Saturday, January 17, 2009

Uptown From The Air

If this aerial photo from the 1930's doesn't take your breath away, not much will. Click to enlarge and enjoy. Check out a higher resolution version here, suitable for framing. (photo: CTA)

35 comments:

  1. Hey, I can see my house from here...

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  2. Wonderful photo. Nice to peek back in time and see my block, lined with single family homes.

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  3. Thanks UU, that picture is a keeper.

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  4. Lots of those buildings are gone now. Kinda sad, but thankfully, quite a few remain.

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  5. the buildings that are gone don't make me sad. its the buildings that replaced them that make me sad.

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  6. this great for my PC background. very cool, thanks UU!

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  7. does anyone know what the buildings behind the now-bridgeview bank and beside the uptown broadway building used to be?

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  8. UptownJen-
    We aren't sure what the buildings were, but you can see a few of them up close in this pic from 1977.
    Uptown Broadway Building 1977

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  9. Is a larger version of this pic available?

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  10. It's amazing to see the density that has been lost in Uptown. The urban fabric has been decimated by bulldozers and bad planning. And unfortunately we don't have leadership that will help to restore it.

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  11. Ah, the 1930s! That was the Depression, of course, and Uptown was nicer then than it is now! Say, Helen Shiller was still in high school back then.

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  12. Click on the photo for a larger view. If anyone sees any single family homes in this photo, you're nuts.

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  13. Aren't those three big mansions in the bottom right corner?? (Unless Suzanne was kidding).

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  14. I see mostly 3 and 4 flats; typical Chicago housing. They're grand.

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  15. Toto, look at the 4700 block of Winthrop. Only half of those single family homes remain.

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  16. Toto - I see a whole bunch of large single family houses on Winthrop between Lawrence and Leland...both sides of the street. a few of which I think are still there. The ones with the peaked roofs.

    Am I nuts?

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  17. Suzanne - you beat me!

    I've often walked down that street and wondered how beautiful the block must've been at one time...

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  18. Notice how the lake is right up to Clarendon. My grandfather used to swim at the Clarendon Park Beach House which is now Clarendon Park.

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  19. from a previous Uptown Update post - a link to a pdf of a map of Uptown from 1928... makes it a little easier to cross-reference what's where...

    http://www.uptownupdate.com/2007/07/uptown-historical-map-1928.html

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  20. You might try using Google Street View and cross reference that to what is shown in the old photo to compare what is here and now gone.

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  21. Also remember that a lot of Uptown housing was lost to the arsonists of the 70's looking to make quick insurance money on their properties.

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  22. We added a higher resolution link for this photo. Check it out on the main post.

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  23. This photo is amazing. I can't wait to make a high quality print out and frame it. Very cool!

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  24. It's amazing to see the retail density ... lots of little storefronts lining Broadway where the Bridgeview Bank parking lot and drive-through are now.

    And how few cars are parked along Magnolia. Fewer cars, more stores, more buildings. What a change.

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  25. Great picture. Yes, I can see my current building in there!

    Does the "beach" in the upper right corner look like a trash dump to anyone else besides me?

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  26. Hey UU, the resolution of the picture in the new link you added is actually less (1023x849) than the resolution of the picture after you click the thumbnail picture in the post(1600x1330).

    Is there one bigger than the 1600x1330 picture? I'd love to print that one out and frame it if so.

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  27. From the Chicago Park District website:

    "In 1916, the city opened the Clarendon Municipal Beach, featuring an impressive brick building with two stately towers, separate open-air locker areas for men and women, and two smaller buildings housing a laundry and a children's playroom. Accommodating more than 9,000 swimmers and a promenade for thousands of spectators, the facility provided bathing suits, towels, and lockers for the charge of ten cents per adult.

    The beach remained popular until the late 1930s, when the Chicago Park District expanded Lincoln Park north to Foster Avenue, thereby eliminating Clarendon's lake frontage. At that time, the city converted the facility into a community center, adding gymnasiums, club rooms, a playground, and an athletic field. The Chicago Park District assumed ownership of the Clarendon Community Center in 1959. A major renovation project in 1972 resulted in the removal of the building's most distinguishing features such as its tile roof and towers. In recent years, the park district has made the building accessible to people with disabilities, and upgraded the ball fields and playground."

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  28. Confused-
    We do have a bigger version but it is in .pdf format and its 111MB (huge). For whatever reason, it is being shrunk a bit. We will try and work on it.

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  29. I am taken by both the density and the relative lack of cars.

    To me that is urban heaven.

    I haven't owned a car in years and seldom drive.

    One thing I love about Uptown is its walkability. Sure we lack nightlife and restaurants, but in terms of groceries, the CTA and most importantly alcohol everything I need is close by.

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  30. Suzanne / CJ. The perponderance of the building stock is multi family. Has been for a good long time. The single family homes were mostly lost before this photo was taken.

    History is great. But sometimes I think it is better focus on our future than worry about the past. Expend energy wisely. Rather than the constant litany of what Helen S has done poorly, work on your positive message of what can be done better.

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  31. Toto - i guess you just have to be right even if you're not. I, for one, wasn't worried about the past... just kind of offended for being called nuts because of something I quite clearly see that you just don't seem to want to.

    I haven't said a word against Helen S and so far as I can see Suzanne didn't either - at least in these postings.

    who's nuts?

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  32. This makes me laugh to see what was on the site of my newish construction townhome when this photo was taken -- townhomes!

    Of course, there was a car mechanic, an apartment building and an empty rubble-strewn lot on the site in the interim.

    So much for the myth that the dreaded condo owners are "taking away what Uptown has always been." In the case of my building, at least, and of the Borders Building being rehabbed to look now like it did then, it's a case of putting things back the way they were.

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  33. Hey! How come I can't see the Eiffel Tower?

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  34. UU, where do you get these great pictures? I have been working on the UBB and have not seen the pictures you have. Any help would be appreciated.
    building10@gmail.com

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  35. how do you get a hold of these CTA photos of Uptown

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