A reader sends in the following photo and info:"Thought your readers would be interested in seeing the new lighting that is being installed on Broadway. The taller lightpole in the pic is the new light, next to the shorter old light. I was hoping they would install the same antique looking lighting that is just about 100 feet away in front of Target, but no such luck. Not sure why they are different.
On another note, I was able to peek inside the new Target and the new Starbucks is looking great. Seats are right against the window on Broadway. My, how times have changed. I remember back in 1998 when the Starbucks on Wilson opened and the Shiller folks vandalized the place because to them it meant gentrification. Now, Helen gives the a-ok to them in her prized development. The times they are a-changin."
WTF?!?!? Why the heck are they not continuing with the same style of street light as what is being installed at the entrance of the New Target? What is the point of the beautification? Oh wait. Lack of creativity. Why make uptown look like Lincoln Park? Don't give any ideas to making the neighborhood look enticing for more condo developers. There is ZERO excuse to not keep with the same theme. They should have installed the "new" old light at the entrace of the Target to keep with the theme of the streetscape..
ReplyDeleteThis is uptown .... where everything is mismatched and doesn't make sense...... If we had a gay alderman.... I guaranty you it would have looked amazing.
Why'd they even put the vintage looking lights back in the Target/Aldi parking lot to only put the same old, same old boring ones on Broadway? Tacky.
ReplyDeleteBut why did I expect more?
Hellon-earth sure has put the screws to her old mom-and-pop supportors i.e., Sheridan Food and Liquor, the used bike seller, etc.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's her way of saying Screw you! I'm out-a-here!
where do you people get your information. Starbucks on wilson was not vandalized by Shiller co horts, it was tagged by the local gang. And if you live anywhere near the starbucks you would know it was not the only business tagged that day!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that even I was fooled on this one. I kinda hoped that Helen would have followed through with something decent instead of what was already there.
ReplyDeleteFeb 22 cannot come soon enough.
magnoliasweetie, did Helen's co-horts have anything to with the graffiti? Who knows.
ReplyDeleteThe sad part is that it's believable. Honestly, could you see a non-Shiller supporter doing this?
When Starbucks FIRST opened it was vanalized. I believe that is what the poster was referecing. It was spray painted with "gentrifying" tags. ALSO, when there was a CAPS office nextdoor to Starbucks, it was picketed with signs like "CAPS = neighborhood snitches.
ReplyDeleteMagnoliaSweetie, first off, it's not polite to address folks as "you people."
ReplyDeleteSecond, when it first opened, the locks at the Magic Johnson Starbucks on Wilson were filled with KrazyGlue, night after night. You can look it up. I don't have to, because I remember it happening. That's where "we people" get our information: we lived through it.
ARE THEY KIDDING - SHOULD HAVE SAVED THE MONEY IF THEY ARE JUST GOING TO PUT UP THE SAME UGLY LIGHTS.
ReplyDeleteAlso, hopefully they will put some lights on the poles over the sidewalks, but why do I somehow doubt it.
God Damn - ANOTHER missed opportunity. Think about what COULD BE, vs. what is. How much more is a fancy street light to install and maintain, anyway?
I would like to protest the alderman on Target's opening. People will come to Target either way, but might be a chance to get to some of the new folks in the hood who are not yet aware that what is going on DOES NOT reflect our will.
The first question should be: "Who owns/installed the faux-vintage lamppost?" Considering its location (i.e. not on the Broadway sidewalk, but on the Wilson Yard property) the answer is probably - Holsten Real Estate Development.
ReplyDeleteBut, if one is going to protest aesthetic inconsistency in that area, it should really be AGAINST the faux-vintage lamppost, because it relates BADLY to the Wilson Yard development's design.
If anything the street lamppost being installed on Broadway is better suited to the site.
QRBNST -
ReplyDeleteIt's the EXACT faux street light installed throughout the city. So.... Even if was not installed or owned by the city, I would think those with any type of master planning would would talk to the city / developer on a consistent theme.
If the developer bought the light, the alderman should have consulted with the developer on the master plan. The tearing up of the sidewalks and streetlights don't happen overnight. Things are planned out in advance.. Months in advance. Even YEARS in advance. The inconsistency shows that the "right" hand doesn't know what the "left" hand is doing. It's the same attitude of repaving a street but then tearing it up months later for a planned sewer upgrade. If they did talk to each other, the person designing the "redevelopment" has their head up their butt.... Why settle for government cheese when we are paying for $16 a pound expensive cheese.
Again... lack of planning and it looks mismatched.
Does anyone know if they are going to anything about the rusty, nasty looking L tracks that are at the entrance of the new Target? Maybe some paint?
ReplyDeleteThere is one very old street light..I think very near to The Spot on Broadway. A remnant of Uptown's heyday! The base has the same ornate casting as the new "vintage" lights on State Street. It will be sad to see that final lamp go. It has seen the worst of Uptown...
ReplyDeleteThis is the City of Chicago. Do not be surprised if they put up these lights today only to take them down a month or two from now to be replaced with the historic looking lights.
ReplyDeleteThe City that Works is the City that Works its way into your wallet as frequent and often as possible.
950Leland -
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't make sense (fiscal or aesthetic) to add faux-vintage lampposts in a piecemeal fashion.
Unless there is a full-scale rehab of the Broadway streetscape between the El tracks and Montrose, there's no real rationale in adding ONE extra faux-vintage lamppost.
That's just common sense - no matter who the players involved might be.
C'mon folks... this industrial lamp is perfect for the windowless Aldi (prison-like) and Wilson Yard warehouse for the poor.
ReplyDeleteDid anyone happen to think that this could be a TEMPORARY install so that it isn't so dark on that side of the street?
ReplyDeleteJust a thought.
CORRECTION: "Seats are right against the window on Broadway."
ReplyDeleteYes. That makes it easier for the gang bangers to SHOOT us!
So...I drove by today (as I do frequently). The light in the picture is almost certainly temporary. It is not mounted to one of the permanent footings they have begun to install.
ReplyDeleteWhy am I am so negative and skeptical about everything?? Everything they have done so far is an improvement.
I personally find the old antique lighting very tacky. They are awkward, outdated, and I bet very expensive to purchase. I would not have been opposed to the existing lightpoles being painted black and re-bulbed, just like Clark Street between Belmont and Addison. The older lightpoles were adequate lighting. I'd prefer to see a street "island" with greenery and flowers, and a more aesthetic stoplight at Sunnyside. Just my two cents
ReplyDelete