Posted October 30, 201410 yr I love Chicago in the fall. The trees changing, the shopping districts getting busier, football brunches, beginning of hockey season, and comfortable temps. This fall is a bit different. 1 year ago I had a different job and lived in a different neighborhood. It's been a welcome change to switch careers, move out of downtown...not that there was anything wrong with it, but living and working in the same square mile got kind of tiring and I never hung out much in the neighborhood. Now I'm closer to my friends, the places I frequent, and have upgraded my digs from a tiny apartment to a rental condo in the Southport Corridor when many of these pics are taken. You'll see the neighborhood gets in quite the spirit for fall holidays as well. I'll start out the thread with a special tour I got of the Blackhawk's facilities from a friend of a friend who had connections Quite utilitarian....I mean that's NHL. Seems like all other pro sports...college too have upgraded to these fancy VIP lockers and training facilities. I like this for what it is. Equipment maintenance room Just about died when I was allowed to skate on the ice. Divvy bikesharing now seems like a regular part of life in the city. It's a normal way to get around. Of the thousands of blue bikes there were 5 blackhawks bikes. People would take pics of the bikes and upload them to social media to win prizes. I won nothing, but the above tour way outdid any of the prizes. The Block 37 shopping mall is getting a tower, and a theater, and .......STORES! The mall has languished with vacancy because of alot of things best left unsaid. There's nothing really wrong with the mall itself. So it makes sense with an improved economy and new developers, a whole bunch of good stuff is happening including the addition of this apartment tower to the top of the existing building. No question at all, the Emmanuel era brought billions of dollars of civic investment that will be his legacy. The feds have pumped lots of money into building elevated parks, river walks, and bicycle infrastructure. While the riverwalk may not be open until next year, Chicagoans' are looking forward to Maggie Daley Park opening just East of Millennium park which is designed to be a sort of playground for all ages vs the formal sculptural park that MP is. Next month they will open a skating ribbon or "ice road" that I can't wait to try. Canal street was mostly vacant lots and low slung factories in the South Loop, now it's a shopping destination. What a difference 10 years can make. This was once an abandoned rail yard, now it's a mall. Orange water for Halloween Yeah, the city got its first Sonic in Uptown. I couldn't help but go there out of curiosity Wilson station in the background which will be demolished and rebuilt Now showing photos of Ravenswood. This is directly north of where I live. Southport had some halloween festivity going on. The stroller mobs were out and about Now heading back downtown View from my new office! Hope you enjoyed!
October 30, 201410 yr Well, that Canal Street is a whole lot cleaner than the more famous one. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
October 30, 201410 yr Excellent photos! Chicago is looking quite amazing with all of the changes that occurred over the last 10 years.
October 31, 201410 yr *whimper* I miss Southport, even if it's not the same as when I bartended at Schuba's in '99. I need to finalize my planned comeback to Chicago
October 31, 201410 yr very nice thread, its a great time of year. i was curious about what nhl level hockey maintenance looked like, that shot was particularly interesting to see.
October 31, 201410 yr Thanks for the replies! Southport is definitely in flux. Certainly isn't the same neighborhood it was 15 years ago. So much of the original building stock near the EL was leveled and 4 buildings are scheduled to be demoed and replaced this fall. Pretty much the Victorian brick and stone stuff is preserved because of its value, but wood frames or standard 1900's storefront stuff is being demoed for much higher end boutique stores and 4-story mixed use bldgs to densify the corridor. I'm okay with balanced approach of progress and preservation. Nice to know I have some neighborhors on here!
November 4, 201410 yr Nice photos, fall in Chicago is quite wonderful (wish I could say the same thing about second winter - er Spring). Btw, in addition to the South Loop another really great area that is taking shape is North and Clyborn, the New City development is finally filling in a gigantic gap to make that area whole again :) http://bucksbaumrp.com/new-city.html I need to stop by Block 37 again, I'd like to see it be a functioning retail place considering all the hoopolah that went into building it - perhaps when the Kriskindlemart starts up and its a warm refuge nearby. :)
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