Hayward

These stories remind of an incident my housemates went through in Italy. They were on a bus when some teenage punk stole brand new tennis shoes off the back of a backpack. He tried to push his way up to the front of the bus, but my housemates and friends had the guy sandwiched. They and other passengers asked him several times (in Italian) to give the shoes back but he wouldn't and tried to get the bus to stop so he could get off and run. So.... They and a few other passengers began turning him into a human punching bag. 10 against 1. The driver nearby just let it all play out. The thief left the bus a bloody mess.

Chicagoans take pride in owning cars even if they don't use them. I see really nice cars collecting dust in $300/month ramps, that have probably not been removed in several months. The reason I kept my car around was for trips back to Michigan or to go to other cities. I never really trusted its condition though. So the whole idea of keeping around beat up vehicle, paying money for it to sit in a garage rusting away just didn't make any sense. This isn't a forever thing for me though. I had already started saving up money for a new one. If I ever move to a different place that has parking, I'll hopefully have enough by then to buy a new vehicle. Until then I'll just continue life as usual. I actually don't even use public transit all that much. I walk or bike everywhere. What's interesting is the only time I used the CTA trains was to get to my car!

So I will drive my final mile as a car owner in a few hours. I was on my way to visit the family when the engine had problems at the first exit In my home state. I'm waiting to be picked up and stealing hotel wireless meanwhile. I'm tired of dealing with an old car despite the current problem being very minor. I just don't need a car in Chicago, with transit and zipcar/igo next door. I've arranged to have a tow company haul it away and sell it. I'll mail the title Monday. I'm officially car free. No more insurance, repairs, monthly parking, city permits, or street cleaning!

Appears there is a tight corner before those camera shots. Crazy when that truck crashes.

I like it!

The way you formulate your post you speak as if there is something wrong with the people who choose to move here into safe neighborhoods. When you say words like "never" and "avoid" you imply that Northsiders just don't give a crap about southsiders or westsiders. I do believe they actually care, but have very little reason to travel to these areas simply because there is very little reason to travel to these areas....just as southsiders probably don't venture up to the Northside. Like my last post in this thread, and now this one. I'm getting a bit tired of the urban ohio posts of street prophecy. Speak all you want of disparaties, and what the city SHOULD do to fix the problems. While you pointed out income gaps are worse in Chicago than Detroit, C-Dawg, it's a worthless comparison. The fact is people are still suffering economically everywhere just as bad, and pretty much everyone knows that. I agree with what people are saying, but seriously the issue is not brand new. But irrelevant generalizations and assumptions are being brought to the table. When I read something like your last sentence I quoted about Detroit, I just sat back and thought, "Well what the heck are you going to do about it?" I singled out Wheelingman's post in the same away. Alot of talk about the problems, but what do you recommend we do right now to fix this outrageously complex issue, besides posting about it on urbanohio. I prefer action more than talk. What should I do about it?

^ No this definitely isn't a result of that. This is clearly an unpredicted situation that happened. Only recently was this detour devised because the first detour was extremely dangerous. Pedestrians are actually not allowed to use the sidewalk on the other side. Alot of the filming that does take place gives alot of notice ahead of time and isn't as obtrusive.

LSD Sidewalk re-route. Something happened to the bridge. Boat crash ? ? Sidewalk collapse ? ? Anyway, pedestrians now walk on the "road" portion. Modernism:

Lakeshore Bike route, weaves beneath the rebuilt Solidarity Drive Cabrini Green

Nicely done!. Love the shot from above with all the ducks.

Excellent photos. I have to admit I stared at that spanish revival for quite some time. What a gem, hopefully it will see a good future soon.

Wow, I mean wow. This reads if you just talked to a homeless man for the first time beneath Michigan Ave or something. Glad you had your revelation and moment of wishful thinking.

All my landlords required you to obtain renters insurance (and show proof) within the first few weeks of leasing. Some people attending college may have their possessions covered under their parent's homeowners insurance though, meaning no need for renters.

Hard to tell. There's also an incredible amount of building on the NEAR south and NEAR west sides in areas you wouldn't expect, and they aren't cheap buildings either. It all seems very speculative in nature. I fixed that for you. You don't need to fix it, I know what I'm talking about. Since CHA has been knocking down the projects, the need for GOOD affordable housing is in high demand. These aren't crap buildings by any means either. Hell, even Englewood is building units. The fact is this is revitalization to neighborhoods that have seen severe decline. It's not just about gentrification.

Very abrupt. The transition as you cross Wells near Elm Street is insane. One moment it was broken glass everywhere, a nasty altercation I saw from a distance, crackheads walking about to suddenly women jogging down the sidwalk on iphones, Chai lattes everywhere.

LOL. I keep a theme. All cities, streets, or neighborhoods. Wells street bridge:

Watch out for people who want their chicken at the McDonalds at the Wal-Mart. Warning, NSFW language http://www.break.com/index/fat-guy-screams-for-mcdonalds-chicken.html#id1420361

Good luck telling your insurance company that. I would come prepared with some type of "blue book" assesment on the "market" value of your camera at the time it was stolen.... meaning, if you would have put it and the lenses on Craig's List what could you have "reasonably" expected to recieve. What? noooo. That's absolutely not how it works with expensive electronics, unless you have a very shady insurance company. You can make it pretty clear cut by putting a rider on very expensive electronics if you become paranoid. I did that for my computer. So if it becomes stolen 5 years down the road, I'll receive the exact amount I paid for it when it was new.

Hard to tell. There's also an incredible amount of building on the south and west sides in areas you wouldn't expect, and they aren't cheap buildings either. It all seems very speculative in nature.

Incredible! Rob these photos carry alot of importance. It's such a rare site, even as recent as the late 90's to see this stuff nowadays since the digital photography revolution had yet to hit. These shots remind me alot of the commuter rail platforms that once existed East of the Renaissance Center in Detroit. The site of train platforms seemingly running into skyscrapers is a great juxtaposition. Please keep these coming! And remember I expect to see participation from others.

Depressing. But yeah, it is interesting to watch demolition, no matter how much you love the building.

I hate the cubs GO TIGERS!

LOL, well Rob Millenium Park was actually an epic budget disaster. It was something like $300 million over budget and 4 years behind schedule? But hey, it got built and that's all that matters to me. Be sure if anyone visits to give me a holler if you want some good skyline shots. My office has excellent vantage points. This next one is of the housing blocks near Chinatown. This train caused a huge upset. There was a big event going on in Ping Tom park which is only accessible by crossing a set of tracks. There is no other possible way to access the park. This train parked itself cutting off access to and from the park. Therefore people were trapped from leaving, and spectators couldn't get into the event as well. Apparently this type of situation is never supposed to happen, but considering a half century of dis-investment in rail infrastructure, you can't make promises.

Sheesh!!