Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Wouldn't It Be Nice?



According to sources in the ward, the design phase for the rehab of the Wilson El stop is now at 30%, up from 10%. The existing Popeyes restaurant would be moved from its current location and a new entrance to the station would replace it. No word yet on where Popeyes will be relocated. We have heard about this rehab for years now, so we, like many others in Uptown, will believe it when we see it.
For those of you wondering, the above photo shows the Wilson El station before the clock was removed, and the lower photo shows the station in 1959 after it was sadly removed.

3 comments:

  1. The original entrance is a bit more ornate. This photo was taken after the clock was removed.

    We'll see if we can dig up a photo of the original original station.

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  2. Thanks for checking us out WTH!
    I did find a pic of the station before the clock was removed. According to http://www.chicago-l.org/stations/wilson.html
    the clock was removed sometime between 1957 and 1959. I wonder if something like that could be built nowadays and added back to the station? We can dream can't we?

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  3. Anything can be done with a bit of vision and willpower.

    Sadly, leadership in the ward is lacking in both when it comes to things like this. Vibrant retail, decent jobs, and a robust entertainment district that bring back the Uptown of yesteryear are not of interest to certain people and certain groups of people in the ward.

    Somewhere out there on the net is a photo of the station on its opening day, with a better close-up view of the station.

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