Silvertone Chicago Vol.1

The corn cob towers.

This is the first time I've posted to the Chicago Neighborhoods Project in years. I stopped because I found trying to keep up with several types of social media was too time consuming. I am most active on Twitter at @ChiNeighbor. I have been tweeting videos of the city. I also feature snippets of Chicago Tribune newspaper articles from 1893 about the city and the World's Fair.

My longer term project is tentatively called "Tarot in the White City: Instructions, History and Advice from Chicago." I envision this as a book as centered around the amazing research about tarot that emerged in the early 1890s. Part of this knowledge has gone back into obscurity. For fun, I've designed a way to read tarot with a set of dominoes, a partial deck of playing cards, and a partial deck of modern tarot cards.

Visual Journal of the Fantastical City

As for photography, I've taken a new interest in shooting black and white (actually, silvertone) photos. I am exploring what is real and what is not. How the image of the city is constructed through our thoughts. Always there is an element of dreams to what we see.

The beer garden along the Riverwalk.

The autumn season. Shadowy figures crossing Wabash.

Corner clock on the Palmer House Hotel.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial along the Riverwalk. Wedding couple on far left stairs.

The canopy of lights at the Palmer House Hotel.

Doorways of the Chicago City Hall/Cook County building.

The Riverwalk.

The entrance to the Blue Line along the underground tunnels of the Pedway.

Vending machines and snacks in the Pedway.

Photos of South Deering

April 2017

Budget Guide to Chicago

Summer 2016

When the weather warms tourists flock to Chicago. Since I get requests for advice about what to see and do in the city, I’ve compiled a budget guide for visiting. Please feel free to leave your own tips.

Choosing What to Visit

Finding the expensive attractions is easy. They are well known. They appear on every website and guide book. Whenever I travel I’m on a limited budget and appreciate finding the cheap stuff. I prefer to blow my money on one big great thing, then supplement the rest of the trip with low cost or free activities.

The first time I go to a new city I spend most of the time simply walking around. If I’ve already been somewhere I prefer a return visit to explore a theme. In a metropolitan area as large as Chicago there is no way to cover all the museums from Millennium Park north to Lincoln Park, let alone the rest of the city. The sheer number of choices is overwhelming.

When friends come to visit I’m left trying to find out clues about what might interest them. If they like architecture, do they want to explore a larger area by walking on our own, or do they want a shorter, but much more informative, professionally guided tour? Do they prefer trolley, subway, bike or walking? (I draw the line at Segways.)

What aspect of architecture is compelling? Do they want skylines and a history if how Chicago developed? Or do they have a specific interest in churches, gothic architecture, hotel lobbies, Frank Lloyd Wright, park district field houses and conservatories, high end retail buildings, famous restaurants, train depots, public markets, or something else?

 Pick a Theme

I like to explore a city around a theme. Right now I’m interested in the Edwardian Era of history. In Chicago I would take some architectural tours of buildings and foods (Chicagoans often combine architecture and eating or drinking), check for museum exhibits, and visit some house museums like Glessner.

If you’re looking for something educational you might explore birds, Civil War history, cooking and foods, bridges, or whatever floats your boat. Chicago has a number of museums and cultural centers devoted to specific ethnic heritages, including Swedish, German, Lithuanian, African-American, Ukrainian, Mexican and Puerto Rico.

Chicago has an endless number of tours, concerts and lectures. The universities often have free or low cost theater, music and lectures. Likewise, neighborhoods sponsor inexpensive events.

In my own neighborhood of Hyde Park this summer we’ll have a series of free weekly evening concerts on our main street (53^rd), free park concerts and movies, a free 3-day Jazz Festival, gallery openings, inexpensive museums on the University of Chicago campus, 4^th of July parade and picnics with fireworks all night, fire pits for cookouts at Promontory Point, lectures, author readings, a new comedy club, and stuff I’m probably forgetting.

We’re near the Museum of Science and Industry, DuSable Museum, Stony Island Arts Bank, Hyde Park Art Center, University of Chicago, Court Theater, Oriental Institute Museum, Smart Museum of Art, Renaissance Society, Rockefeller Chapel, Logan Center for the Arts, Robie House, Doc Films, The Revival Improv Comedy Club, The Promontory music club, Black Cinema House, Arts + Public Life, site of White City, Chicago World’s Fair, Experimental Station, and the Japanese Garden.

I haven’t listed the neighborhood restaurants, architecture, main business district, book stores, public sculptures, the cluster of seminaries, the lakefront, beaches, or the parks. We’re just one small area of the city, yet we have more cultural institutions than some entire small cities.

 
Pick an Area of Town

I recommend sticking to a particular area of the city rather than trying to cover a large territory. Why waste vacation time stuck sitting in traffic or waiting for the subway? Some of the neighborhoods have easy access on public transit to The Loop, Navy Pier, or the Magnificent Mile, but plenty of neighborhoods don’t. If everything you want to do is near the Navy Pier, paying higher hotel costs is worth the easy access.

Leave the Car at Home

I don’t recommend driving around Chicago. It may seem cheaper, until you have to pay parking. Some hotels offer lower room rates with expensive parking garages. Be sure to find out both. Driving to places like downtown is a nightmare and you’ll have to pay for parking. Other neighborhoods require a long search for a free spot.

You may find an inexpensive AirBnB rental with free parking. Fine, but how are you going to get to tourist attractions? Will you have an hour bus ride each way, including having to transfer? Are you going to drive and pay high parking fees when you arrive at your destination?

 
You Don’t Have to Visit the Art Museum

I hereby give you permission to skip anything which doesn’t interest you. You might be happier spending $300 on one of the best dinners of your life rather than slogging through days of boring museums.

Budget Ideas

Since money doesn’t grow on trees, here are some ways to see and do popular attractions without breaking the bank.

·         Discount Tickets: There are passes, Groupon, and last minute discounts.

·         Skyline: Instead of the Willis or Hancock towers, grab a drink at a rooftop bar.

·         River: Take the water taxi from Michigan Ave to Chinatown.

·         Meet Up: Check for free public tours.

·         Museums: Visit less well known museums.

·         Discount Shopping: Chinatown, Clark St in Andersonville, 26^th St in Little Village

Links to Low Cost/Free Stuff

Free attractions from Choose Chicago http://www.choosechicago.com/articles/view/FREE-THINGS-TO-DO-IN-CHICAGO/122/

Chicago on the Cheap http://chicagoonthecheap.com/

Midwest Weekends http://midwestweekends.com/plan_a_trip/best_trips/cheap_trips/cheap_chicago.html

Thrillist https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/chicago/free-things-to-do-in-chicago

Uptown

In mid-April my husband and I decided to visit Uptown. We’d read about some vintage shopping in the area. The beautiful weather had warmed to the 60s, after a chilly spring and some late season snowfalls.

We randomly chose the Argyle stop to exit the red line L train. I didn’t realize it was “Asia on Argyle” with a cluster of Asian restaurants and groceries. It’s as large as some entire Chinatown neighborhoods in other cities.

The population was diverse. Everywhere we traveled in the neighborhood we saw families, and groups of people, out enjoying the spring sunshine. Every block had people walking.

Broadway is the main commercial strip. I picked a Chinese dim sum restaurant for lunch. It was similar to a classic cafeteria, except the food was rolled on carts from table to table, instead of a buffet line. The waiter realized it was our first visit. He offered explanations about what was on the plates.

The waiter suggested a delicious sticky rice, with a meat center, steamed in Lotus leaves. We sampled several dishes. I particularly liked the pork dumplings. However, I don’t think I’ve had a dumpling I’ve ever truly disliked.

After lunch we walked over to the lake. I noticed some older buildings remain in the neighborhood, while others have been replaced with high rises, particularly from the 1960s and 70s, closer to the water. It seemed like an area of urban renewal projects, although the Encyclopedia of Chicago notes that the residents worked hard to avoid widespread displacement like Hyde Park.

We walked under a freeway bridge. One side of the underpass was lined with a tent city of homeless who lived permanently under the bridge. I’d read the city is supposed to be working on finding homes for people living in tent encampments around the city. The need for low income housing far exceeds supply in Chicago. This is particularly true because so many of the SRO hotels in the city have been demolished or converted to other uses.

Encyclopedia of Chicago describes Uptown as a former entertainment district for the city. The SRO hotels, which used to be clustered in the neighborhood, would have served singles and young couples, wanting an urban lifestyle instead of maintaining a house, similar to the micro-apartment concept today. (SRO hotels were more carefree, as they didn’t have kitchens and might include housekeeping.) Later the SRO hotels were used by migrant workers and as cheap housing to prevent homelessness.

Walking the neighborhood, we noticed a concentration of social services I don’t tend to see in other areas. We noticed housing for substance abuse services, the ill, and elderly. Walking past a doorway of an apartment building I saw plants which had been ripped out of their decorative pots. Dirt was scattered across the steps. Even in some of the roughest areas of the city I haven’t observed destruction of landscaping.

When we reached the lake the parks, trails and ball fields were full. A couple games of girls’ soccer were in progress. I watched a father teach a young boy how to fly a kite while pushing a baby along in a stroller, a group of preteen boys fishing, a couple strolling hand-in-hand along the rocks, small groups sitting on blankets, and a line waiting for food from the taco truck. Summer was in full swing.

Walking back through the neighborhood to the train we stopped at an Asian grocery. Like so many ethnic markets around the city they had great prices. I stocked up on 3 varieties of noodles, tea, and frozen pre-made pot stickers.

Until now I’ve resisted the notion of Chicago fusion cooking. I will look at a menu and think, “Those foods should not live together on the same plate.” I decided to take the plunge. I cooked Canton style eggs noodles from the market. I then added spaghetti sauce with onions, peppers, kielbasa and ham. It was strangely good. The noodles were light and brought out the flavors of the sauce. We ate the leftovers immediately.

I wouldn’t make the long cross town trip to eat at some of Chicago’s more authentic restaurants in the neighborhoods regularly. I’m glad I’ve done it once, but really, I tend to prefer “Americanized” versions of the foods closer to home anyway. I like the thin crust pizza I’ve had in South Loop better than what I tried at a liquor store in Albany Park, for example.  

At the same time, the small groceries are a different matter. Some neighborhoods have unique and inexpensive foods I can’t seem to find anywhere closer to our apartment. While the French and Maxwell Street Markets are a good start, too bad Chicago doesn’t have a giant public market once a week for shopping from small vendors across the city.

VIDEO: West Ridge

Link to video of photos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaFLX2JnE6Y&feature=youtu.be

Little Village, South Lawndale

My daughter wanted to find a sovenier from Mexico. She was about to leave on a solo three-week trip to Germany. One of the people she was planning to meet asked if she could bring him a Mexican trinket from Chicago. Back in Albuquerque, where we used to live, the request would have been easy. Now that we lived in Hyde Park we would have to travel to another part of the city to find it.

“Really?” I asked. I was in a grumpy mood. Did we really have to spend an afternoon buying a two-dollar trinket before she left? Finally, she made a peace offering. She volunteered to go tour a new neighborhood with me.

I started looking online at Mexican retail shops. We’d already been to some of the neighborhoods listed, including Bridgeport and Pilsen. Some of the shops on the north side of the city would take a couple hours, each way, to reach on public transportation from our home. We would have to make at least 3 route transfers.

Looking at the distant areas in the north I didn’t know how I was going to get there in the future. At some point I was going to have to make the trip. I decided not to worry about it now. So far, I was managing to find my way around. During my project answers have had a way of appearing when I need them.

The obvious solution to our current dilemma was to shop in the Little Village of Lawndale, a neighborhood of primarily Mexican immigrants. I’d read that their 26^th Street has the second highest amount of retail revenue along any street of Chicago. Only the Miracle Mile on North Michigan is higher. Little Village sells more goods than State Street in downtown.

Since we were familiar with the neighboring Pilsen, we took the pink line L one stop further west to the Kedzie stop. Whether the station is located in North Lawndale or Little Village depends on the map consulted. The two block walk south from the L station to the Metra train tracks did seem like a “no man’s land” with trash piled as high as my knees as we crossed under the Metra bridge.

We arrived in the Little Village neighborhood in mid-afternoon as the schools were letting out. Groups of kids and families were everywhere on the streets. I instantly felt safe when surrounded by women and children. I’ve since read that encouraging groups of immigrants to settle in troubled neighborhoods has been shown to reduce crime rates.

The area was a stark contrast to my previous neighborhood visit of East Garfield Park. Whereas Garfield Park’s streets were mostly barren of people or commercial businesses, even in the middle of the day, the Little Village was full. Neighbors seemed to know each other and would stop to chat in small groups. More strikingly, the area was bursting with small, local merchants.

Part of the explanation was culture. There was a spirit of entrepreneurship and commitment to shop the local merchants. But partially it was the architecture. There must have been hundreds of tiny, affordable stores spaces to rent. Shops could flourish because they have the physical space to do so in a concentrated area.

Even beyond the main commercial corridors there were plenty of tiny shops and corner stores among the homes. When buildings are being torn across the city, sadly, tiny storefronts like these are not being replaced. As the weather was mild for March I also saw lots of card tables set up on sidewalks to sell even more goods.

The greatest difficulty we had getting around the neighborhood was trying to cross the busier streets. There were few traffic lights and cars often didn’t stop for pedestrians in the cross walks. I watched other people have the same problem trying to get to the other side.

As we walked my daughter noticed a store full of religious icons. Inside we found ourselves in the Costco of religious supplies. There must have been hundreds of each item, most still in their boxes stacked on shelves. My daughter found a small icon to take on her trip. After hunting through numerous bottles of spiritual oils, and noticing the stack of voodoo dolls, it dawned on me the store catered to more than the local Catholics.

Later, when I checked on Google for voodoo supplies in Chicago, nothing was listed for Little Village. It made me wonder what else I might find tucked away in the stores. I plan to return to treasure hunt through the shops.

Afterwards, we wandered into a cheese shop with a full size statue of a cow in front. We were given samples of their white Mexican cheese to sample in soft, medium and hard varieties. I bought a couple to take home. I would later eat the hard as string cheese snacks. The medium I used to bake a delicious pan of black bean green chile cheese enchiladas.