Link to video of photos:
Thursday, January 28, 2016
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Saturday, January 23, 2016
Woodlawn
Mid-January my husband and I decided to walk from our Hyde
Park home to the neighborhood just south of us—Woodlawn. Temperatures during
the past fall had been unseasonably warm. This morning’s freezing drizzle was
preferable to the arctic winter blast everyone promised would soon arrive.
We headed along the lake to Jackson Park. Not long after we
first moved to Chicago Wooded Island, in the center of the park, was closed and
fenced off for restoration. The Island features the Osaka Japanese Garden, constructed
for the White City at the 1893 World’s Fair. A newspaper article promised the
closed portion of the park would be available for a Saturday tour.
Despite all of the construction equipment I was surprised by
the beautiful colors in the Bobolink Meadow in the park. Walking along the
trail it was easy to forget we were in the middle of the city. We spent a while
meandering along the trails. Too long, it turned out.
The rain increased as we finally reached the south gate
entrance to Wooded Island. I thought we’d have another half hour for a
self-guided tour. Instead, the gate was locked and cars were pulling out of the
parking lot. Since we’d already walked this far we continued on our journey. We
passed empty boat harbors. The golden statue of The Republic, a replica from
the White City, glistened in the rain.
Heading back north along the western edge of Jackson Park we
saw the old Hyde Park High School for the first time. I’ve heard local South
Siders talk about attending school there. The building, like so many in the
area, is a faded reminder of when the neighborhood used to cater to the city’s
wealthier residents.
We reached the northern boundary of Woodlawn at a strip of
park known as the Midway Plaisance. Another leftover from the World’s Fair, it once
contained cheap thrills pushed to outside of the serious White City, such as
amusement rides. The term “midway” is still used at modern fairs.
Wandering into the residential area of Woodlawn we stumbled into
the end of the 61st Street Farmers Market at Experimental Station.
Originally I had planned to walk across Woodlawn to one of the oldest
restaurants in the city, except we were wet and the temperature was dropping.
We warmed up inside. While most of the vendors were already packing up I still
found amazing fresh cinnamon swirl bread, poppy pastries, and the most
delicious giant oatmeal cookies with chocolate filling to take home.
Once back outside we toured a bit more of the residences and
the southern end of the University of Chicago campus. Soon the rain turned to
heavy snow flakes. Already soaked from the morning walk it was time to head
home.
Thursday, January 21, 2016
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
Interview about project on WGN Morning News
LeShock Value
WGN Morning News
with Marcus Leshock
Link to TV interview about Chicago Neighborhoods Project:
Thanks to entire WGN news team for supporting my work!
 |
| Iowa Building, Hyde Park, Chicago |
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
Ukrainian Village, West Town
In choosing which area of the West Town community area to
visit I decided to skip the trendy Wicker Park neighborhood for the lessor
known Ukrainian Village. At one time the village was a stop on the “L”
(elevated train), but the line was discontinued in the 1960s. The primary mass
transit link now is by bus.
I prefer to avoid bus rides to unknown neighborhoods. In
fact, I’ll walk a mile or more from a train stop. Navigating fixed railroad
tracks with only a few stops is easier than complex bus routes which randomly change
for traffic conditions or special events.
However, I knew I had a lot of neighborhoods ahead of me
which can’t be reached by subway or commuter train lines. It was time to get
serious about using the transit app on my phone.
We rode the Metra Electric District train from Hyde Park to its
termination point at Millennium Station downtown. Deciding to stretch our legs
we walked north on Michigan Avenue, along the upscale shopping of The Magnificent
Mile, to the Water Tower. From there we caught the #66 bus along Chicago Avenue
to Ukrainian Village.
Using the transit app worked fine. I appreciated the tracking
feature, which showed us where we were in relation to the stop we needed. I’d
chosen a coffee shop for lunch. I’ve learned my family is more tolerant of
walking neighborhoods if I feed them early in the trip.
I did not know Ukrainian style pierogis was a thing. I’m
familiar with the larger Polish version, often simple in ingredients and pan
fried in butter. I happily ate the smaller boiled Ukrainian pierogis with
mushroom, potato and tarragon filling in a creamy Dijon sauce. Delicious. My
only regret was failing to remember to request fried onion and bacon toppings.
I’ve learned to travel to interesting neighborhoods with an
insulated grocery bag. Small ethnic markets offer a variety of food choices,
usually at cheaper prices. We wondered the aisles of a Ukrainian grocery store
trying to guess foods that didn’t have English translations.
Not paying close attention I came home with a seasoning
packet I guess to be for beef stroganoff. I will have to try to follow the
pictures to use it. A large bag of soup seasoning, with English translation,
was only $3. A loaf of freshly baked rye bread $1.50. I chose a cheese from the
deli counter I couldn’t pronounce, along with frozen pierogis and Russian pork
dumplings. All the cold foods made the long trip home safely in the insulated
bag.
Thursday, January 7, 2016
Tuesday, January 5, 2016
Bridgeport
As the winter holidays approached I realized my family needed to find some new traditions for our first Christmas in Chicago. I didn’t want to cook. Hassling with the rest of the family over making dinner didn’t seem like much fun either. And after many years of hosting Christmas parties at our previous home I didn’t want to socialize.
I finally hit upon the idea of buying bakery goods to eat. I
searched online through reviews of different neighborhoods. Since I needed to
cover both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day I wanted to find somewhere with a
range of food options. Bridgeport seemed the most promising.
Describing the neighborhood as a "port" seems accurate, as the area is a crossroads of cultures. Originally settled by enclaves of
European immigrants, it continues to attract blue collar Mexicans and Chinese.
Restaurants in the neighborhood reflect the broad range of ethnic communities
past and present.
Planning ahead I found some of the bakeries would be closed
on Christmas Eve and others would only be available for pickups. I placed our
order for steak and ale pies from a highly rated British shop. When we arrived
at midday I was able to add a side of Scotch eggs. They also had saffron and
currant St. Lucia buns we ate for Christmas breakfast. Everything was
delicious.
After retrieving our order, we started walking the
neighborhood. I originally had the idea we would round the entire place and end
up on the northern side, then head to Chinatown for lunch. I was far too
ambitious. Instead, we landed midway at a local family diner.
Since moving to Chicago I’ve had a fascination with monte
cristo sandwiches. I don’t recall ever eating them previously. They
feature ham and cheese grilled between French bread. Some restaurants will add
extra bread in the middle, top with powdered sugar, or even serve with syrup.
This sandwich was basic and heavy on the ham instead of the bread. Still quite enjoyable.
Afterwards, we still needed Christmas dinner. Searching we
found gigantic chocolate chip cookies with chocolate chunks the size of
miniature candy bars, but still no meal. Finally, we happened upon an open panaderia—Mexican
bakery. I inspected the cases of baked goods like empanadas and bolillos. No luck.
Before leaving I approached the counter in the back. Behind
the server I noticed a stack of corn husks. Could it be?
I asked if they had
tamales I could buy. She replied they had both red and green in chicken and
pork, which were ridiculously inexpensive. Coming from Albuquerque chicken
tamales seem wrong. I couldn’t do it. We got the pork. We were delighted to have fresh tamales for Christmas dinner. My only regret is we didn’t buy more dozens
to freeze at home.
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