Born out of an elitist North Shore sensibility, the tumultuous transformation of the Edgewater Golf Club into the egalitarian Warren Park reveals much about the complicated process of real estate development in Chicago. Once the site of society dinners, debutante balls, and gentlemanly privilege, Edgewater Golf Club became a hotly
Sidewalk stamps can be found on the streets of American cities large and small. These ubiquitous inscriptions are the proud commemorations of a job well done, as well as a practical and long-term form of advertising. They are also explicitly required by law. Chicago’s Municipal Code states:1 Before
Chicago historian Dominic Pacyga characterizes Chicago as a snake that transforms itself every generation, shedding its old skin to emerge a new and different creature. The city’s neighborhoods reflect various social incarnations that can be read as layers in the surrounding cityscape. This is certainly true of Avondale, which
As the Kraftwerk song goes, Ist diese stadt aus licht, although not all lights are made equal, and in 2009 — cities, especially ours, are becoming more and more devoid of the unique light. There are a number of factors contributing to the decline of neon, including the high cost of
Looking at fiction films shot on location in Chicago as documents of a real place, three prevalent themes emerge. These themes are not necessarily exclusive to Chicago; they can apply to any city (aside from Los Angeles or New York) which have been locations for a decent number of films.