Even more impressive is the door to the second floor was a Furrier. I vaguely remember when Wilson Ave was the shopping district to go to on the north side when I was young.
All those storefronts along broadway need to be upgraded with a more appealing and inviting look, especially now that the CTA station will be renovated. That bakery back then sure looked very appealing.
Now doesn't that just break your heart? I've lived my entire life in Uptown, but I can count on my hands how many times I've been in the shops on that stretch of Broadway. Mainly because of how trashy and awful they seem. The Uptown Bike shop is great, and the Army-Navy Surplus wouldn't feel right if it was fancy like the Belmont one, but the rest all creep me out.
This is what my grandmother was talking about it, reminiscing about what it was like when she was first married and lived on Wilson and shopped on Broadway and Sheridan roads. I always think about this when people throw around terms like "Uptown's always been like this" and talk about the driving out the "original residents."
Sorry Bronco Bill but NO, we can't and won't forget. Clearly you weren't in school the day they mentioned that those who don't remember History are doomed to repeat it. Part of the reason Uptown is in the situation it is in today was that people, probably like yourself, were willing to just Brush HELEN's ineptitude under the table. How would you reply to the question "How did things get so bad in Uptown"? Would you just say a bad lady led us downthis path? That's like answering questions about the holocaust and referencing bad people from Europe instead of Nazi's. It's clear Helen hasn't forgotten Uptown, just reference her statements about our Alderman during the recent Sun Times witch hunt and you'll see for yourself... And guess what, we're not going to forget how she almost single handedly crushed this community.
I went to school and I know the meaning of the word scapegoat. I think it's time to move on. Learn from the past. Stop electing the same people to represent you. That's the solution. Continuing to bring the former aldercreatures name into this solves nothing. Nothing.
Helen Schiller did not crush this community. I am sick and tired of the voters of Illinois and Chicago blaming the people that they elected. WAKE UP! YOU ELECTED THEM! And by you, I mean the community at large. It's simple, really. The citizens of Uptown are to blame for electing her. And guess what - she got elected for a lot of years. She only did what the people gave her the power to do. How hard is that to understand?
I realize that this is Illinois and the laws of politics are very, very different than anywhere else, but seriously. She was elected, not appointed queen. It's time to move on, so please, move on.
As for Helen's comments, who gives a crap? Sticks and stones my friend. Sticks and stones. Who cares what she says? So many of the people that read this blog are just obsessed with their hatred of the former aldercreature that it makes me sick.
For the record: I didn't not vote for King James, and I didn't vote for Helen, either. Didn't live here. Wouldn't vote for either one of them now, either. I vote with my head, and not how the Illinois democratic machine tells me to.
Here is a lesson: problems solved by living in the past and scapegoating? zero.
@BB: Unfortunately, we have to live with Shiller's poor and/or vindictive decisions--poured in concrete and rebar, and memorialized with bronze plaques--for the rest of our lives in Uptown. Some of her bad choices are ones that can't be fixed, because they are buildings financed with millions of tax dollars--fixes are cost-prohibitive and impossible to work around, like Truman's McKeon Building that cuts off part of Sheridan Park from nearly everything. (Shiller intervened to move the building and change its footprint for no other reason than to make the people living around the location of her pre-1998 office walk farther
Now we know that Shiller was your giver-goddess who always managed to find a new vein to tap on the anemic Body Taxpayer in order to throw money at her pet people and pet causes, but a) you still fail to understand the depth and breadth of anger toward that woman for what she did to this neighborhood and this city, and b) you don't understand the old adage of Edmund Burke that "those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it." We will keep bringing up Shiller and her horrifically expensive errors and mistakes and misjudgments, because we are NOT going to allow those things to happen here again without a big fight.
Now, instead of grumbling when someone brings up the subject Shiller and her mistakes and making sure that everyone knows that you miss her, her nasty staff, and "her" blank checks...and that you're still aggrieved that she decided to retire to make money off strip clubs while she still can...perhaps you should learn, like many of us had to when Shiller and her staff were unresponsive to the concerns of the average citizen, to take a deep breath, let water roll off the duck's back, and if that isn't enough, consider leaving the neighborhood that isn't going to be your dumping ground for society's ills, sweetie. (And that, of course, is paraphrasing Shiller's former chief of staff, who once famously told a young mother with a baby who was fearful of gang shootings, "This isn't your college campus, sweetie.") In other words, take your own advice and move on without leaping to that old witch's defense.
You can also keep whining about Shiller being skewered still, of course, which will inevitably lead to YOU being skewered by someone, too. There are still plenty of people here in UU that will relish doing that, and they'll probably twist the knife a few turns while it's in, just to hear you whine more. If you want to be a masochist, that's up to you. Have a nice day.
How did anything that I said possibly convey that I'm a champion of the former or current aldercreatures?
It's the same sheet music, only a different pianist.
I'll grumble every single time someone makes a tangent statement about the aldercreature from the past and not lose one second of sleep worrying about someone grumbling about it. It's not relevant, and serves no purpose. If you want to worry more about what happened in the past than the future, you will continue to get what you get. It seems to be a recurring problem in this neighborhood.
Finally, no amount of soap will be able to wash Uptown's hands clean of the fact that they are responsible for electing the former (or current, in my humble opinion) aldercreature. The dirt is on your hands, Uptown. Time to take responsibility and move forward instead of living in the past.
ummm... and Uptown was in decline long before Shiller, who took hold of her office in the late 1980s. Making her a scapegoat for all of the decline is a bit nutty, but she certainly did not have an entirely bright impact either (to understate). The effects of her actions (and inactions) will be felt for a long time- and yes, the voters in Uptown are responsible for letting her stay in office way too long. There is a difference between scapegoating and holding someone responsible for their work, even after they have left office. There are those who will make her the scapegoat- not without some justification- but she is not where the problems in the neighborhood began.
How lovely it used to be! It's a shame that so many have come to accept the neighborhood as it currently is. Apathy is a terrible thing. Great to see how this used to be. Kudos to all of those that work for a better Uptown instead of bicker over who's to blame. Thanks for posting this!
Even more impressive is the door to the second floor was a Furrier. I vaguely remember when Wilson Ave was the shopping district to go to on the north side when I was young.
ReplyDeleteAll those storefronts along broadway need to be upgraded with a more appealing and inviting look, especially now that the CTA station will be renovated. That bakery back then sure looked very appealing.
ReplyDeleteWow... to a big WTF happened.
ReplyDeleteYes Uptown appalled, its unbelieveable how sad those storefronts have looked and for so long, make no sense.
ReplyDeleteNow doesn't that just break your heart? I've lived my entire life in Uptown, but I can count on my hands how many times I've been in the shops on that stretch of Broadway. Mainly because of how trashy and awful they seem. The Uptown Bike shop is great, and the Army-Navy Surplus wouldn't feel right if it was fancy like the Belmont one, but the rest all creep me out.
ReplyDeleteThis is what my grandmother was talking about it, reminiscing about what it was like when she was first married and lived on Wilson and shopped on Broadway and Sheridan roads.
ReplyDeleteI always think about this when people throw around terms like "Uptown's always been like this" and talk about the driving out the "original residents."
Helen Schiller happened.
ReplyDeleteI propose an amendment to Godwin's law for UU. Any reference made to Nazi Germany -OR- Helen Schiller immediately shuts down a conversation.
ReplyDeleteFor the love of all that is good and holy, get over Helen Schiller.
You won. She's gone. We get it. Move on.
Sorry Bronco Bill but NO, we can't and won't forget. Clearly you weren't in school the day they mentioned that those who don't remember History are doomed to repeat it. Part of the reason Uptown is in the situation it is in today was that people, probably like yourself, were willing to just Brush HELEN's ineptitude under the table. How would you reply to the question "How did things get so bad in Uptown"? Would you just say a bad lady led us downthis path? That's like answering questions about the holocaust and referencing bad people from Europe instead of Nazi's. It's clear Helen hasn't forgotten Uptown, just reference her statements about our Alderman during the recent Sun Times witch hunt and you'll see for yourself... And guess what, we're not going to forget how she almost single handedly crushed this community.
ReplyDeleteI went to school and I know the meaning of the word scapegoat. I think it's time to move on. Learn from the past. Stop electing the same people to represent you. That's the solution. Continuing to bring the former aldercreatures name into this solves nothing. Nothing.
ReplyDeleteHelen Schiller did not crush this community. I am sick and tired of the voters of Illinois and Chicago blaming the people that they elected. WAKE UP! YOU ELECTED THEM! And by you, I mean the community at large. It's simple, really. The citizens of Uptown are to blame for electing her. And guess what - she got elected for a lot of years. She only did what the people gave her the power to do. How hard is that to understand?
I realize that this is Illinois and the laws of politics are very, very different than anywhere else, but seriously. She was elected, not appointed queen. It's time to move on, so please, move on.
As for Helen's comments, who gives a crap? Sticks and stones my friend. Sticks and stones. Who cares what she says? So many of the people that read this blog are just obsessed with their hatred of the former aldercreature that it makes me sick.
For the record: I didn't not vote for King James, and I didn't vote for Helen, either. Didn't live here. Wouldn't vote for either one of them now, either. I vote with my head, and not how the Illinois democratic machine tells me to.
Here is a lesson: problems solved by living in the past and scapegoating? zero.
MOVE. ON.
@BB: Unfortunately, we have to live with Shiller's poor and/or vindictive decisions--poured in concrete and rebar, and memorialized with bronze plaques--for the rest of our lives in Uptown. Some of her bad choices are ones that can't be fixed, because they are buildings financed with millions of tax dollars--fixes are cost-prohibitive and impossible to work around, like Truman's McKeon Building that cuts off part of Sheridan Park from nearly everything. (Shiller intervened to move the building and change its footprint for no other reason than to make the people living around the location of her pre-1998 office walk farther
ReplyDeleteNow we know that Shiller was your giver-goddess who always managed to find a new vein to tap on the anemic Body Taxpayer in order to throw money at her pet people and pet causes, but a) you still fail to understand the depth and breadth of anger toward that woman for what she did to this neighborhood and this city, and b) you don't understand the old adage of Edmund Burke that "those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it." We will keep bringing up Shiller and her horrifically expensive errors and mistakes and misjudgments, because we are NOT going to allow those things to happen here again without a big fight.
Now, instead of grumbling when someone brings up the subject Shiller and her mistakes and making sure that everyone knows that you miss her, her nasty staff, and "her" blank checks...and that you're still aggrieved that she decided to retire to make money off strip clubs while she still can...perhaps you should learn, like many of us had to when Shiller and her staff were unresponsive to the concerns of the average citizen, to take a deep breath, let water roll off the duck's back, and if that isn't enough, consider leaving the neighborhood that isn't going to be your dumping ground for society's ills, sweetie. (And that, of course, is paraphrasing Shiller's former chief of staff, who once famously told a young mother with a baby who was fearful of gang shootings, "This isn't your college campus, sweetie.") In other words, take your own advice and move on without leaping to that old witch's defense.
You can also keep whining about Shiller being skewered still, of course, which will inevitably lead to YOU being skewered by someone, too. There are still plenty of people here in UU that will relish doing that, and they'll probably twist the knife a few turns while it's in, just to hear you whine more. If you want to be a masochist, that's up to you. Have a nice day.
How did anything that I said possibly convey that I'm a champion of the former or current aldercreatures?
ReplyDeleteIt's the same sheet music, only a different pianist.
I'll grumble every single time someone makes a tangent statement about the aldercreature from the past and not lose one second of sleep worrying about someone grumbling about it. It's not relevant, and serves no purpose. If you want to worry more about what happened in the past than the future, you will continue to get what you get. It seems to be a recurring problem in this neighborhood.
Finally, no amount of soap will be able to wash Uptown's hands clean of the fact that they are responsible for electing the former (or current, in my humble opinion) aldercreature. The dirt is on your hands, Uptown. Time to take responsibility and move forward instead of living in the past.
ummm... and Uptown was in decline long before Shiller, who took hold of her office in the late 1980s. Making her a scapegoat for all of the decline is a bit nutty, but she certainly did not have an entirely bright impact either (to understate). The effects of her actions (and inactions) will be felt for a long time- and yes, the voters in Uptown are responsible for letting her stay in office way too long. There is a difference between scapegoating and holding someone responsible for their work, even after they have left office. There are those who will make her the scapegoat- not without some justification- but she is not where the problems in the neighborhood began.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Cushmann history, they went out of business in 1962. What a beautiful building.
ReplyDeleteHow lovely it used to be! It's a shame that so many have come to accept the neighborhood as it currently is. Apathy is a terrible thing. Great to see how this used to be. Kudos to all of those that work for a better Uptown instead of bicker over who's to blame. Thanks for posting this!
ReplyDelete