VIDEO: Andersonville photos

Link to video:

https://youtu.be/DjBry0OSwss

Andersonville, Edgewater

I lived more than two decades in Albuquerque, New Mexico before locating to Chicago. Before leaving the Land of Enchantment I wrote my first women’s fiction novel Welcome to Gold Street. The book was published around the time we moved.

Living in Hyde Park I’ve been lucky to continue working on my writing with the Indie City Writers. In mid-February they arranged a group reading by authors at the Women & Children’s First bookstore in the Andersonville neighborhood of Edgewater, on the far north side of Chicago. Since I was scheduled to present, I decided to explore the neighborhood.

I took the red line L from downtown. I’d never stopped in the Edgewater area before. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I found Andersonville to be surprisingly pleasant. It was the first time upon visiting a new neighborhood that I wondered if I should have considered moving there.

The community was originally populated by Swedes, who migrated north from the center of the city to build houses constructed of wood. After the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 wooden buildings were forbidden in their previous Chicago settlements.

While it takes a while to reach downtown on mass transit, Andersonville is an easy walk to the lake and has plenty of services available in the area. The residents seemed very involved with their community. The first thing I noticed was a “Little Free Library” box along the sidewalk. I’d read about the concept of having public boxes to give away free books. It was the first time I’d spotted one in the wild. I would find more walking around the neighborhood.

Andersonville seemed to take pride in projects to strengthen their neighborhood. I noticed a couple of street parking spaces converted to bike corrals. I later read they emphasize recycling and other sustainability projects.

The neighborhood’s main business district is along Clark Street. The strip was thriving and most of the businesses appeared to be local. It’s been designated a National Historic District. There were a variety of shops, restaurants, and bars.

While Andersonville no longer has a significant number of Swedes, some of their bakeries and restaurants have remained. I grabbed an early dinner, finding freshly baked Swedish cookies and bundt cake to take home to my family.

The area is going through a renaissance. It’s become a quirky community friendly to LBGTs. The artistic spirit reminded me of Santa Fe, New Mexico three decades ago, when creative types could still afford to live there. It’s always risky to make predictions. However, if I were to pick an area of Chicago likely to shoot up in value, it would be Andersonville. 

VIDEO: West Loop, Near West Side

Link to video of photos:

https://youtu.be/2xt5BeRzWlk

Every Neighborhood a Tourist Destination?

I'm reading Overbooked by Elizabeth Becker. She makes the argument that tourism is the largest industry in the world.

France is the number one tourist destination. It's a significant part of their economy, which can't be moved offshore or produced by anyone else. Becker credits them for creating tourist destinations around their country by focusing on preserving and promoting their historic treasures.

France is particularly successful in working with many neighborhoods and towns. They don't just spend resources in a couple of places in big cities.

Seems like we could learn from them. Every neighborhood of Chicago has unique cultural assets. Only some are officially recognized or promoted.

Changing Neighborhood Skylines

The first time I rode the L out into Chicago's neighborhoods, away from the lake, I noticed a unique skyline. The view is of 3 to 4 story buildings and church towers rising above them.

It reminded me of a time when each neighborhood would have spiritual centers. Residents would walk to worship and know many of their community members. Even for those who choose not to attend services, it still helped create strong neighborhoods.

Those days are gone and the towers are going to start coming down. In the past couple years the archdiocese of Chicago has announced the closing of dozens of schools and churches. I've read the rumor that as many as a fourth of the parishes will be eliminated in the next couple decades.

While some buildings may be bought by new congregations, most won't. The old churches have little parking and often need extensive renovations. Most people now drive to their preferred house of worship instead of walking down the block to whatever happens to be around.

Best case scenario would be that developers find adaptive reuses--say as condos or apartments. Then most of the exterior would remain as the interior is gutted. Doesn't seem likely. A developer would make more money building luxury highrises or office towers on vacant lots.

In Woodlawn people are trying to save Shrine of Christ the King Sovereign Priest Catholic church gutted twice by fire. Yesterday it was announced St. Adalbert's in Pilsen (pictured here) didn't raise enough funds for restoration and will be closed.

The skylines of many neighborhoods are about to dramatically change. Seems a shame to lose so many beautiful buildings. I feel like I'm documenting the end of an era.

West Loop, Near West Side

 

Deciding which neighborhood to visit on the Near West Side was difficult. The area includes unique places, such as Greektown, Fulton Market, and the quiet residential Tri-Taylor. Before moving to Chicago I had read quite a bit about Little Italy, and considered locating my family there. Using Google street views I liked the style of the homes and its proximity to a university and downtown. After nine months of living in Chicago I still hadn’t gone to the neighborhood.

My daughter and I do regularly go the Morgan L (elevated train) stop of the Near West Side. I adore the shrimp grits at Wishbone restaurant, Khloe at Solo Salon is a genius at giving me a beautiful shade of “natural” red hair, and Wigglyville is my favorite spot to buy dog treats.

Still, the point of my project was to experience new places. Before locating to Chicago I’d read about the French Market. Unfortunately, it’s closed on Sundays, when my family and I often travel around the city. I talked my daughter into accompanying me during a weekday to West Loop.

We took the L to the Clinton stop. The French Market was only a block away. While I would have liked to have eaten lunch in one of the finer nearby French restaurants, none I found were within our budget.

I’m a big fan of public markets because they are so important to the health of a community. The eastern side of West Loop is adjacent to Chicago’s downtown and lives in the shadow of one of North America’s tallest skyscrapers, the Willis Tower. (Locals still call the building the Sears Tower.) Rents in West Loop are climbing similarly sky high.

The public market provides space to small and local vendors who couldn’t otherwise afford to be the in the area. We were able to experience interesting food without breaking the bank. The market is located in the Ogilvie Transportation Center, combining two of my favorite things—markets and trains. Shopping in the train station allows Metra commuters to grab groceries or a bite to eat as they pass through.

Nearby is Union Station, serving more Metra lines and Amtrak. Chicago is the largest rail hub in the United States, both for freight and passenger travel. West Loop is unique in that many of those tracks run under the neighborhood. While cities like New York have contentious battles over air rights, the problem for West Loop is ground rights. It’s difficult to find empty places to anchor new buildings along the river.

Upon arrival to the French Market we pursued various vendor stalls to choose our lunch. Options included a number of nationalities, including Mexican and Asian. I was tempted by a Croque Madame sandwich or fresh crepes. In the end, my daughter and I both opted for delicious Belgian hamburgers and fries. I’ve never tried mayo on my fries. It was much tastier than I expected.

After lunch we traversed the eastern side of the neighborhood, starting along the river. It was an unseasonably warm early February day in the low forties. Small groups of people walked in the sunshine or took smoke breaks outside office highrises.

It didn’t take long to complete a loop, going as far as the freeway on the western side. We purposely ended up back at the French Market to find mid-afternoon desserts. There were plenty of chocolates, pastries and sweets. Before we finished I bought treats to take home and some wonderful fresh tortellini to add to our salads for dinner. I plan to keep the market in mind for cold winter days ahead.

 

 

VIDEO: Pilsen

Link to video of photos:

https://youtu.be/jlQDyryU4D4

Pilsen, Lower West Side

On a mild winter January day my family and I headed to Pilsen. While the neighborhood isn’t far from our home, there isn’t a direct mass transit link. In warmer weather we might have ridden our bicycles. Instead, we took a bus, then transferred to the L. Despite not being well linked with the some of the other areas, Pilsen has good connections with downtown, which is part of what makes it popular.

Pilsen is the trendiest area of the Lower West Side. Art galleries, artists, students, and local boutiques combine with the heart of Mexican culture in Chicago. Hispanics celebrate Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) here on All Saint’s Day, November 1^st. I visited during the fall holiday to view the alters set up to honor deceased loved ones on a ball field. At the time I wanted to see a museum and eat, but the lines of crowds were longer than my patience.

While the area is just north of Bridgeport, the homes were built to be noticeably more ornate than its southern neighbor. According to The Chicago 77 by Mary Zangs, Pilsen has many of the oldest buildings in the city.

We arrived at 18^th Street, the main business district, in the neighborhood. Shops and Mexican restaurants lined the road. We found an inexpensive Taqueria for lunch. I ordered basic Mexican eggs scrambled with veggies, plus refried beans and rice. What really made my meal on a winter day was the basket of fresh hot tortillas wrapped in foil to stay warm.

My husband and daughter got chorizo norteno burritos, similar to what we’d had in New Mexico, except for the addition of lots of lettuce and avocados inside. We all agreed they were delicious. I’d happily order the burritos again. After lunch we walked the neighborhood. Around every corner we seemed to find another mural. I plan to go back to 18^th on another trip to shop the small boutiques and thrift stores we skipped this time.

A good stop for winter weather was the National Museum of Mexican Art. It’s free and open to the public. We wandered the exhibits while warming up. The gift shop had a lot of imagery familiar from my years in the Southwest. I was tempted to bring home some trinkets, but reminded myself we’ve downsized and now I (mostly) just take photos.

Our last errand was to head back to 18^th to find a panaderia (bakery) near the L stop. We settled on a shop lined with cases of freshly baked goods. Using tongs, we loaded a tray full of cookies, freshly baked bread and chipotle tortillas. I would later use the tortillas to make cream cheese roll ups with New Mexico-style green chiles. Green chile was the only thing I was disappointed not to find in Pilsen, although we may have simply missed it. At the register the cashier surprised us with extra treats to have for the ride home. They were sugar cookies shaped like hearts.