Wheeling man...you sparked it

 

Me too. The Southside and west side never get any attention. They are still part of the city whether they are good areas or not. Chicago isn't all the northside. There is a baseball team hardly anyone knows about on the southside too, but you would think Chicago has only the cubs.

---

I had a day to kill since my meetings were canceled, due to an ruptured appendix.  ::)    That not an excuse to cancel a meeting, man up!  Enough with Michigan Avenue and the nabes to the north.  It's time to get straight hood up in here! 

 

Near the 35 Street station

 

 

 

I walked along Indiana and S. Michigan Avenue.  Why were people trying to sell me crack, coke or themselves, this about 1 PM.  I was like, WTF.  at that point I put my camera in my bag.  As a 6'4" black and latin man, my street terror alert went straight to orange!  This area was disgusting and all I could think was how blessed I am.  I would have taken pictures, but two dudes walked up on me.  When I asked them Why TF are you following me, they crossed.  So I stayed on the Avenues and didn't walk on any more cross streets.  I  put my camera way and just take in the environment.  I wondered how people could be reduced to living in such horrible conditions.

 

 

Pic of the red line 63 street station from Green Line.  The stops on this branch of the green line are miles apart.  Based on my ride, it appears there were stations that were closed / demolished.

 

 

View of downtown from Indiana Station

 

The end of the Green Line is very "windermere-esq"

 

 

 

To the westsiiiiiiiiiiiide, via the green line.  I love this transit "intersection".

 

Around the Meta Station at Randolph.  It's a must to take at least 2/3 transit pictures for Bobbie and KJP!  ;)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's all from the westside

 

 

As I noted in another thread, sometimes I ride the Green Line to the Loop from East 63rd. Along the way there are whole gutted out blocks where only small clusters of rows remain, sometimes gutted, somtimes recently rehabbed, sometimes recently rehabbed and more recently broken into, vandalized, and/or torched. The area definitely teeters on the brink, as concerns revitalization. It would take a lot of courage to invest there.

 

Ogilvie. In its former incarnation as Northwestern Station that was one of the first places I got chastised for taking train photos, around 1980.

As I noted in another thread, sometimes I ride the Green Line to the Loop from East 63rd. Along the way there are whole gutted out blocks where only small clusters of rows remain, sometimes gutted, somtimes recently rehabbed, sometimes recently rehabbed and more recently broken into, vandalized, and/or torched. The area definitely teeters on the brink, as concerns revitalization. It would take a lot of courage to invest there.

 

Ogilvie. In its former incarnation as Northwestern Station that was one of the first places I got chastised for taking train photos, around 1980.

 

Rob it was mind blowing.  For folks in Cleveland imagine standing on South side of Carneige and having an unobstructed view all the way to the north side of Chester.

You'll be aiight.

You'll be aiight.

 

I'm fine. Street sense is one of my two sense!  :P

 

If anyone complains about how they "live" or how hard their life is, they only need to take a trip to a neighborhood like the nabes I walked thru to appreciate what they have.

Thanks for this post. It is easy to forget, partly because you don't hear much about it, that Chicago has vast stretches of desolate, poverty-stricken neighborhoods and many more that are merely rundown.

Thanks for this post. It is easy to forget, partly because you don't hear much about it, that Chicago has vast stretches of desolate, poverty-stricken neighborhoods and many more that are merely rundown.

... and the transitions between those neighborhoods and areas of considerable affluence are sometimes quite abrupt.

Thanks for this post. It is easy to forget, partly because you don't hear much about it, that Chicago has vast stretches of desolate, poverty-stricken neighborhoods and many more that are merely rundown.

 

Agreed. I lived in Chicago for 11 years and while the Loop and North Side are the hot spots for all the beautiful people, there are huge parts of the city that could easily be mistaken for Detroit. Most of the West Side burned in 1968 following the assassination of Dr. King, and has never been rebuilt. Cincinnati's Over-the-Rhine looks like Indian Hill by comparison. Things on the South Side have improved somewhat since old man Daley's housing projects have been torn down (at one point I think Stateway Gardens and the Robert Taylor Homes were the world's largest concentration of public housing outside the Soviet Bloc), but it still has a long ways to go.

 

People in smaller Midwestern cities often speak of Chicago as if it's the land of milk and honey, but my view of the city is a bit more jaded. I don't think any other major American city is as sharply segregated between the haves and have-nots as Chicago, and the city's power brokers continue to do everything they can to enforce that segregation. Chicago reminds me of some third-world cities where you have a central core of glistening skyscrapers surrounded by mile after mile of of shantytowns. Not even Philadelphia or NYC have such a sharp divide.

 

Great photos, though... There's a lot more to Chicago than the skyscrapers and lakefront.

Thanks for this post. It is easy to forget, partly because you don't hear much about it, that Chicago has vast stretches of desolate, poverty-stricken neighborhoods and many more that are merely rundown.

 

Agreed. I lived in Chicago for 11 years and while the Loop and North Side are the hot spots for all the beautiful people, there are huge parts of the city that could easily be mistaken for Detroit. Most of the West Side burned in 1968 following the assassination of Dr. King, and has never been rebuilt. Cincinnati's Over-the-Rhine looks like Indian Hill by comparison. Things on the South Side have improved somewhat since old man Daley's housing projects have been torn down (at one point I think Stateway Gardens and the Robert Taylor Homes were the world's largest concentration of public housing outside the Soviet Bloc), but it still has a long ways to go.

 

People in smaller Midwestern cities often speak of Chicago as if it's the land of milk and honey, but my view of the city is a bit more jaded. I don't think any other major American city is as sharply segregated between the haves and have-nots as Chicago, and the city's power brokers continue to do everything they can to enforce that segregation. Chicago reminds me of some third-world cities where you have a central core of glistening skyscrapers surrounded by mile after mile of of shantytowns. Not even Philadelphia or NYC have such a sharp divide.

 

Great photos, though... There's a lot more to Chicago than the skyscrapers and lakefront.

 

the new south is set up like Chicago.  Areas of their cities are for the haves and the polar opposite for

 

Atlanta

the north from buckhead to alpharetta is nice the south from grant park past the airport is hell

 

Miami

the beach communities look nice, cross west over 95 and it's scary or the south toward the cuban ghettos  not cute.

 

Houston

The Riverwoods/Galleria area is nice...Just north of the country club.  A war zone.

 

Washington, DC

the NW has always been nice.  the Southeast looked like a warzone.

 

I think your right that people perceive chicago as all that.  Yes its a big city in the true sense of the word but a vast majority of the city is just a down trodden, poor and a financial and social wreck as any city in the states.

... and the transitions between those neighborhoods and areas of considerable affluence are sometimes quite abrupt.

 

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.

I really appreciate this photo and information thread!! Thanks MyTwoSense :clap:

 

What do you think is the percentage of the city that is in this shape?

Is there any hope of revitalization of these large swaths of decay?

 

I know lots of cities are like Chicago in the sense that one side of the city is great and the other crime ridden and decayed, but Chicago seems to top that. The inate racism is still there and the segregation is so stark. The amount of rough areas seems to be larger than most cities too, at least IMO.

 

The Chicago Tribune seems to cover the white areas of the city and has a suburban bent. Obviously I have been to Chicago many times. The Sun-Times seems to cover the black and poor sections of Chicago way more often and has a city coverage bent. Most of the classified adds are for the South side while the Tribune's are for the white North side and white suburbs. That is just so weird. It's like class warfare. Plus the Sun-Times is not a good newspaper to begin with and it doesn't even have a buyer. I cannot think of any city that has a newspaper that just covers one type of class of people (rich whites mainly) and the other poor (mostly blacks and hispanics). That's insane. A newspaper is supposed to cover everyone equally. What is going on here?

 

The people on the south and west sides are being treated like second class citizens. They are not all thugs and drug dealers. Many great people come from these areas and many are so scared to leave their homes or apartments. I have talked to them personally. A black person in Chicago will almost every time have a totally different view of the city than a white person and it's usually very negative. Getting rid of the projects was great, but there is still a long way to go. Mayor Daley needs to focus more on these areas. Gentrification is usually not the answer, but revitalization is. This really concerns me about Chicago because it is one of my favorite cities, yet at the same time it is one of the worst when I think about it, if you know what I mean. That just really pisses me off about Chicago. :? I leave it at that. I'll probably add more later.

I really appreciate this photo and information thread!! Thanks MyTwoSense :clap:

 

What do you think is the percentage of the city that is in this shape?

Is there any hope of revitalization of these large swaths of decay?

 

I know lots of cities are like Chicago in the sense that one side of the city is great and the other crime ridden and decayed, but Chicago seems to top that. The inate racism is still there and the segregation is so stark. The amount of rough areas seems to be larger than most cities too, at least IMO.

 

The Chicago Tribune seems to cover the white areas of the city and has a suburban bent. Obviously I have been to Chicago many times. The Sun-Times seems to cover the black and poor sections of Chicago way more often and has a city coverage bent. Most of the classified adds are for the South side while the Tribune's are for the white North side and white suburbs. That is just so weird. It's like class warfare. Plus the Sun-Times is not a good newspaper to begin with and it doesn't even have a buyer. I cannot think of any city that has a newspaper that just covers one type of class of people (rich whites mainly) and the other poor (mostly blacks and hispanics). That's insane. A newspaper is supposed to cover everyone equally. What is going on here?

 

The people on the south and west sides are being treated like second class citizens. They are not all thugs and drug dealers. Many great people come from these areas and many are so scared to leave their homes or apartments. I have talked to them personally. A black person in Chicago will almost every time have a totally different view of the city than a white person and it's usually very negative. Getting rid of the projects was great, but there is still a long way to go. Mayor Daley needs to focus more on these areas. Gentrification is usually not the answer, but revitalization is. This really concerns me about Chicago because it is one of my favorite cities, yet at the same time it is one of the worst when I think about it, if you know what I mean. That just really pisses me off about Chicago. :? I leave it at that. I'll probably add more later.

 

 

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.

I really appreciate this photo and information thread!! Thanks MyTwoSense :clap:

 

What do you think is the percentage of the city that is in this shape?

Is there any hope of revitalization of these large swaths of decay?

 

I know lots of cities are like Chicago in the sense that one side of the city is great and the other crime ridden and decayed, but Chicago seems to top that. The inate racism is still there and the segregation is so stark. The amount of rough areas seems to be larger than most cities too, at least IMO.

 

The Chicago Tribune seems to cover the white areas of the city and has a suburban bent. Obviously I have been to Chicago many times. The Sun-Times seems to cover the black and poor sections of Chicago way more often and has a city coverage bent. Most of the classified adds are for the South side while the Tribune's are for the white North side and white suburbs. That is just so weird. It's like class warfare. Plus the Sun-Times is not a good newspaper to begin with and it doesn't even have a buyer. I cannot think of any city that has a newspaper that just covers one type of class of people (rich whites mainly) and the other poor (mostly blacks and hispanics). That's insane. A newspaper is supposed to cover everyone equally. What is going on here?

 

The people on the south and west sides are being treated like second class citizens. They are not all thugs and drug dealers. Many great people come from these areas and many are so scared to leave their homes or apartments. I have talked to them personally. A black person in Chicago will almost every time have a totally different view of the city than a white person and it's usually very negative. Getting rid of the projects was great, but there is still a long way to go. Mayor Daley needs to focus more on these areas. Gentrification is usually not the answer, but revitalization is. This really concerns me about Chicago because it is one of my favorite cities, yet at the same time it is one of the worst when I think about it, if you know what I mean. That just really pisses me off about Chicago. :? I leave it at that. I'll probably add more later.

 

Well put Wheelingman, agree 100%.

what the? mts took the camera out again?

 

*checks out the window for raining frogs *

 

 

I remember when my brother and I accidentally went south on the green line and the only thing missing was a fire in the oil drum. An El employee instantaneously guided us back up. Thanks for taking the risk just for us.  :shoot:

 

The Southside and west side never get any attention. They are still part of the city whether they are good areas or not. Chicago isn't all the northside.

 

Hey, that sounds just like Columbus!

I remember when my brother and I accidentally went south on the green line and the only thing missing was a fire in the oil drum. An El employee instantaneously guided us back up. Thanks for taking the risk just for us.  :shoot:

 

The Southside and west side never get any attention. They are still part of the city whether they are good areas or not. Chicago isn't all the northside.

 

Hey, that sounds just like Columbus!

 

Risk?  I didn't feel it was a risk, I looked at it as I would look at any neighborhood I was not familiar with.  Why do you think it was a "risk"?  Because its a minority neighborhood that isn't "hip", "trendy", "on the northside"?  I ask that with all seriousness.

 

I really appreciate this photo and information thread!! Thanks MyTwoSense :clap:

 

What do you think is the percentage of the city that is in this shape?

Is there any hope of revitalization of these large swaths of decay?

 

I know lots of cities are like Chicago in the sense that one side of the city is great and the other crime ridden and decayed, but Chicago seems to top that. The inate racism is still there and the segregation is so stark. The amount of rough areas seems to be larger than most cities too, at least IMO.

 

The Chicago Tribune seems to cover the white areas of the city and has a suburban bent. Obviously I have been to Chicago many times. The Sun-Times seems to cover the black and poor sections of Chicago way more often and has a city coverage bent. Most of the classified adds are for the South side while the Tribune's are for the white North side and white suburbs. That is just so weird. It's like class warfare. Plus the Sun-Times is not a good newspaper to begin with and it doesn't even have a buyer. I cannot think of any city that has a newspaper that just covers one type of class of people (rich whites mainly) and the other poor (mostly blacks and hispanics). That's insane. A newspaper is supposed to cover everyone equally. What is going on here?

 

The people on the south and west sides are being treated like second class citizens. They are not all thugs and drug dealers. Many great people come from these areas and many are so scared to leave their homes or apartments. I have talked to them personally. A black person in Chicago will almost every time have a totally different view of the city than a white person and it's usually very negative. Getting rid of the projects was great, but there is still a long way to go. Mayor Daley needs to focus more on these areas. Gentrification is usually not the answer, but revitalization is. This really concerns me about Chicago because it is one of my favorite cities, yet at the same time it is one of the worst when I think about it, if you know what I mean. That just really pisses me off about Chicago. :? I leave it at that. I'll probably add more later.

 

 

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.

I agree with wheelingman.  Most large papers cater to the affluent neighborhoods in the city.  Look how the Plain Dealer praises and writes articles about Ohio City and Tremont and now Detroit-Shoreway.  Yet they couldn't write a positive article about AsiaTown, Glenville, Shaker Square, Collinwood or Brooklyn.  There is always a slant.

Most large papers cater to the affluent neighborhoods in the city.  Look how the Plain Dealer praises and writes articles about Ohio City and Tremont and now Detroit-Shoreway.  Yet they couldn't write a positive article about AsiaTown, Glenville, Shaker Square, Collinwood or Brooklyn.  There is always a slant.

 

Yeah, I agree.  The first thing I thought of when I saw this thread was Shaker Square.  They're definitely similar.  In fact, isn't this your house, MTS?  They're practically twins:

 

I'm waiting for a Southeast Chicago metro thread, I hear Gary is beautiful this time of year.

I remember when my brother and I accidentally went south on the green line and the only thing missing was a fire in the oil drum. An El employee instantaneously guided us back up. Thanks for taking the risk just for us.  :shoot:

 

The Southside and west side never get any attention. They are still part of the city whether they are good areas or not. Chicago isn't all the northside.

 

Hey, that sounds just like Columbus!

 

Risk?  I didn't feel it was a risk, I looked at it as I would look at any neighborhood I was not familiar with.  Why do you think it was a "risk"?  Because its a minority neighborhood that isn't "hip", "trendy", "on the northside"?  I ask that with all seriousness.

 

Said the guy who called extremely large portions of Atlanta, Houston and Miami which happen to be mostly minority, "warzones". ;)

Most large papers cater to the affluent neighborhoods in the city.  Look how the Plain Dealer praises and writes articles about Ohio City and Tremont and now Detroit-Shoreway.  Yet they couldn't write a positive article about AsiaTown, Glenville, Shaker Square, Collinwood or Brooklyn.  There is always a slant.

 

Yeah, I agree.  The first thing I thought of when I saw this thread was Shaker Square.  They're definitely similar.  In fact, isn't this your house, MTS?  They're practically twins:

 

 

 

Sweetie, layoff that cheap starbucks instant coffee and your crack pipe....

I remember when my brother and I accidentally went south on the green line and the only thing missing was a fire in the oil drum. An El employee instantaneously guided us back up. Thanks for taking the risk just for us.  :shoot:

 

The Southside and west side never get any attention. They are still part of the city whether they are good areas or not. Chicago isn't all the northside.

 

Hey, that sounds just like Columbus!

 

Risk?  I didn't feel it was a risk, I looked at it as I would look at any neighborhood I was not familiar with.  Why do you think it was a "risk"?  Because its a minority neighborhood that isn't "hip", "trendy", "on the northside"?  I ask that with all seriousness.

 

Said the guy who called extremely large portions of Atlanta, Houston and Miami which happen to be mostly minority, "warzones". ;)

 

If you have been to those neighborhoods, you would think you were in a warzone, my description is accurate.  Have you spent any time in those areas?

 

I'm not some little dude.  I'm 6'4" nobody is going to step to me talkin' out the side of their neck.  At the same time, I realized where I was.  I have common sense.

Puff puff pass!

I remember when my brother and I accidentally went south on the green line and the only thing missing was a fire in the oil drum. An El employee instantaneously guided us back up. Thanks for taking the risk just for us. :shoot:

 

The Southside and west side never get any attention. They are still part of the city whether they are good areas or not. Chicago isn't all the northside.

 

Hey, that sounds just like Columbus!

 

Risk? I didn't feel it was a risk, I looked at it as I would look at any neighborhood I was not familiar with. Why do you think it was a "risk"? Because its a minority neighborhood that isn't "hip", "trendy", "on the northside"? I ask that with all seriousness.

 

Said the guy who called extremely large portions of Atlanta, Houston and Miami which happen to be mostly minority, "warzones". ;)

 

If you have been to those neighborhoods, you would think you were in a warzone, my description is accurate. Have you spent any time in those areas?

 

 

The areas in Atlanta and Miami, yeah. I've never been to Houston or anywhere in Texas though.

I remember when my brother and I accidentally went south on the green line and the only thing missing was a fire in the oil drum. An El employee instantaneously guided us back up. Thanks for taking the risk just for us.  :shoot:

 

The Southside and west side never get any attention. They are still part of the city whether they are good areas or not. Chicago isn't all the northside.

 

Hey, that sounds just like Columbus!

 

Risk?  I didn't feel it was a risk, I looked at it as I would look at any neighborhood I was not familiar with.  Why do you think it was a "risk"?  Because its a minority neighborhood that isn't "hip", "trendy", "on the northside"?  I ask that with all seriousness.

 

I was going with what you said above.

 

"Why were people trying to sell me crack, coke or themselves, this about 1 PM.  I was like, WTF.  at that point I put my camera in my bag.  As a 6'4" black and latin man, my street terror alert went straight to orange!  This area was disgusting and all I could think was how blessed I am.  I would have taken pictures, but two dudes walked up on me.  When I asked them Why TF are you following me, they crossed."

 

That is all.

I remember when my brother and I accidentally went south on the green line and the only thing missing was a fire in the oil drum. An El employee instantaneously guided us back up. Thanks for taking the risk just for us.  :shoot:

 

The Southside and west side never get any attention. They are still part of the city whether they are good areas or not. Chicago isn't all the northside.

 

Hey, that sounds just like Columbus!

 

Risk?  I didn't feel it was a risk, I looked at it as I would look at any neighborhood I was not familiar with.  Why do you think it was a "risk"?  Because its a minority neighborhood that isn't "hip", "trendy", "on the northside"?  I ask that with all seriousness.

 

I was going with what you said above.

 

"Why were people trying to sell me crack, coke or themselves, this about 1 PM.  I was like, WTF.  at that point I put my camera in my bag.  As a 6'4" black and latin man, my street terror alert went straight to orange!  This area was disgusting and all I could think was how blessed I am.  I would have taken pictures, but two dudes walked up on me.  When I asked them Why TF are you following me, they crossed."

 

That is all.

 

I don't consider it a risk.  I knew where I was going.  I took the same approach as I would in any neighborhood I've never been before.

 

I would stop, look at something, walk, stop look at something, they knew I wasn't from the area. I knew they were following me for 5 blocks (store windows and car windows are a great way to watch your back without tipping folks that are watching you, that you're watching them  ;) ).  I never felt threatened, but I needed to exercise common sense.

 

 

People who see Chicago as the land of milk and honey tend to be middle/upper class kids from places like Ohio armed with college degrees and a desire to keep living the college dream. They live in the North Side. Most will never spend any time in the other parts of Chicago save for Downtown, nor do they have a desire to see how the other people live. One thing about Chicago is that it's easy to avoid the slums and poor people in general.

 

With that said, don't ever expect people to stop stroking off Chicago. It's only getting more popular, not less popular. It has a lot going for it, and may one day unseat New York City as yuptopia.

 

*BTW, Detroit is still a severely f$&ked up place. We all know it is, but people unfairly harp on it without seeing the big picture or even having one ounce of empathy or understanding about the economic situation. Instead of seeing a warning sign, they convince themselves, "it won't happen to us."

 

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?

It has a lot going for it, and may one day unseat New York City as yuptopia.

 

It upseated New York years ago in yuptopia.  New York has a much larger area to "yuppify," even within Manahattan.  Chicago is at least "cleaning up" (so to speak) the beginning of the South and West sides.  It'll be a cold day in hell when Bensonhurst to Boston Road in the Bronx start the Jamba Juice/beige condo tower boom anytime soon.

 

But neither city "yuppified" faster than Washington DC.  It's almost laughable, to be honest.  I miss the old Shaw :(

I remember when my brother and I accidentally went south on the green line and the only thing missing was a fire in the oil drum. An El employee instantaneously guided us back up. Thanks for taking the risk just for us.  :shoot:

 

The Southside and west side never get any attention. They are still part of the city whether they are good areas or not. Chicago isn't all the northside.

 

Hey, that sounds just like Columbus!

 

Risk?  I didn't feel it was a risk, I looked at it as I would look at any neighborhood I was not familiar with.  Why do you think it was a "risk"?  Because its a minority neighborhood that isn't "hip", "trendy", "on the northside"?  I ask that with all seriousness.

 

I was going with what you said above.

 

"Why were people trying to sell me crack, coke or themselves, this about 1 PM.  I was like, WTF.  at that point I put my camera in my bag.  As a 6'4" black and latin man, my street terror alert went straight to orange!  This area was disgusting and all I could think was how blessed I am.  I would have taken pictures, but two dudes walked up on me.  When I asked them Why TF are you following me, they crossed."

 

That is all.

 

I don't consider it a risk.  I knew where I was going.  I took the same approach as I would in any neighborhood I've never been before.

 

I would stop, look at something, walk, stop look at something, they knew I wasn't from the area. I knew they were following me for 5 blocks (store windows and car windows are a great way to watch your back without tipping folks that are watching you, that you're watching them  ;) ).  I never felt threatened, but I needed to exercise common sense.

 

MTS, I love how you seemingly make an indirect accusation and then go on to answer your own question :roll:.  Im guessing the fact that people were following for 5 blocks makes it a bit risky since Im pretty sure they were not trying to welcome you to the neighborhood or give you tips on restaurants to try. 

 

When you have to actively watch your back because people are following you, it is more than likely risky to be there.  Also some of us would stand out (be a target) in an area like that more than others simply for not looking like the locals.   

It has a lot going for it, and may one day unseat New York City as yuptopia.

 

It upseated New York years ago in yuptopia. New York has a much larger area to "yuppify," even within Manahattan. Chicago is at least "cleaning up" (so to speak) the beginning of the South and West sides. It'll be a cold day in hell when Bensonhurst to Boston Road in the Bronx start the Jamba Juice/beige condo tower boom anytime soon.

 

But neither city "yuppified" faster than Washington DC. It's almost laughable, to be honest. I miss the old Shaw :(

 

Yes I agree about DC..  Being here 10 years I have seen it change before my eyes. 

Dont worry, Shaw may be a bit cleaned up, but it is just as dangerous as it ever was.

I remember when my brother and I accidentally went south on the green line and the only thing missing was a fire in the oil drum. An El employee instantaneously guided us back up. Thanks for taking the risk just for us. :shoot:

 

The Southside and west side never get any attention. They are still part of the city whether they are good areas or not. Chicago isn't all the northside.

 

Hey, that sounds just like Columbus!

 

Risk? I didn't feel it was a risk, I looked at it as I would look at any neighborhood I was not familiar with. Why do you think it was a "risk"? Because its a minority neighborhood that isn't "hip", "trendy", "on the northside"? I ask that with all seriousness.

 

I was going with what you said above.

 

"Why were people trying to sell me crack, coke or themselves, this about 1 PM. I was like, WTF. at that point I put my camera in my bag. As a 6'4" black and latin man, my street terror alert went straight to orange! This area was disgusting and all I could think was how blessed I am. I would have taken pictures, but two dudes walked up on me. When I asked them Why TF are you following me, they crossed."

 

That is all.

 

I don't consider it a risk. I knew where I was going. I took the same approach as I would in any neighborhood I've never been before.

 

I would stop, look at something, walk, stop look at something, they knew I wasn't from the area. I knew they were following me for 5 blocks (store windows and car windows are a great way to watch your back without tipping folks that are watching you, that you're watching them ;) ). I never felt threatened, but I needed to exercise common sense.

 

I think you're backtracking, MTS.  You obviously felt threatened if your "street terror alert went straight to orange".  The people weren't following you because they wanted to invite you to have tea.

We can hype up Ohio without tearing down other cities.  We need to hype up Ohio on THIS site before we can hype it up on a national level first.

The Chicago Tribune seems to cover the white areas of the city and has a suburban bent. Obviously I have been to Chicago many times. The Sun-Times seems to cover the black and poor sections of Chicago way more often and has a city coverage bent. Most of the classified adds are for the South side while the Tribune's are for the white North side and white suburbs. That is just so weird. It's like class warfare. Plus the Sun-Times is not a good newspaper to begin with and it doesn't even have a buyer. I cannot think of any city that has a newspaper that just covers one type of class of people (rich whites mainly) and the other poor (mostly blacks and hispanics). That's insane. A newspaper is supposed to cover everyone equally. What is going on here?

 

Whats going on is big city journalism with mulitple newspapers.

 

The Tribune was the voice of midwestern conservatism, the businessmans paper.  The Sun-Times was specfically set up (merger of two papers) by Marshall Field III as liberal competetior to the Tribune. Field was a wealthy heir to a departement store and real estate fortune but also a progressive.    Field also set up the Chicago Daily News as an afternoon paper (the Dailys News' Sunday paper was on Saturday) maybe to compete with Hearsts' "Chicago American" .  The Sun-Times was also the first paper in Chicago to go to the tabloid format (they had great TV advertising on this, too), and the American followed suit, transforming itself into the short lived "Chicago Today".

 

I think the Sun-Times moved to the right when it was sold to Murdoch, but apparently it has moved to the left again.  The Tribune isn't as right wing as it used to be, too.

 

But people used to buy both Sunday papers..."Trib n' Times".  Back in the day they had fabuloso Sunday editions. Packed with stuff.

 

 

 

 

 

It's interesting reading these observations of Chicago from fairly young non-natives (except for Rob) since I am a native and remember the city as early as the 1960s (my father and grandfather have, or had, a collective memory of the place back to WWI era).

 

 

MTS, you started your trip at my alma mater!  Good old Bronzeville/Bridgeport!  Ah the memories...

 

Wow, seems like a lot of people here either love it or hate it!

 

It's a great city-for better and for worse...North, south, and west.  Like all places there's good and bad but to say it's "only Detroit with the northside" or "just a bigger CLE" or "the most perfect city in the world" shows that one really doesn't understand the city at all. 

The north side used to be more generic Chicago than it is today.  And another thing that complicates the Chicago scene is the emergence of a huge latino community.  Chicago could be renamed Chicano (though the first big wave of latinos were Puerto Ricans).

 

 

 

 

Whats going on is big city journalism with mulitple newspapers.

 

Bingo. For that, Chicago and other cities with multiple papers deserve a lot of credit. Though you guys might get me going on one of my angry journalist rants about what the future holds for the news business...:wink:

 

Wow, seems like a lot of people here either love it or hate it!

 

Which at the core is what I find so fascinating (and somewhat disturbing). People in Ohio have such strong opinions about Chicago, which at the nearest point to a big city in our state is four hours from Toledo. This is a long distance. In fact, it's about equal to the drive between Toledo and Cincinnati. So what it comes down to is that many Ohioans (not saying ones on this board) care more about Chicago than cities that are closer to them within their own state. Obviously Chicago is a mega city and that will naturally attract a lot of attention, but the average college grad in Ohio needs to be more aware of what their own cities offer. I've seen a lot of kids move to Chicago for opportunity who didn't have to (obviously in certain fields, opportunity is more limited to the largest cities). These kids had majors that could just as easily land them good jobs in Cleveland, Cincinnati, etc. Some didn't even entertain the notion. It was strictly, "I'm moving to Chicago within three months of graduation." It's sort of like making a rash decision and throwing in the towel on Ohio...

 

If you get enough people doing this, the state could be doomed. Ohio has severe economic problems, no doubt, but politics are changing, attitudes towards urban living are changing, our Downtowns are changing, etc. The state may have a chance to turn itself around.

 

I don't know about that.  New York City also is in conversation equally here in Ohio as Chicago (look at all the Cleveland connections to NYC).  Also, Washington DC is in constant conversation here as well.  I think perhaps the Northwest part of the state is leaning towards Chicago due to location and distance.  Cleveland certainly seems more New York-leaning (for obvious no-toll I-80 reasons).  Cincinnati doesn't care about any "big city" and Columbus focuses on anybody.

I remember when my brother and I accidentally went south on the green line and the only thing missing was a fire in the oil drum. An El employee instantaneously guided us back up. Thanks for taking the risk just for us.  :shoot:

 

The Southside and west side never get any attention. They are still part of the city whether they are good areas or not. Chicago isn't all the northside.

 

Hey, that sounds just like Columbus!

 

Risk?  I didn't feel it was a risk, I looked at it as I would look at any neighborhood I was not familiar with.  Why do you think it was a "risk"?  Because its a minority neighborhood that isn't "hip", "trendy", "on the northside"?  I ask that with all seriousness.

 

I was going with what you said above.

 

"Why were people trying to sell me crack, coke or themselves, this about 1 PM.  I was like, WTF.  at that point I put my camera in my bag.  As a 6'4" black and latin man, my street terror alert went straight to orange!  This area was disgusting and all I could think was how blessed I am.  I would have taken pictures, but two dudes walked up on me.  When I asked them Why TF are you following me, they crossed."

 

That is all.

 

I don't consider it a risk.  I knew where I was going.  I took the same approach as I would in any neighborhood I've never been before.

 

I would stop, look at something, walk, stop look at something, they knew I wasn't from the area. I knew they were following me for 5 blocks (store windows and car windows are a great way to watch your back without tipping folks that are watching you, that you're watching them  ;) ).  I never felt threatened, but I needed to exercise common sense.

 

I think you're backtracking, MTS.  You obviously felt threatened if your "street terror alert went straight to orange".  The people weren't following you because they wanted to invite you to have tea.

 

No backtracking.  My radar went off.  Its common sense.  I wasn't scared of did I feel threatened.  As I would say to anyone, you need to keep your wit about you when in any city.  I'm might not be from the "'hood", but I know how to roll with the homies.

I think Chicago's more decayed neighborhoods almost certainly do have a future due to the massive immigration into the city by latinos and many other ethnic groups. Plus the revitalization is creeping further and further south and past the United Center on the west from the loop. Maybe the area all the way from Hyde Park and South Shore will be revitalzed all the way to the loop, and UC will not be an island in the rough anymore. It will happen, but I don't know how long. Life is short. Daley is doing a lot of good things even though I never liked his political tactics, but things are getting done.

What is the Sun-Times like now? I have not picked up a copy since probably 2003 or 04, the last time I was in Chicago.

 

Is there any quality journalism and indepth articles? Has the paper shrunk? Is it liberal still? Will it survive?

 

I could not imagine Chicago without the Sun-Times. The Trib is a white collar corporate conservative paper that mostly covers suburban issues anyway, :x whereas the Sun-Times covers the city mostly with very little about the suburbs, especially the exurbs.

 

I hope some locals or whoever knows the situation well can answer these questions. Thanks. :-)

I think Chicago's more decayed neighborhoods almost certainly do have a future due to the massive immigration into the city by latinos and many other ethnic groups. Plus the revitalization is creeping further and further south and past the United Center on the west from the loop. Maybe the area all the way from Hyde Park and South Shore will be revitalzed all the way to the loop, and UC will not be an island in the rough anymore. It will happen, but I don't know how long. Life is short. Daley is doing a lot of good things even though I never liked his political tactics, but things are getting done.

 

:wtf: