalism comedy Parents, he's also directed episodes of TV shows like "Strangers with Candy" and "Oz." His newest film Bernard and Doris premieres tomorrow on HBO. It's an imaginary portrait of billionaire Doris Duke, whose will left her entire fortune to her Irish butler Bernard...
Read more at Chicagoist.

Essanay Founder's Kid Sister

I recently received this e-mail from a reader:

"Thought you'd be interested in the story below about George Spoor's sister, Mary Louise Spoor:

http://seesaw.typepad.com/blog/2007/12/from-hickory-di.html

By the way, great work on the Uptown History Blog. It is a tremendous contribution to the community. I check it out several times a week."

George Spoor was a co-founder of Essanay; Mary Louise was his kid sister, and an illustrator. She designed the famous film studio's Indian Head logo.

Gar Wood Runabout Boat, Edgewater Taxi Service

I recently received this e-mail from a reader and said I would post it with the hope that someone can help him out. Unfortunately, I don't have any photos with this boat in it.

I found your site CRCC and your blog posts on the Edgewater Beach Hotel. I am trying to do some research on the Hotel but need some help. I don't know where to start but perhaps you can help.

I have acquired a very old wooden boat called a runabout. This boat was made by Gar Wood and was delivered to Navy Pier in 1931. I believe this boat was bought by the Edgewater Hotel for a taxi and ride boat. It is 28' long and held about 10 people. Records say Edgewater Taxi Service, July 1931

While on a trip to the 1933-34 Chicago Worlds Fair a family from Tulsa, Oklahoma rode in the boat and decided to purchase it. They brought it back to OK and it has been here ever since. I was able to track the history all the way back to the daughter of the gentleman who purchased it from the hotel. The boat was named after her. Rosemary (the daughter) described it as being right there at the hotel docks to take people for rides etc.

I'm hoping that there is some kind of archive for pictures of the hotel and perhaps there might be something with this boat in it. In 1931 this would have been a very big purchase as Gar Wood boats were considered the Duisenberg of boating. It sold for $6,000 in 1931, which was a ton of money especially during the Depression.

Ring's the Thing

I know this isn't a post about Uptown's history per se, but I wanted to give a shout out that Ric Addy's been mentioned in the Sun-Times in an article about boxing.. Ric owns one of the coolest bookstores in the City, right next to the Uptown Theatre. Shake, Rattle, and Read is a neighborhood landmark.

Ric Addy, the beloved owner of Shake, Rattle and Read bookstore in Uptown, spins loud music between bouts. The master of ceremonies is Lupe Contreras, the dapper internationally recognized voice of Latino boxing. Addy likes to play Aerosmith's "Walk This Way" as "round card girls" in tight bikinis prance around the ring... (Complete article at Sun-Times.)

For a tour with Ric of Uptown's underground tunnels, check out our past post.

Uptown (Plymouth) Uptown Hotel, Broadway at Leland, Built in 1912

Uptown Hotel
Fireproof
4700 Broadway at Leland
Chicago Illinois
The Uptown Hotel's Location is Perfect Winter or Summer
Theatres, Beaches, Shops, Chicago's Best Transportation
Elevated Express, Street Cars, and Buses at Door. Metropolitan Bus Station in Hotel.
Weekly Rates $7.00 to $12.00
Courteous Service. 150 Large Rooms. Telphone LONgbeach 6400

The Plymouth Hotel, built in 1912, was one of the oldest buildings in Uptown when it was torn down in 2003 as part of a development project. Preservation groups tried to get the developer to incorporate the building into its plan, as it was structurally sound and, according to Landmarks Illinios, capable of being adaptively reused. Unfortunately the developer felt otherwise.

The Plymouth was designed by George Kingsley, best known for his Reebie Warehouse on North Clark. It was the favorite hotel of Essanay's silent film stars. In the lobby of the condo portion, visible from the western side on Racine, is a rather large fragment of the original terra cotta ornamentation. For photos of the Plymouth and its destruction, go to Landmarks Illinois.

Uptown Theatre. So near, yet...

It seems the Uptown is on everyone's mind this week. For a lively neighborhood discussion on the theatre (and other Uptown happenings) go to Uptown Update. Chris Jones also wrote about the recent gossip surrounding the Uptown in today's Chicago Tribune. Go directly to the Trib site to see a video clip of the theatre filmed last year.

The Uptown Theatre. So near, yet ...

by Chris Jones

I've written a lot over the years about the Uptown Theatre at 4814 N. Broadway. I stare at it from the "L" on a regular basis. As its many passionate supporters well know, the venue almost has been renovated on a number of occasions; it's been in the sights of everyone from charlatans to poorly funded enthusiasts to civic-minded business folks who've tried to make it happen but became worn down by the size and difficulty of the job.

Its challenges are well known — terrible state of disrepair, a location outside of downtown, parking issues, massive size, and so on. But its assets — most notably an interior that stirs the soul — are just as worthy of attention...

For complete story and video, go to Chicago Tribune