Yep, these places are very "touristy", but I love them anyway. :) One of the not very well-known spots on the Near South Side is an infamous column which stands by itself along the lakefront path, just east of Soldier Field. The column is over 2,000 years old and was a gift from the Fascist Italian leader Benito Mussolini in 1934 in honor of a transatlantic flight made by Italo Balbo during the Century of Progress World's Fair in Chicago in that year. The Gaper's Block web site has an excellent article about this column, as does Chicago Magazine. Cecil at the Reader has also provided the Straight Dope on it. Eric Zorn has suggested honoring Enrico Fermi rather than the fascist Balbo.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Chicago Community Area #33 - Near South Side
This past Sunday's ride took me to South Side several neighborhoods, including the Near South Side which runs from Roosevelt Rd south to 26th St along the lakefront. As with most neighborhoods, there are many great things to see in the Near South Side. Probably the most popular site is the museum campus which includes the Field Museum of Natural History, the John G. Shedd Aquarium and the Adler Planetarium.
Yep, these places are very "touristy", but I love them anyway. :) One of the not very well-known spots on the Near South Side is an infamous column which stands by itself along the lakefront path, just east of Soldier Field. The column is over 2,000 years old and was a gift from the Fascist Italian leader Benito Mussolini in 1934 in honor of a transatlantic flight made by Italo Balbo during the Century of Progress World's Fair in Chicago in that year. The Gaper's Block web site has an excellent article about this column, as does Chicago Magazine. Cecil at the Reader has also provided the Straight Dope on it. Eric Zorn has suggested honoring Enrico Fermi rather than the fascist Balbo.
Yep, these places are very "touristy", but I love them anyway. :) One of the not very well-known spots on the Near South Side is an infamous column which stands by itself along the lakefront path, just east of Soldier Field. The column is over 2,000 years old and was a gift from the Fascist Italian leader Benito Mussolini in 1934 in honor of a transatlantic flight made by Italo Balbo during the Century of Progress World's Fair in Chicago in that year. The Gaper's Block web site has an excellent article about this column, as does Chicago Magazine. Cecil at the Reader has also provided the Straight Dope on it. Eric Zorn has suggested honoring Enrico Fermi rather than the fascist Balbo.
פרשת קרח
דברנו על מטה אהרן שנפרח שקדים. ודברי רש"י על הפסוק (יז,כה) ד"ה למשמרת לאות - לזכרון שבחרתי באהרן הכהן. והקשה עליו הרמב"ן שאין המטה אות אלא על שבט לוי בלבד. וע' גור אריה שכתב דהא דשמו של אהרן היה כתוב על המטה ולא שם של אלעזר בן אהרן (שהוא היה כמו נשיא של שבט לוי) ומ"מ נפרח המטה מוכיח על בחירתו של אהרן
Monday, June 22, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
Chicago Community Area #1 - Rogers Park
I pass through Rogers Park on my way to the lakefront several times a week. There are many, many great places in Rogers Park. I spend a lot of time there. Here's a list of some of my favorites:
1. Pratt Ave beach and it's hand painted benches - renewed every year.
2. Rogers Avenue - the old Indian Boundary Line
3. Morse Ave L stop painted viaduct
4. The tiny beaches and parks along the lake north of Touhy up to Howard - sometimes more than one per block.
5. The (relatively) new library on Clark
6. The Common Cup - coffee shop at Morse and Greenview
7. Heartland Cafe - cafe/restaurant at Lunt and Glenwood
8. Kilmer Triangle - a tiny park/memorial at Rogers and Ashland and Birchwood
9. Kilmer Elementary School and Sullivan High School - beautiful school buildings. See photos below.
Joyce Kilmer is the author of the famous poem "Trees":
Sullivan High School:
1. Pratt Ave beach and it's hand painted benches - renewed every year.
2. Rogers Avenue - the old Indian Boundary Line
3. Morse Ave L stop painted viaduct
4. The tiny beaches and parks along the lake north of Touhy up to Howard - sometimes more than one per block.
5. The (relatively) new library on Clark
6. The Common Cup - coffee shop at Morse and Greenview
7. Heartland Cafe - cafe/restaurant at Lunt and Glenwood
8. Kilmer Triangle - a tiny park/memorial at Rogers and Ashland and Birchwood
9. Kilmer Elementary School and Sullivan High School - beautiful school buildings. See photos below.
Joyce Kilmer is the author of the famous poem "Trees":
I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.
As I pass these schools on my bike, I sometimes wonder what I might have grown up to be if I had walked through august doorways like these every day during my youth.
Kilmer Elementary School:
Sullivan High School:
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Community Area #22 - Logan Square
There's so much to see and so much to talk about in Logan Square, it's hard to know where to start. I love this neighborhood! After a history of being crime-ridden, this area has been gentrified and renovations have restored the homes to their original grandeur. My wife and I recently enjoyed a peaceful Sunday stroll down Logan Blvd and then south on Kedzie to Palmer Square. We were amazed at the beautiful single-family homes and the beautiful apartment buildings. We visited the John Rath house at 2703 W. Logan, designed by prairie school architect George W. Maher and built in 1907.
But it wasn't until our walk was finishing up and we were getting back to our car that we found the gem across the street. It is the total epitome of kitsch!
I came back to the house yesterday on bike to take some photos. The angelic statuettes, dragons, neptune and cherubs fill the yard and decorate the house. There is a consistency of color, primarily gold and dark turquoise, so it's not entirely random. There's also a tower which roughly resembles the Eiffel Tower with a large sphere on the top and appears to have Christmas lights strung around it. I'd love to come back one night when it's lit up.
Even the garage has a beautiful painting on the doorway.
Community Area #14 - Albany Park
Yesterday, I rode through Albany Park down Lawrence Avenue from the Chicago River east to Kedzie and then south on Kedzie. I've ridden this route many times before, but this time I took the time to notice the many ethnic organizations, businesses and especially restaurants fill this small area.
There was the Cambodian Association of Illinois on the south side of Lawrence just east of the river. According to their web site, there are about 3,000 Cambodian families in Chicago. The building has a museum whose purpose is to educate about the Cambodian genocide of 1975-1979 and the killing fields. The building has a spectacular piece of art (not sure exactly how to describe it) on the front of the building.
I also found an El Salvadorian Restaurant further down Lawrence.
Mekeni Restaurant bills itself as a "Taste of Pampanga". I had no idea where Pampanga is and there was no other hint about this cuisine on the outside of the restaurant. I googled it when I got home. Pampanga is in central Luzon in the Phillipines. There are several reviews of this place on Yelp. They say it's more like visiting your aunt's or grandmother's kitchen than going to a restaurant - for good and for bad.
After turning south on Kedzie, I came across Arun's. I've passed by several times and wondered what this building is. I figured it must be either a restaurant or a buddhist temple. As I was snapping pictures, a man came out of the building so I asked him what the place is. He told me that it's a Thai restaurant which serves a 12 course meal for $85 / person, prix fixe.
Further down on Kedzie was D'Candela, a Peruvian restaurant. How many of those can there be in Chicago?
In addition to the wealth of diversity in Albany Park, Lawrence Avenue is a treasure of architectural beauty. Many of the buildings aren't kept up very well, but the intricate facades are breathtaking if you just take the time to ignore the storefronts and look up at the buildings.
There was the Cambodian Association of Illinois on the south side of Lawrence just east of the river. According to their web site, there are about 3,000 Cambodian families in Chicago. The building has a museum whose purpose is to educate about the Cambodian genocide of 1975-1979 and the killing fields. The building has a spectacular piece of art (not sure exactly how to describe it) on the front of the building.I also found an El Salvadorian Restaurant further down Lawrence.
Mekeni Restaurant bills itself as a "Taste of Pampanga". I had no idea where Pampanga is and there was no other hint about this cuisine on the outside of the restaurant. I googled it when I got home. Pampanga is in central Luzon in the Phillipines. There are several reviews of this place on Yelp. They say it's more like visiting your aunt's or grandmother's kitchen than going to a restaurant - for good and for bad.
After turning south on Kedzie, I came across Arun's. I've passed by several times and wondered what this building is. I figured it must be either a restaurant or a buddhist temple. As I was snapping pictures, a man came out of the building so I asked him what the place is. He told me that it's a Thai restaurant which serves a 12 course meal for $85 / person, prix fixe.
Further down on Kedzie was D'Candela, a Peruvian restaurant. How many of those can there be in Chicago?
In addition to the wealth of diversity in Albany Park, Lawrence Avenue is a treasure of architectural beauty. Many of the buildings aren't kept up very well, but the intricate facades are breathtaking if you just take the time to ignore the storefronts and look up at the buildings.
Chicago Community Area #13 - North Park
The boards covering the windows at the building on the northwest corner of Foster and Kezdie, near North Park University, were recently painted with silhouttes indicative of the diversity of the neighborhood.
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